Chapter: Africa
Theme: Africa’s Sustainable Development
Location: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Kumasi, Ashanti, Ghana)
Focus Areas: Professional development, diversity in academia, theory and practice
Where to Follow: twitter.com/aib_SSA

  • Translating Theory into Political Practice: AIB Africa’s 2019 chapter conference featured a host of prestigious guests with direct experience in applying scholarly insights toward political administration. Keynote speakers for the event included Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia; Minister of Planning, Professor George Gyan Baffour; and the Minister for Business Development, Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal.
  • Developing IB Scholars: AIB Africa’s inaugural doctoral consortium saw 40 graduate students receive expert guidance from renowned international business scholars including Professors Amon Chizema, Beth Rose, Helena Barnard, Lilac Nachum, Nathaniel Boso and Yaw A. Debrah. In addition to facilitating these mentorship opportunities, the chapter also made a special effort to recognize the accomplishments of our young scholars, presenting the best doctoral paper award to Emmanuel Kwabena Amin for his thesis on “Regulatory institutional environment and operational performance: The roles of governance mechanisms and structural network complexity”.
Women in AIB panel participants

Participants in a special collaborative panel session between AIB Africa and the Women in AIB Shared Interest Group.

  • Increasing Equity in Academia: Following on from last year’s conference, AIB Africa hosted a special panel on “Optimizing the Value Proposition of WAIB Africa to Business in Africa: The Female Perspective”. Panelists Beth Rose, Ogechi Adeola and Adun Okupe shared their experiences as women in academia and business and sowed the seed for future collaboration, networking, and mentoring opportunities for women in the chapter.
  • Celebrating Local Culture, International Achievement: To close off the 2019 conference, AIB Africa held a Gala night to enjoy some of Ghana’s rich culture, food, and music. This celebration featured special awards presentations to AIB Africa’s founding executive team, Professor Abel Kinoti and Theresa Onaji-Benson, for all their efforts in establishing a strong foundation for the chapter. Prizes were also presented for Best Paper to Beatrice Maisori, Best Track Chair to Peta Thomas, and Best Reviewer to Carl Tornam Duho.

Chapter: Central and Eastern Europe
Theme: International Business in a Dynamic Environment
Location: Kaunas University of Technology (Kaunas, Lithuania)
Focus areas: Digitalization, innovation, entrepreneurship

  • Pre-Conference Publication Prep: For the first time ever, our chapter was able to offer a full schedule of pre-conference activities in 2019. This additional programming gave our members a unique opportunity to consult with the editorial teams of top IB journals in order to develop and strengthen their current research projects. The day’s events included the Journal of International Business Policy (JIBP) PDW organized by Sarianna Lundan (University of Bremen, Germany), Journal of East European Management Studies (JEEMS) PDW organized by Thomas Steger, and a Doctoral Colloquium, organized by Daria Podmetina (Lappeenranta Lahti University of Technology, Finland).
  • Crossing Boundaries with Timely Topics: Digital transformation wasn’t just a focus of AIB-CEE’s 2019 chapter conference, it is one of the main issues of local and international business, while the digital economy is a key priority for governments across central and eastern Europe. We believe that this year’s meeting had an exceptional impact within this domain, as evidenced by the range of presentations offered: 116 scientific papers submitted by 283 authors from 36 countries. This work represents a vital step toward stimulating the exchange of new insights and fostering collaboration among scholars, governmental bodies, and business representatives.
participants in AIB's Central and Eastern Europe 2019 Chapter Conference

The Central and Eastern Europe was well represented at the 2019 chapter conference with participants from 36 different countries.

  • A Spectrum of Expertise: The conference’s plenary sessions gave attendees an opportunity to hear expert insights on a wide variety of trending topics. Jan-Erik Vahlne (University of Gothenburg, Sweden), spoke on “Digitalization, People and Multinational Business Enterprise Evolution;  Ilan Alon (University of Agder, Norway), spoke on “Globalization of EM Firms: The Case of China”; and Pervez Ghauri (University of Birmingham, UK), provided his thoughts on “Changing Landscape of International Business: The Impact of Populist Governments and BREXIT”.
  • Productive Panel Discussions: Special panels were dedicated to a variety of issues: “Academia, Business and Institutions: Challenges and Opportunities for Innovation Cooperation in the CEE region” was chaired by Łukasz Puślecki; “Business and Academia Perspective on the Dynamic Environment”, was chaired by Mirosław Jarosiński; “Digitalization and Transformation of the Industry: Current State and Future Trends”,waschaired by Mantas Vilkas; and the round table session on “Perspectives on Online International Business Education: Best Practices, Trends and Technologies” was led by William Newburry.

Chapter: US-Northeast
Theme: Disrupt or be Disrupted
Location: Rutgers University (Newark, NJ, USA)
Focus Areas: Skepticism of globalization, technological developments, international expansion

  • Dynamic Discussions of Disruption: New technological developments in the domains of artificial intelligence, blockchain, the Internet of things, and big data, are disrupting existing business models and providing new avenues for firms to do business domestically and in global markets. This conference provided a platform for scholarly discourse on the conference theme.
  • Increasing Your Prospects for Publication: AIB Fellow John Cantwell moderated a special panel where Editors from the Academy of Management Review, Journal of World Business, Global Strategy Journal, and an area editor of Journal of International Business Policy shared behind-the-scenes in-sights on the process of selecting papers for publication. Valuable strategies for avoiding common pitfalls and desk rejection were discussed during the Q&A.
sharon alvarez delivering a keynote address at the 2019 US-Northeast chapter conference

Sharon Alvarez delivers a compelling keynote presentation on how business disruptions are created, not discovered.

  • World-Class Keynote Speakers: Sharon Alvarez, the University of Pittsburgh’s Thomas W. Olofson Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies, discussed how disruptions are created not discovered. AIB Fellow, Yves Doz, INSEAD University Professor Emeritus, also contributed extensively to our discussion of disruptions, multinationals, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and what these new disruptive trends mean to the scale and scope of business.
  • Special Joint Conference Announced: AIB US-NE and AIB Africa will hold their first-ever joint conference at United States International University-Africa, January 6-9, 2020. This special joint event will bring academics and scholars from around the world to Nairobi, Kenya to discuss the conference theme: Facing The Disruptive Forces in Global Business: The Way Forward. With Nairobi being at the forefront of expanding international business, this conference will explore how a country can apply disruptive forces to their advantage.

 Chapter: US-Southeast
Theme: Liability of Foreignness in the Digital Age
Location: University of Texas at San Antonio (San Antonio, Texas, USA)
Focus Areas: FDI, HRM, management, marketing, IB education, government-institutions

  • Global presence: The Academy of International Business Southeast US chapter hosted its annual conference in San Antonio, Texas (October 17-19, 2019).  The conference had 185 registrants, which included attendees from Nigeria, Uganda, Pakistan, Brazil, Peru, Columbia, Canada, Australia among others countries.
  • Professional Development Workshops: the AIB US-SE conference opened with a Doctoral Consortium (led by Drs. Tamer Cavusgil and Ilke Kardes) and an All-Faculty Consortium (led by Drs. Mike Peng and Stewart Miller).  Also, Dr. Dina Krasikova led a Research Methods Workshop on Multi-Level Modeling, which was followed by the opening reception that featured Tex-Mex cuisine and a thrilling mariachi performance.
mike peng keynote presentation at aib us-southeast chapter conference

AIB Fellow Mike Peng leads an All-Faculty Consortium at AIB US-Southeast’s 2019 conference.

  • Distinguished Presenters: AIB US-SE was excited to have Dr. Michael Hitt serve as the keynote speaker.  He delivered his thought-provoking presentation on institutions to a standing-room-only audience.  The conference also featured an AIB Fellows Panel, in which Drs. Marjorie Lyles, Tamer Cavusgil, and Mike Peng joined Mike Hitt to discuss IB issues and offer scholarly advice.
  • X-Culture Case Challenge: In its 7th year as an AIB US-SE partner, X-Culture – led by Drs. Alex Assouad and Vas Taras – provided an exciting opportunity for undergraduates from around the globe to work together on an IB case challenge with real-world implications.  The AIB US-SE and X-Culture were extremely grateful to Rackspace Corporation for serving as the subject company and for providing an exciting tour of their headquarters.