Our Purpose: Fostering Impactful Research Through Methodological Rigor

Social science research is being placed under substantial criticism with regards to its replicability and validity, a development to which international business scholarship is not immune. To assist the IB community in addressing such concerns, the Academy of International Business’s Research Methods Shared Interest Group seeks to enhance the quality of both qualitative and quantitative research methods in international business scholarship by providing methodologically oriented services to the AIB community.

Specifically, the AIB RM-SIG co-operates with the Consortium for the Advancement of Research Methods and Analysis to offer research methods workshops and clinics at AIB’s annual meetings. These offerings are designed to assist AIB members not just with the enhancement of their current methodological knowledge and expertise, but also to improve the overall rigor, credibility and trustworthiness of IB scholarship. Via its Newsletters, the AIB RM-SIG also serves as the primary communication source for methods-specific information and current methodological issues, as well as aiming to stimulate debate about new approaches and developments.

How to Get Involved

Pre-Conference Workshops

At the upcoming 2019 AIB Annual Meeting in Copenhagen, the RM-SIG will offer 7 pre-conference workshops which (a) provide either an introduction or enhancement on topics like Structural Equation Modelling, Partial Least Squares Analysis, and Multi-level Modelling, (b) give guidance on how to write up the literature review for a paper based on qualitative research, or (c) explore the key principles for responsible research.

Research Methods Clinics

In addition to the workshops, the RM-SIG will also offer 12 methods clinics within the AIB conference program. These clinics offer a broad range of methodological topics such as data collection and questionnaires, hierarchical linear modelling, qualitative research, multi-level analysis, logistical and multiple regression, mixed methods, categorical data and survey design, among others. The clinics are designed to help scholars deal with specific methodological challenges and questions they have.

Both workshops and clinics are free of charge for AIB members, based on first-come-first-serve registration. They are led by leading scholars and methods experts, and provide an opportunity either to discuss or obtain feedback on methodology-related matters.

A detailed list of all RM-SIG activities offered in Copenhagen is available at aib.to/rmshop19 and aib.to/rmclinic19.