Get Your Research on the Right Track

Before you head over to our online submission portal, take a few minutes to read all of the detailed instructions below:

Submission Deadline: 10 January 2022

Type of Sessions (with formatting guidelines)

Please use the descriptions below to select the type of session that best fits your submission.

Competitive Sessions

All submissions to Competitive Sessions must be fully developed papers and require giving a formal presentation at the conference. Papers submitted to a competitive session may be accepted for a such a session or for an interactive session, depending on the quality of the paper, available space, or fit in the conference program. Please see additional submission guidelines below.

Interactive Sessions

Submissions to Interactive Sessions typically are shorter manuscripts or works-in-progress that can benefit from informal feedback from other participants. They may also include fully developed papers that could not be accepted for a Competitive Session, as explained above. Interactive Sessions are held in a roundtable discussion format and feature shorter oral presentations that allow for engaging interaction with other scholars with similar interests (please note, the format for interactive presentations may be significantly different in a virtual conference). Please see additional submission guidelines below.

Additional guidelines for submissions to Competitive Sessions and Interactive Sessions

  • Papers must be fewer than 12,000 words inclusive of all materials, including appendices and references. Papers exceeding these limits may be returned to the author(s).
  • Papers must contain no information that identifies the author(s) on the title page or elsewhere in the document. Submitter should clean the paper’s File Properties to remove identifying information.
  • Papers must follow the JIBS Style Guide.
  • Submissions that consist only of abstracts, extended abstracts, or research proposals will not be accepted.

Panel Discussion Sessions

Panel Discussion Sessions are forums for issues of contemporary interest to IB scholars. Panels are organized as a single submission by a panel chair around a common theme. Panels may have various formats –roundtable discussions, keynote and discussion with senior scholars not normally involved in the AIB, pro and con debates, or professional development workshops.

  • A panel session must allocate substantial time to a genuine interchange among the panelists, and/or between panelists and the audience. When designing the panel, keep in mind you will have 75 minutes for the session.
  • To facilitate sufficient time for genuine interchange and discussion, panels should constitute no more than 4 people presenting on a specific theme, and the total time for presentations should not exceed 2/3 of the total session time (i.e., 50 mins for a 75-minute session).
  • Panel submissions that simply feature a series of paper presentations will be rejected.
  • We recommend the following approach when developing the panel:
    1. Identify a theme and create a detailed abstract that summarizes the theme and issues the panel aims to address;
    2. recruit scholars or other experts and request they identify thematic topics that are consistent with the abstract;
    3. based on the identified topics, create a program that is coherent, meaningful and which follows a logical order of the expected presentations and discussion;
    4. request panelists to present and discuss their topics accordingly;
    5. request each panelist to formulate at least two questions that they would like to ask one or more other panelists about their topic, during the panel discussion;
    6. the chair or other participant might serve as moderator or timekeeper to keep the panel on track and ensure sufficient time for substantive interaction and discussion.

This approach is intended to create a panel that features substantial discussion and Q&A among the panelists and with the audience, comprising a significant portion of the total session time.

Additional guidelines for submissions to Panel Discussion Sessions
Panel proposals should be no more than 6,000 words inclusive of all materials, and must be submitted by the panel chair. All panel proposals must include:

  • A Title Page that includes the panel name, the session format (e.g., pro and con debate, moderated roundtable discussion, keynote and commentary, professional development workshop, etc.) and the panel participants.
  • The name, affiliation, email address, and role of each participant in the panel (chair, discussant, and/or panelist). All panelists listed in the submission must appear and present at the conference. Each panel must specify a chair. A second chair and/or a discussant are optional.
  • A detailed overview of the main issue(s) addressed or arguments to be made in the panel.
  • Any special technical setup that the panel may require (only if beyond a standard video conferencing setup: i.e., need for breakouts, polling, and other advanced features). The feasibility of any special requirements will be part of the evaluation criteria.
  • Copies of emails or letters from each participant stating they agree to participate in the panel if the proposal is accepted. Failure to include these confirmations will count against the proposal.

General Rules for All Submissions

  • All submissions to the conference must have a focus on international phenomena. Single-country studies must explicitly consider internationally relevant topics such as MNEs, trade, or global value chains.
  • All submissions must be in English.
  • Each submission must state on its front page at the top right, the requested Track (number and title) and the Session format (Competitive, Interactive, or Panel Discussion).
  • Each submission must include an abstract, not to exceed 200 words, that summarizes the manuscript or panel discussion. This abstract will appear in the Conference App and the Conference Proceedings, if your submission is accepted to the conference.
  • Only submissions made through our official online submission portal will be reviewed for potential inclusion in the conference. Only PDF and Word files will be accepted.
  • All submissions must be entered into our online portal by 10 January 2022 at 11:59 PM (in your local time zone). We recommend that you submit your proposal as early as possible since the online submission system will be heavily trafficked in the days leading up to the deadline.
  • For any issues not addressed in this submission guide, please consult the conference frequently asked questions: AIB 2022 FAQ . If that fails, you may contact us directly.

NOTE: There are also specific guidelines depending on the type of submission (Competitive, Interactive, or Panel Discussion). Please refer to the “Type of Sessions” section above for those additional guidelines.

Choose the Right Track and Keywords
Each paper can only be submitted to a single track, so it’s important for you to select the right one. The Call for Papers contains detailed descriptions of all conference tracks and contact information for all track chairs in case you desire information not address in the Call.

If your believe your relationship with a track chair might constitute a conflict of interest, please submit your paper to the “Special Submissions” track.

Each track description in the Call for Papers also contains a list of keywords. Please include at least two of these keywords in your submission to clarify its scope and focus to reviewers. Please refrain from using any keywords not included on these lists in your submission.

Submission Limits and Restrictions

AIB has a strict three-submission limit, — the ‘Rule of Three’ — applicable to everyone listed as an author, co-author, or panelist on a submission. Before adding a name to your proposal, please ascertain if it will put that person in violation of the Rule of Three. Note, the Rule of Three does not apply to participation in the pre-conference activities, in official service roles performed for the AIB, as a session chair, or as a speaker invited by the Program Committee.

Submissions that violate AIB policies will be rejected. All scholars submitting papers to AIB 2021 are expected to act professionally in their research and comply with our Code of Ethics. Violating any of the following standards may result in having your submission(s) rejected from all current and future AIB events:

  • Conflict of Interest: Authors who have a conflict of interest relationship with a track chair shall submit their paper to another track or to the “Special Submissions” track. Conflicts of interest arise from author relationships with current and former PhD students, current and former PhD advisors, members of the same department, co-authors, family members, and the like.
  • Responsibility to Review: Submitting a paper to our annual meeting automatically commits the corresponding author to serving as a reviewer in the conference.
  • Responsibility to Present: The author of single-authored papers, or at least one author of multi-author papers, commits to register for the conference and present the paper. No personal requests for variation of time slots will be accommodated and authors will present in the time slots allocated.
  • Plagiarism: Authors assure that submitted papers are their own work and appropriate credit is given to sources, including any previous work of the authors themselves.

Notification of Submission Status

Authors will be sent an automatic email confirmation message upon successful uploading of their paper to the website acknowledging receipt of their submission. If you do not receive an acknowledgment within 24 hours of submitting your manuscript or proposal, please email the program chair at AIB2022@nus.edu.sg for further directions.

Paper and panel submissions will be double-blind reviewed. Competitive and Interactive session papers will be evaluated using the following criteria: interest to AIB members, analytical rigor, appropriateness of research methods, innovativeness, and significance of conclusions. Panel proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria: interest to AIB members, quality, innovativeness, fit with conference theme, participants from multiple universities.

Corresponding authors will be notified of the results of the review process on or about 1 March 2022.