Dear All,

Please note the final call for papers for the AIB UK and Ireland chapter conference hosted by The University of Liverpool Management School, the extended deadline for papers is the 23^rd January 2012, please find information below and full information online at www.liv.ac.uk/aib2012

Kind Regards,

Events Team

University of Liverpool Management School

New Global Developments and the Changing Geography of International Business

The world economic order has changed markedly over recent years, epitomised by the rapid growth of China, on course to soon become the largest economy in the world and exerting increasing influence through its overseas ventures. Likewise, the spatial organization of international business has witnessed profound shifts, such as the rise of the “global factory” and the fine-slicing of where value is added in production and distribution and which parts are internalised, the accelerating international dispersion of R&D activity by multinational enterprises, the growing importance of emerging economies as both locations for and sources of FDI and the phenomenon of rapidly internationalising new ventures. As governments in developed economies generally struggle with the aftermath of the financial crisis and burgeoning fiscal deficits, greater reliance is being placed on emerging economies as motors of the global economy. The emergence of the “Arab Spring” may have profound, yet uncertain, effects on prospects for international business in that region. Taking stock of this shifting geography will be a key theme of the Liverpool conference.

Theoretical and empirical papers which advance understanding of these themes are very welcome, as are those which address any topic relevant to international business.

A key theme of the conference is the changing geography of international business and in connection with this the conference will be exploring through keynote speeches and conference tracks the interface between International Business and Economic Geography. In support of this there will be a dedicated special track chaired jointly by local organiser Gary Cook and Prof. Jon. Beaverstock, Professor of Economic Geography at the University of Nottingham. In addition the conference will run with participation by the Economic Geography Research Group of the Royal Geographical Society.

Submission opens mid-November. Deadline for paper submission for the main conference is Monday 23rd January 2012 and for the Doctoral Colloquium it is 9th February 2012.  Detail on how to submit is available here.

There are several prizes awarded at the conference:

• Palgrave Prize for the best competitive paper
• Michael Z Brooke Doctoral Prize for the best paper by a doctoral student
• Neil Hood and Stephen Young Prize for the Most Original New Work in the doctoral colloquium

To these established prizes, two new prizes will be awarded at the 2012 conference:

• The Research in International Business and Finance Prize for the best paper which examines a topic in International Finance from an International Business perspective
• The Critical Perspectives on International Business Prize for the most innovative paper which tackles a new or under-researched topic and which contributes to the understanding of the impact of international business on society.

Registration

Registration is open from 1st October 2011 until the 15th March 2012.  Register before the 1st March to take advantage of the lower fee. More detail is available here. Please note that all delegates need to be a member of the AIB at the time of the conference either as part of current membership or by initiating a new one. This costs £65 and is valid for one year. You can obtain this membership via the registration page on the website, paying online or by requesting an invoice.

Keynote Speakers

Prof. Ram Mudambi, Fox School of Business, Temple University, is a foremost authority on the geography of innovation and author of many key works on this and other aspects if International Business.   Ram will speak on New Economic Directions in Economic Geography and IB.

Prof. Henry Yeung, National University of Singapore, is one of the world’s leading economic geographers, whose work on the geography of MNEs, Chinese business networks and international operations of Asian firms spans the fields of Economic Geography and International Business. Henry will speak on Global Production Networks.

The Conference will incorporate, as usual, a Doctoral Colloquium where PhD students at all stages of their doctoral research can gain high quality feedback on their work from experienced IB researchers. We strongly encourage and welcome submissions from doctoral students.  The deadline for submissions is 6 February 2012.

Papers will be organised into tracks based on the themes of accepted submissions. Examples of recent themes have included:

• Business strategy – explanations of international business and modes, contributions of MNEs in home and host nations, corporate and social responsibility, outsourcing and offshoring
• Firm competitiveness – strategic management, networks and alliances, cross border management/leadership, organizational behaviour and learning, international marketing
• Dynamic capabilities – global organisation and sourcing of technological innovations, knowledge acquisition and knowledge transfer, learning in the internationalisation process
• International entrepreneurship – decision making in international new ventures (INVs), characteristics of INVs, the internationalisation process of INVs, how INVs create value, factors promoting the emergence and success of INVs and other entrepreneurial firms
• Internationalisation from and to emerging markets – motives for FDI from and to emerging markets, government policy towards inward and outward FDI in emerging markets
• Research methods in international business – developments in quantitative methods, use of case studies, qualitative methods, problems and issues in methodology
• Corporate governance and finance – influence of corporate governance and managerial compensation schemes, the role of direct versus portfolio investment in diversifying risk, dealing with corruption, institutional structures influencing corporate social responsibility and sustainability

Proposals for special tracks and panel sessions are welcome and should be sent to [log in to unmask]. Special tracks proposed to date include:

• The interface between International Business and Economic Geography
• International Human Resource Management
• Business History and International Business

The conference will be hosted at the University of Liverpool Management School, with a gala dinner at the beautiful Anglican Cathedral on Friday 30th March with a special performance by saxophonist Snake Davis.