CALL FOR PAPERS: Special issue of Journal of International Business Studies
Asia and Global Business in the 21st Century: Institutions, Cultures, and Strategic Transformations
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Introduction
Guest Editors:
Rabi S. Bhagat (University of Memphis)
Mike W. Peng (University of Texas at Dallas)
Sea-Jin Chang (Korea University Business School)
Deadline for submission: December 1, 2007
Tentative date of publication: Spring or Summer 2009
Prior to the 1997 Asian financial crisis, a number of scholars predicted that the 21st century would be the "Asian century." In the aftermath of the 1997 crisis, there has been some caution in the literature regarding how various economies and firms in Asia are going to emerge as important participants in the global economy. More recently, terms such as the "Chinese century" and the "rise of India" have surfaced frequently in scholarly and practitioner publications. There is no doubt that various Asian economies and firms have been undergoing some profound institutional, cultural, and strategic transformations, which not only have ramifications for Asia but also for other parts of the global economy in the 21st century.
Top of pageObjectives
- To encourage scholarly interest in the growing complexity of institutional, cultural, and strategic transformations that are currently underway in various Asian economies and firms.
- To examine the implications of these transformations for both firms headquartered in Asia and those headquartered elsewhere.
- To learn more about the role of such increasing global interdependence between various countries and firms in Asia and the rest of the world for theory and research in international business.
We welcome manuscripts that are (1) theoretically innovative and well-grounded and (2) based on solid empirical research which provides insights into the dynamics of how various Asian economies and firms are grappling with institutional, cultural, and strategic transformations - and how countries and corporations elsewhere around the world respond to such profound changes in Asia.
Top of pageExamples of Relevant Issues
The following statements and questions encompass, but do not exhaust, the many issues regarding Asia and global business in the 21st century that IB scholars may find of interest:
- Impact of Asian economies on global business. In 2004, the top three container ports in the world were all in Asia: Hong Kong, Singapore, and Shanghai. The fourth was Los Angeles/Long Beach, which earned a living by trading with Asia. What is the impact of such dominance in world trade on global prices, shipping, and logistics - and most fundamentally on the strategic management processes of firms around the world (including those currently not doing business in/with Asia)?
- Nature of firm ownership and control. A majority of large multinational corporations in the Anglo-American world feature the separation of ownership and control. However, such is not the case in most parts of Asia where owners, often families, assume top management positions, which raises some interesting corporate governance and control issues. What are some of the future implications of concentration of ownership and control of large firms in Asia for theory and research in international business?
- Product and geographic diversification. The conventional wisdom, based primarily on recent research in the West, is that unrelated product diversification is counterproductive for creating value. However, some (although not all) conglomerates and business groups in Asia persist and function well without adopting to the above strategic principle. At the same time, many Asian firms have recently embarked on significant geographic diversification, by entering foreign markets not only in Asia but also in other regions of the world. What are some of the institutional mechanisms driving these product and geographic diversification strategies? How do findings from the Asian context help to broaden the global debate on product and geographic diversification?
- Institutional transitions and strategic responses. Many Asian economies are under great pressures to open up their markets and adopt more market-oriented reforms. Their institutional transitions often entail fundamental and comprehensive changes introduced to the formal and informal rules of the game. What are some of the necessary institutional and organizational processes that either facilitate or hinder this transformation process? How do firms both headquartered in and out of Asia strategically respond to these institutional transitions?
- Cultural changes and transformations. Participation in the global economy changes some of the fundamental cultural assumptions and values that are inherent in the design of organizations, institutions, and related strategic processes. How do various types of cultural changes and transformations taking place in these Asian economies facilitate or hinder their participation in an increasingly interdependent global marketplace? For example, what are some of the implications of strategic outsourcing on the transformation of various cultural patterns in these countries? What are some of the implications of globalization for the collectivistic orientations of the majority of Asian populations? What are the necessary changes that might be needed to accommodate and deal with some of the destabilizing consequences on well established social and cultural practices? What role do foreign (non-Asian) firms play in the cultural changes and transformations in Asia?
- Global implications for non-Asian economies and firms. The growing prominence of Asian economies and firms has significant ramifications for the non-Asian world in the 21st century. What are some of the necessary theoretical frameworks that IB might need at this point in order to probe the growing interdependence between Asian economies and firms with those of the rest of the world? How can IB scholars, students, and practitioners in the rest of the world learn from Asia's accomplishments and mistakes?
This list is merely suggestive of the range of topics appropriate for this Focused Issue. Other topics may be potentially of interest. However, the central concerns of this Focused Issue are with the institutional, cultural, and strategic transformations of economies in Asia and firms active in Asia (including foreign, non-Asian firms operating there), as well as the ramifications of these transformations for global business around the world (that is, beyond Asia). We are seeking manuscripts that explicitly address these issues and offer suggestions for how theory and research in IB might contribute to and benefit from a focus on these crucial issues in the 21st century.
All manuscripts submitted for the Special Issue must also fit within the Journal's new Statement of Editorial Policy.
Top of pageSubmissions
Submissions must be made between November 10, 2007, and December 1, 2007, through the new JIBS Manuscript Central system (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jibs). Please mark your submission to go to the "Asia and IB" Special Issue.
All submissions will go through the JIBS regular double-blind review process, and must follow the incoming editorial team's Information for Contributors, Style Guide and Code of Ethics.
A Special Editorial Review Board will be convened by the Guest Editors for this Special Issue of JIBS. A call for potential members of this board will be circulated in the summer of 2007. Manuscript reviewers will be drawn from the Special Issue Editorial Review Board and from the incoming JIBS Editorial Review and Consulting Editors Boards.
All manuscripts will be reviewed as a cohort of submissions for this Focused Issue. The review process will commence from December 1, 2007, and no manuscripts will be reviewed prior to that date. The reviewing process will follow the same norms as those of the incoming editorial team; thus, manuscripts are expected to move through the whole process from submission to acceptance for publication within 12 months. The special issue is expected to appear in spring or summer 2009.
Top of pageGuest Editors
Sea-Jin Chang (Korea University)
Editorial Area: Asia and Global Business (Special Issue)
Area Scope: Management of diversified multinational enterprises in Asia, including foreign direct investment, international new ventures/international entrepreneurship, foreign entry strategies, entry mode choices, and post-entry subsidiary management issues.
Email: schang@korea.ac.kr
Website: http://biz.korea.ac.kr/~schang
Nationality: Korea
Highest Degree: PhD Organization and Strategy, University of Pennsylvania, USA
Rabi Bhagat (University of Memphis)
Editorial Area: Asia and Global Business (Special Issue)
Area Scope: Micro areas of international business in Asia, including cross-cultural variations in organizational processes; cultural variation in the creation, diffusion, transmission, and transfer of organizational knowledge across nations; issues of modernity and culture change; clash of cultures and progress of globalization; institutional and cultural issues surrounding political and economic globalization; institutional, economic, and cultural issues on technology and knowledge transfer; cultural and cross-cultural issues.
Email: rbhagat@memphis.edu
Website: http://fcbe.memphis.edu/modules/general/Fc_facdetails.php?id=18&topic=bio
Nationality: USA
Highest Degree: PhD Business Administration, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
Mike W. Peng (University of Texas at Dallas)
Editorial Area: Asia and Global Business (Special Issue)
Area Scope: Macro areas of global business in Asia, in particular strategic management and global strategy.
Email: mikepeng@utdallas.edu
Website: http://www.utdallas.edu/~mikepeng
Nationality: USA
Highest Degree: PhD Business Administration (Strategy), University of Washington, USA
