Academy of International Business Special Theme Conference
CALL FOR PAPERS
Sustainable Development and International Competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the Post COVID-19 Era
Co-Hosts
Nottingham University Business School China, University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC)
School of Business, East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST)
School of Management, University of San Francisco (USF)
Date: June 10-11, China Time (UTC + 8)
Location: University of Nottingham Ningbo China
199 Taikang East Road, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the entire business world and driven out many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in particular, in the hospitality and service industries. The situation has been exacerbated by the resurgent protectionism/populism, the tendency of deglobalization, and the potential decoupling between the world's two largest economies. Nevertheless, some SMEs have weathered the disruptions effectively and shown strong competitiveness even in the global arena, in particular, those labelled as hidden champions or niche leaders.
What are the challenges as well as opportunities for SMEs in the post COVID-19 era? What could many SMEs learn from the hidden champions or niche leaders and develop sustainable business and international competitiveness in the coming years? Specifically, how would SMEs rejuvenate their businesses and ventures internationally? What would be their viable internationalization processes? How would they handle legitimization complexity influenced by their home and host country institutional environments? What about national security concerns faced by certain high-tech specialists?
We stress that the research issues as mentioned above are becoming even more important in today's volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) global environment. In this special theme conference, we encourage scholars in international business and other related areas such as international economics to share/disseminate their innovative research on the evolving global environments SMEs are facing and their sustainable development and international competitiveness in the future.
This AIB special theme conference is organized through the cooperation among AIB Asia Pacific Chapter, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, East China University of Science and Technology, and the University of San Francisco. It follows the pattern of the annual international business conference which East China University of Science and Technology, and the University of San Francisco have been co-organizing since 2016. The conference is fully supported by AIB global leadership and the AIB Asia Pacific Chapter Executive Board. Among others, the following AIB fellows have confirmed their attendance and will give keynote speeches or deliver plenary panels during the conference.
JT Li, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (in-person)
Jane Lu, City University of Hong Kong (in-person)
Jeremy Clegg, University of Leeds (virtually)
Gary Knight, Willamette University (virtually)
Nicole Coviello, Wilfried Laurier University (virtually)
The conference is dedicated to providing a platform for participants to communicate with one another on important international business issues, particularly those focusing on sustainable development and international competitiveness of SMEs in the post COVID-19 era. Some important research issues include:
- What drives international venturing of different types of SMEs? Are there some conspicuous differences between emerging and developed economy SMEs?
- Are there differential/unique foreign market entries and internationalization processes for SMEs in the post-COVID 19 era, especially in the contexts of Asian countries?
- How do hidden champions operate in the global arena? Are they less vulnerable than other SMEs in the face of global value chain reconfiguration?
- What international strategies do hidden champions pursue, and how do they pursue them, in the face of global institutional changes?
- What is the impact of China's Road and Belt Initiative on international venturing of SMEs, especially in relation to sustainable development?
- Would SMEs become more innovative in the process of internationalization based on learning and international alliances/networking?
- How do digital technologies affect the sustainable development and international venturing of SMEs?
- How do formal and informal institutions in home and host countries affect the legitimacy of SMEs? Are certain high-tech SMEs, for example, ill perceived and poorly treated in some host countries due to national security concerns?
- How do deglobalization and/or decoupling shape innovation, strategy, global talent flow, global value chain and sustainable development? What are the implications for SMEs based in the Asia Pacific region?
Abstracts & Panel Proposals
This conference includes both English and Chinese sessions. We invite participants to submit full papers or extended abstracts or panel proposals related to the conference theme. For extended abstract submissions, you will need to provide an extended summary (English or Chinese) addressing the following, among others:
^2 Research Purpose
^2 Research Design/Research Methods
^2 Research Findings
^2 Contributions and Limitations
^2 Practical Implications
Panel proposals must be submitted by the panel chair. All panel proposals must include:
^2 A Title Page that includes the panel name, the session format (e.g., regular panel, debate, roundtable discussion) and the panel participants.
^2 The name, affiliation, email address, and role of each participant in the panel (chair, other panelists). All panelists listed in the submission must appear and present at the conference. Each panel must designate a chair.
^2 An overview of the main issue(s) addressed or arguments to be made by the panel.
^2 Copies of emails from each participant stating they agree to participate in the panel if the proposal is accepted.
Opportunity to publish with Multinational Business Review (MBR)
The conference will collaborate with Multinational Business Review (5-year Impact Factor 2021, 3.469) that publishes high-quality research on the nature and impact of the multinational enterprise (MNE) and the evolution of international business strategies. The high-quality full papers presented in the conference, if submitted to MBR, will receive a fast track review (albeit no guarantee of publication). MBR will organize a PDW for the conference. For detailed information, please contact Dr. Liang Wang, [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>.
Opportunity to publish with Long Range Planning (LRP) and Journal of Digital Economy (JDE)
The joint editing team of the special issue on "Platform Multinationals (PMNC) in the Global Digital Economy will organize a proposal development workshop for the conference. For detailed information, please contact Dr. Xiaoming He, [log in to unmask]
Opportunity for PhD students in International Business to Compete for Best Dissertation Proposal Award
Sponsored by Nottingham University Business School China and supported by AIB Asia Pacific Chapter, the conference calls for eligible PhD students to submit their PhD dissertation proposals and will confer up to two awards of RMB 6,000 each.
u Eligibility
The target doctoral students should conduct their PhD study in the area of international business/international strategy, preferably with a focus on emerging market contexts, and be enrolled in a PhD program for no more than 3 years. They should be active AIB members at the time of proposal submission to the conference.
u Submission Guidelines
Proposals are to be submitted with the subject "Best PhD Dissertation Proposal Award" to Dr. Abby Zhou, [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>. The proposal materials should include the following items and can be in English or Chinese as specified below.
1. Cover sheet (English)
a. Dissertation title
b. Student name
c. Institution
d. Dissertation supervisor
e. PhD enrollment (with verifiable evidence) and expected completion dates
2. Summary of the Proposal (no more than 500 words in English)
3. Dissertation Proposal of up to 10 pages, single-spaced with the following items (English or Chinese)
a. Specific research questions, review of the relevant literature, and potential contributions
b. Research design including data collection and analytical methods
c. References
d. Research schedule
4. CV (English or Chinese)
5. A recommendation letter (English or Chinese) from the PhD supervisor in support of the proposal. This letter should be emailed to Dr. Abby Zhou, [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> directly by the supervisor. It should include a statement of the student's stage of completion in the PhD program, verification of the dissertation proposal, and comments on the potential quality and contributions of the dissertation.
u Timetable and evaluation
The submission deadline is May 10, 2023. The evaluation will be conducted by well-established English-Chinese bilingual IB scholars. Notification of the awards will be made during the conference.
u Acknowledgement
The awardees need to acknowledge in their theses (when finished) that their proposals won the award at the AIB Special Theme Conference 2023 in Ningbo, China, co-hosted by University of Nottingham Ningbo China, East China University of Science and Technology, and the University of San Francisco.
Important Dates
Conference Date: June 10-11, 2023, China Time
Deadline for submission of papers or extended abstracts or cases or panel proposals: May 10, 2023 (China Time)
Deadline for conference registration: May 30, 2023 (China Time)
Contact Information
For general inquiries and questions about the conference, please contact Yuxue Luo, Yuxue.Luo@nottingham<mailto:Yuxue.Luo@nottingham>.edu.cn.
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