Henley Business School at the University of Reading announces the Fifth Reading - 'UNCTAD International Business Conference, organised in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).  The 2015 conference is the second in the series that is jointly organised with UNCTAD. Therefore, in addition to focusing on conceptual issues in IB, we will also be paying close attention to policy implications and the importance of MNEs in development.

The conference - which is traditionally held in April - has been moved to June, in memory of Alan Rugman. A plenary session, commemorating and extending Alan¹s work by prominent scholars will be organized on the first day.  The conference will take place at our Reading campus, which is situated close to London, and Heathrow airport.

Registration details can be found at  www.henley.ac.uk/ibconference2015 

The submission deadline for papers is 1 February 2015 (see below for more details)

·

Invited Speakers include: Julian Birkinshaw, Mark Casson, Geoffrey Jones, Peter Buckley, Jean-Francois Hennart, Esteban Garcia-Canal, Alain Verbeke, Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra

Debate panels and plenary themes:

·      Where is the ‘individual’ in IB research?

·      25 years of UNCTAD’s World Investment Reports

·      FDI from and to regulated sectors

·      Alan Rugman’s contribution to IB and strategy.

We will hold a memorial on the evening of the 13th at our Greenlands campus, so that people may share their reminiscences about the life and work of Alan in an informal setting.

Parallel Sessions: Submissions for the parallel sessions (at which papers on all aspects of IB are welcome), must be substantially complete papers that can be considered for potential publication after the conference. We are seeking to arrange various publication possibilities. 

Previous conference papers have been published in Journal of Management Studies, European Journal of Development Research and Multinational Business Review.

Alan Rugman memorial theme:

In addition to our usual parallel sessions, we will also be organising a number of sessions on topics building on Alan's oeuvre, subdivided into 4 categories (international diversification; internalization theory; MNE - government relations in the context of FDI; regionalization).  Alain Verbeke is editing a book on Regional Multinationals for Cambridge University Press, and submissions for the memorial theme will be considered for inclusion. There is also a special issue of Multinational Business review planned, and other outlets are being explored.

 
Poster Sessions:  Poster papers may be  work-in-progress. Unlike other conferences, poster sessions are prestigious at Reading, with a large number of senior participants.

Submissions for the parallel sessions: All submissions should be emailed to [log in to unmask]. Papers must be substantially complete, less than 10,000 words, and formatted according to JIBS guidelines. All submissions must be in MS Word.

Indicate very clearly in the subject of the email and on the coversheet ‘Parallel session’. If they are to be considered for the Rugman-related sessions, please also indicate this on the coversheet. The final deadline for submitting a paper is 1 February 2015. Subsequent confirmation that your paper has been received and accepted will be sent via email within 2 weeks.

Registration details can be found at  www.henley.ac.uk/ibconference2015