Conference Theme

The 1999 Academy of International Business Annual Meeting will focus on the Janus-faced nature of globalization. Ancient Romans regarded the god Janus as the doorkeeper of heaven, who presided over the entrance or the beginning of things. The Romans represented Janus with two faces, looking forward and backward. Janus-faced has come to mean having two contrasting aspects. In the context of globalization, one face promises economic abundance, freedom of political expression, and cultural diversity while the other threatens economic insecurity, political instability and cultural decay. At next year's conference, we will attempt a reconciliation of the economic, political, and cultural opportunities that globalization has promised with its darker side evidenced in the economic crises raging in Asia and Russia and that is currently threatening Latin America. Only by managing the challenges posed by the darker side of globalization can the world's population enjoy the potential benefits that globalization can offer.

As the world economy lurches towards globalization, it leaves in its wake huge income disparities in developed as well as in developing nations. Capital market volatility has left millions living in poverty or on its edge. Global brands have created intense pressures for cultural homogeneity. Global supply chain management identifies some of these global brands with unethical labor practices in developing countries. Politically intractable problems also have multiplied, including environmental crises such as global warming, political regimes that retain power by depriving citizens of basic human rights or manipulating ethnic conflict, and a reemergence of old-fashioned political pressures for trade protection. Traditional IMF and World Bank remedies appear increasingly ineffective and no longer able to promote economic development or stabilize the value of a country's currency. As a result of this combination of increased interdependencies and increased insecurity, the demands on global managers have increased exponentially. While companies have increasingly dispersed R&D, manufacturing, and marketing/sales operations to leverage their knowledge assets and scale economies, the pervasive political and economic volatility makes coordinating these activities especially challenging.

We invite proposals for a track that will consist of plenary panels addressing the conference theme: the Janus face of globalization. For this track, we encourage papers and symposia that consider both the public and private implications of the economic, political, and social/cultural transformations that globalization has brought about. We especially invite papers and symposia proposals that address this theme at different levels of analysis including at the level of the global political and economic system, the nation-state, the firm (organization), and the individual. In addition to this conference theme track, we invite papers to be considered for competitive paper sessions, workshops, poster paper sessions, as well as symposia in six tracks. In each track, preference will be given to papers and symposia that incorporate the conference theme. All submissions will be evaluated on a broader set of criteria.

The Conference Setting

The University of South Carolina will host the conference in historic Charleston. Charleston, founded in 1620, has some of the best-preserved early American architecture, some of the country's finest restaurants, and its most renowned ghosts. While our hosts cannot promise that anyone will actually encounter a ghost, during the conference we will adjourn to a historic local plantation for a "low country" southern lunch buffet and a tour. The plantation visit will also include a demonstration of Southern music, crafts, and dancing. Our hosts are also working on arranging tours of the Charleston Port Authority and local manufacturing facilities. (For more information about Charleston's rich history, please consult the city's web site at www.charlestoncvb.com.) In addition, a doctoral student and a junior faculty consortium will precede the opening session of the conference on Saturday, November 20.

Prospective attendees should note that the conference will take place beginning on the weekend before Thanksgiving, one of the year's busiest air travel periods. Charleston is also one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States. Please make your air travel reservation in plenty of time so that you can fly directly to Charleston and not have to drive 90 minutes from USC's home in Columbia, South Carolina.

General Submission Requirements

For purposes of reviewing, papers will be categorized into seven tracks, in addition to the track which focuses specifically on the conference theme. These seven tracks include:

Track 1: Plenary: The Janus Face of Globalization

Track 2: Strategic Management and Political Economy

Track 3: Economic, Finance, and Accounting

Track 4: Organizational Sociology and Macro-organizational Behavior

Track 5: Marketing and Operations

Track 6: Micro-organizational Behavior and Human Resources Management

Track 7: Business History

Submissions are invited for competitive, workshop, and poster paper sessions and symposia. Papers submitted for competitive sessions should be almost ready to submit to a refereed journal. Papers submitted to workshop and poster sessions are "works-in-progress," incorporating a well-articulated research question, carefully constructed research design, and a preliminary effort to interpret key results. These sessions will provide authors with an opportunity to exchange views with scholars working on related topics.

All submissions will be subjected to a double-blind review process. Competitive papers should be no longer than 30 pages inclusive of references figures, tables, etc. Workshop and poster papers should be not longer than 20 pages, inclusive. Symposia submissions should consist of a two-page introduction supported by a two-page description of each presentation. Discussants and chairs need only be listed. Symposia submissions should also include signed letters in which each participant commits to attending the conference session (faxes and emails will also suffice).

All submissions must be received by March 23, 1999; and must comply with the following requirements.

Clearly label the upper-right corner with the proposed track (including plenary) and type of session (competitive, workshop, poster, or symposia).

The cover page must include the name, address, telephone, fax, and email contact information of the authors and identify the key contact person.

The second page must include the title of the paper, the track and the abstract, but not the authors' identities. The abstract should be followed by three key words.

Papers/ proposals must be double-spaced with margins of one inch (2.5 cm.) and printed in a font size of 11 points or larger. Papers must adhere to the paper length requirements explained above. Other standards regarding citations, endnotes, abstract, etc. must follow JIBS requirements or standard requirements for legal journals.

Please send five copies of the paper/symposia and include postage paid self-addressed post-card acknowledging receipt to:

Kate Wagtskold
c/o Professor Stefanie Lenway
Carlson School of Management
University of Minnesota
Department of Strategic Management and Organization
321 19th Ave. South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
USA

Please label the envelope "AIB submission."

Questions?

If you want additional information or have further questions, write, fax, e-mail or call:

James R. Wills, Jr., Executive Secretary
or Laurel King, AIB Administrator
Academy of International Business
College of Business Administration
University of Hawaii at Manoa
2404 Maile Way
Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 USA
Tel: 808-956-3665
Fax: 808-956-3261
E-Mail: aib@cba.hawaii.edu