Call for Papers

IBR Special Issue for the 50th Anniversary of EIBA:
Building on the European foundations of IB Scholarship

Submission Deadline: 1 August 2024

https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/international-business-review/special-issues

 

Guest Editors:

Sarianna Lundan, Aalto University and the University of Bremen

Rebecca Piekkari, Aalto University

Lucia Piscitello, Politecnico di Milano and the Henley Business School

Jonas Puck, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business

 

The 50th EIBA Annual Conference in 2024 will bring the International Business (IB) community together not only to celebrate the past 50 years, but also to collectively envision the future of IB scholarship. In this time, EIBA has helped to generate research with noticeable impact on the management of European multinationals as well as on public policy. In many European economies the business-academia relationship is very close, contributing to research that has been both impactful and rigorous.

As the official journal of EIBA, the International Business Review (IBR) will join the anniversary celebrations with this special issue. The aim of the issue is to pay tribute to European IB scholarship by inviting   scholars from all over the world to reflect on the European legacy in IB (Buckley & Casson, 2021) and apply a distinctively European perspective to the pressing issues of today.

At the time of the founding of EIBA in the early 1970s, the massive increase in trade and investment associated with globalization was still to come. The first three decades of EIBA were thus characterized by growing optimism about the great potential offered by globalization to raise standards of living and contribute to peace and prosperity in the world. Today, however, this optimism has given way to a more pessimistic outlook. The defining features of contemporary globalization include geopolitical turbulence and increasing political polarization (Evenett & Pisani, 2023), and economic inequality within and between countries, cities, and multinational corporations (Ghauri, Strange & Cooke, 2021).   At the same time, the call for collaboration between various stakeholders to resolve the challenges of sustainability for both people and the planet is more pressing than ever (Georgallis, Albino-Pimentel & Kondratenko, 2021; Patala et al. 2021).

In this special issue, we are looking for contributions that explicitly adopt a European perspective on IB. This can mean that they deal with phenomena that are specific to the European context, draw on data about Europe and/or use theories, models or concepts originating from Europe in building the arguments. In terms of relevant phenomena, these could include e.g. the activities of the European Union in regulating the digital economy and the energy transition, EU expansion or Brexit. In terms of perspective, we invite contributions to the special issue that examine how the theoretical approaches and paradigms associated with European scholarship, such as internalization theory and the eclectic paradigm (Buckley and Casson, 1976; Dunning, 1980); the Uppsala and Helsinki models of firm internationalization with their subsequent developments (Johanson & Vahlne, 1977; Luostarinen, 1979; Putzhammer et al., 2020), the evolutionary models of international networks for knowledge creation and sharing (Cantwell, 1989; Cantwell, Dunning & Lundan, 2010; Cantwell & Piscitello, 1999; Kogut & Zander, 1993), language in IB (Aichhorn & Puck, 2017; Back & Piekkari, 2024; Tenzer, Pudelko & Zellmer-Bruhn, 2021) , or the work on international entrepreneurship and SME internationalization (Zucchella, 2021), and varieties of capitalism, institutions and state-owned enterprises (Hall & Soskice 2001; Colli et al., 2014), can shed light on the challenges we face today. While remaining open to all methodological approaches to research, we also wish to acknowledge and build on the long tradition of qualitative IB research in Europe championed by Pervez Ghauri - the founding Editor-in-Chief of IBR. This legacy has rendered European IB scholarship more pluralistic and multivocal compared to the dominance of quantitative methodologies in IB research elsewhere.

We cast a wide net in this special issue to examine the managerial and policy issues of the future through the lens of European IB scholarship. These include topics that are tied directly to the European context, as well as topics where the European perspective contributes to the understanding of global issues. We welcome contributions that speak to the interdisciplinary legacy of IB, including research joining European IB scholarship with other fields such as economics, innovation studies, cross-cultural studies, translation studies, organization theory, organizational behaviour, geography or international relations.

The topics relevant to the European context may include, but are by no means limited to, the following:

●       Emerging and transition economies, including trade and FDI, with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe.

●       European regional integration and disintegration initiatives and their impacts on MNE strategies and GVCs .

●       The role of the EU in geopolitics and its impact on MNEs.

●       The "Brussels effect", how EU regulations can be used to shape a global standard (e.g. CBAM, the proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive).

●       The impact of recent EU industrial policies on MNEs such as the European Green Deal, the Critical Raw Materials Act, and the European Chips Act.

●       Analyses of the evolution of IB research over time in particular institutional centers in Europe.

 

We also welcome submissions that explore European contributions to a specific area of IB research, including:

●       Knowledge and innovation management.

●       Development and use of cross-sector and public-private partnerships.

●       Institutions, ethics and MNEs' behavior; work on the dark side of globalization.

●       Language in IB.

●       Culture in its different forms.

●       Diversity, equity and inclusion in international firms and other types of organizations; the effects of migration on both societal and organizational levels.

●       Developing and harnessing disruptive technologies (e.g., Al & big data).

●       Creativity and atypical research contexts in IB.

●       Methodological and theoretical innovations in European IB scholarship.

 

Special Issue Workshop

The special issue editors will invite selected authors to participate in a paper development workshop after the first round of paper review.   The workshop will take place in connection with the EIBA 2024 conference in Helsinki. Invitation to the workshop does not guarantee acceptance of papers for publication in the special issue.

 

Deadlines

•             August 1, 2024: Deadline for submission of full manuscripts to IBR.

•             November 1, 2024: Decisions on submitted manuscripts.

•             December 2024: Paper development workshop (by invitation).

•             April 1, 2025: Deadline for the submission of revised manuscripts.

•             August 1, 2025: Final decisions on revised manuscripts.

•             December 2025:   Publication of IBR special issue.

 

Submissions must comply with the IBR editorial guidelines and code of ethics. Please consult the IBR Guide for Authors before submitting your manuscript and ensure you submit your manuscript for this Special Issue. Manuscripts will be double-blind reviewed following the standard IBR review procedure. For additional information, please contact one of the Guest Editors of the Special Issue:

•             Sarianna Lundan ([log in to unmask])

•             Rebecca Piekkari ([log in to unmask])

•             Lucia Piscitello ([log in to unmask])

•             Jonas Puck ([log in to unmask])

 

References

Aichhorn, N., & Puck, J. (2017). “I just don’t feel comfortable speaking English”: Foreign language anxiety as a catalyst for spoken-language barriers in MNCs. International Business Review , 26(4), 749-763.

Back, H., & Piekkari, R. (2024). Language-based discrimination in multilingual organizations: A comparative study of migrant professionals’ experiences across physical and virtual spaces. Journal of World Business, 59(3), 101518.

Buckley, P. J., & Casson, M. C. (1976). The Future of the Multinational Enterprise. London: Macmillan.

Buckley, P.J. & Casson, M. (2021). ‘Thirty years of International Business Review and international business research.’ International Business Review, 30(2): 101795.

Cantwell J. (1989) Technological Innovation and Multinational Corporations. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

Cantwell, J. A., Dunning, J. H., & Lundan, S. M. (2010). An evolutionary approach to understanding international business activity: The co-evolution of MNEs and the institutional environment. Journal of International Business Studies, 41(4), 567–586.

Cantwell J.A., Piscitello L., “The Emergence of Corporate International Networks for the Accumulation of Dispersed Technological Capabilities”, Management International Review , 1999, Vol. 39(1), 123-147.

Colli, A., Mariotti, S., & Piscitello, L. 2014. Governments as strategists in designing global players: The case of European utilities. Journal of European Public Policy, 21(4): 487–508.

Dunning, J. H. (1980). Toward an eclectic theory of international production: Some empirical tests. Journal of International Business Studies, 11(1), 9–31.

Evenett, S. J., & Pisani, N. (2023). Geopolitics, conflict, and decoupling: evidence of Western divestment from Russia during 2022. Journal of International Business Policy , 6(4), 511–540.

Georgallis, P., Albino-Pimentel, J., & Kondratenko, N. (2021). Jurisdiction shopping and foreign location choice: The role of market and nonmarket experience in the European solar energy industry. Journal of International Business Studies , 52(5), 853–877.

Ghauri, P., Strange, R., & Cooke, F. L. (2021). Research on international business: The new realities. International Business Review, 30(2).

Hall, P. A., & Soskice, D. (Eds.). 2001. Varieties of capitalism: The institutional foundations of competitiveness . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Johanson, J. & Vahlne, J-E. (1977). The internationalization process of the firm: a model of knowledge development and increasing foreign market commitments. Journal of International Business Studies , 8(1), 23–32.

Kogut B., Zander U. (1993) "Knowledge of the Firm and the Evolutionary Theory of the Multinational Corporation."   Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 24, No. 4, pp. 625-645.

Luostarinen, R. (1979). Internationalization of the firm: an empirical study of the internationalization of firms with small and open domestic markets with special emphasis on lateral rigidity as a behavioral characteristic in strategic decision making. Helsinki: Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration Press.

Patala, S., Juntunen, J. K., Lundan, S. M., & Ritvala, T. (2021). Multinational energy utilities in the energy transition: A configurational study of the drivers of FDI in renewables. Journal of International Business Studies, 52(5), 930–950.

Putzhammer, M., Puck, J., & Lindner, T. (2020). Changes in foreign operation modes: A review and research agenda. International Business Review, 29(1), 101619.

Tenzer, H., Pudelko, M., & Zellmer-Bruhn, M. (2021). The impact of language barriers on knowledge processing in multinational teams. Journal of World Business , 56(2), 101184.

Zucchella, A. (2021). ‘International entrepreneurship and the internationalization phenomenon: taking stock, looking ahead.’ International Business Review, 30(2): 101800.

 

About the Guest Editors

 

Sarianna Lundan is currently Professor of International Business at Aalto University in Finland and on leave as the Chair in International Management and Governance at the University of Bremen in Germany. She received her PhD from Rutgers University (US), and has held prior appointments at the University of Reading (UK) and at Maastricht University (The Netherlands). She has published widely in journals and books, and has co-authored with John H. Dunning the second edition of Multinational Enterprises and the Global Economy , which continues to be an influential reference work in the field of International Business. She is the inaugural Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of International Business Policy (JIBP) and member of several other editorial boards. She has participated extensively in the work of UNCTAD and served briefly as a Senior Economic Officer there. She has also worked on diverse policy-related projects for the World Bank, OECD and European Commission. She is a Fellow of the Academy of International Business (AIB) and the European International Business Academy (EIBA) and currently serves as the Dean of the EIBA Fellows. She was President of EIBA in 2013 hosting the 39th annual EIBA conference in Bremen.

 

Rebecca Piekkari is Marcus Wallenberg Chair of International Business at Aalto University, School of Business in Finland and the Director of Aalto Center for Qualitative Management Research (Qual+). She received her PhD from the Helsinki School of Economics. Her work on multinational corporations, language and qualitative methods in IB has been published in leading international business and management journals such as the Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of World Business, Journal of Management Studies, and Academy of Management Review as well as in edited volumes and handbooks. She has acted as a guest editor for special issues in e.g., Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of World Business, International Studies of Management & Organization, and Management International Review. She is currently Area Editor for the Journal of International Business Studies . Rebecca is Fellow of the Academy of International Business (AIB) and the European International Business Academy (EIBA). She serves as the current President of EIBA and will host the 50 ^th anniversary conference of EIBA in Finland in 2024.

 

Lucia Piscitello is Professor of International Business and Economics at Politecnico di Milano. Her research interests cover the economics and management of MNEs, and the international aspects of technological change. Her recent studies focus on the reorganization of global productive and innovation processes, the co-evolution between digital technologies, innovation and skills, and the adoption of sustainable and circular economy principles within GVCs.She serves on the editorial boards of several journals. She has published over 90 refereed journal articles. Her work has appeared in the Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management Studies, Global Strategy Journal, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Research Policy, Industrial and Corporate Change, Journal of Economic Geography, Economic Geography, among others. She is Visiting Professor at the Henley Business School, University of Reading, UK, and she acts as external expert for the Department of Geography & Environment, London School of Economics, UK. She is Fellow, Past President, and Chair of the European International Business Academy (EIBA), and Fellow of the Academy of International Business (AIB).

 

Jonas Puck is Professor of International Business and Dean of International Relations at WU Vienna, and Visiting Professor of University of Pavia. Before joining WU Vienna, he held positions at Nuremberg University, Germany, the University of New South Wales, Australia, the University of International Business and Education, China and the Bradford University School of Management, UK. His current research interests lie in the overlaps of global strategy, finance, and political science. Jonas serves on the Editorial Boards of the International Business Review, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of International Business Policy, Long Range Planning, European Management Journal, Journal of World Business and the Multinational Business Review. His research has been published in journals such as the Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of International Business Policy, Journal of World Business, International Business Review, and Human Resource Management (US), among others. In addition, he is editor or author of six books and numerous book chapters.He is Fellow, Past President, and serves as Vice-Chair of the European International Business Academy (EIBA) since 2018.