CFP: Histories of Business Knowledge

October 16, 2018January 3, 2019 Christina

PDW – Histories of Business Knowledge

Thursday, March 14, 2019, 1 to 4pm

Hilton Cartagena de Indias, Avenida Almirante Brion, El Laguito,

Cartagena de Indias, 130001, Colombia

Organizers: Christina Lubinski (cl.mpp@cbs.dk) & Bill Foster (wfoster@ualberta.ca); Organized under the auspice of the BHC workshop committee; supported by the Copenhagen Business School “Rethinking History at Business Schools”-Initiative

Deadline for submissions: Friday, February 8, 2019

Knowledge is a central asset in business. Companies and organizations accumulate a pool of knowledge, whether it is knowledge about their customers’ needs and wants, their business environment, or the skills and experience of their employees. They also engage with a variety of different kinds of knowledge, such as explicit, formalized, or tacit knowledge and knowledge embedded in skills and bodies. The different ways in which businesspeople gather, share and capitalize on knowledge is a crucial competitive advantage (or disadvantage) in all market endeavors. Knowledge is also a product. Knowledge-focused industries—such as consulting, academia and education, accounting, IT or legal services—sell innovative intellectual and educational products and services on a market for knowledge.

In this paper development workshop, we discuss work-in-progress papers addressing business knowledge from a historical perspective. We welcome contributions about the development of business knowledge over time, be that in the context of commercial enterprises, non-for-profit organizations, or educational institutions broadly construed. We specifically encourage historians who are interested in the development of curricula of business knowledge, their pedagogy, research endeavors; or in knowledge stakeholders, their politics, goals, relationships and work processes.

Also, we welcome and encourage interested contributors to submit papers that fit with the Academy of Management Learning and Education (AMLE) special issue “New Histories of Business Schools and How They May Inspire New Futures”. The workshop will provide a setting where authors can discuss paper ideas and/or draft papers for this issue. Christina Lubinski, special issue Guest Editor, and Bill Foster, Editor of AMLE, will provide feedback and answer questions related to the special issue. Deadline for submissions to the special issue is March 2020. For details, see the official call for papers: https://aom.org/uploadedFiles/Publications/AMLE/History_of_bus_schools_for_web.pdf

We believe that historical research on business knowledge makes valuable contributions to research in business history, management, and education. It will also generate valuable insights for policy makers, managers and academics. Examining how our historical understanding of business knowledge foregrounds some aspects of these complex phenomena while downplaying others encourages discussions about these choices, critical and revisionist histories and new lines of thinking. This workshop is an opportunity to “test-drive” innovative critical arguments and taken-for-granted barriers to change within the complex and intertwined environment of universities, the business community, government, and civil society. We are also keen to engage with how these discussions may stimulate innovations in the way we configure education and, consequently, how we teach, conduct research, view our academic profession, and relate to our stakeholders.

We welcome work-in-progress at all stages of development. Interested scholars may submit two types of submissions for discussion: full draft papers (of up to 8,000 words) or extended abstracts/paper ideas (of 1,000 to 3,000 words). The workshop will take place immediately before the BHC meeting and at the same location, the Hilton Cartagena de Indias. Paper selection and registration is separate from the annual meeting. Participation in both BHC meeting and workshop is possible and encouraged. The PDW is part of the “Rethinking History at Business Schools”-Initiative by Copenhagen Business School.

If you are interested in participating, please submit your paper draft (of up to 8,000 words) or paper idea (1,000 to 3,000 words) and a one-page CV to Christina Lubinski (cl.mpp@cbs.dk) by Friday, February 8, 2019. Feel free to contact the organizers with your paper ideas if you are interested in early feedback or want to inquire about the fit of your idea with this PDW.

All Academy Event on economic nationalism

August 9, 2017August 7, 2017 Steph

On Sunday the Management History division at the Academy of Management hosted an all academy symposium on historical perspectives on business and management in an age of rising nationalism.

The panel comprised of Dan Wadhwani as the host and moderator, Matthias Kipping (York University), Takafumi Kurosawa (Kyoto University) and myself, Stephanie Decker (Aston University).

We argued that history can provide management scholars with a unique lens for understanding the current rise of nationalism, and the choices that businesses, managers, and entrepreneurs face in response to those changes. In part, this is because both supporters and critics of the current wave of nationalism point to historical examples and their consequences in justifying their positions. But, even more so, historical waves of globalization and de-globalization allow us a mirror for reflecting on the options and consequences that both policymakers and managers face today.

For instance, on the eve of World War I, much of the world economy was economically integrated, with the relatively free mobility of firms, people, and capital across borders. This earlier wave of global integration fell apart with the rise of nationalism and nationalist policies during the interwar period, and a different kind of globally integrated economy had to be rebuilt by policymakers and businesspeople in the post-World War II world.

We discussed not only potential lessons of earlier waves of nationalism de-globalization, but also the uses of the past by politicians, and the way in which corporate strategies can be shaped in the long term by historical experiences.

Ultimately, the discussion revolved around the relevance of history for understanding managerial choices and consequences in the face of nationalism in our own time.

History & Policy Brexit event

March 20, 2017March 16, 2017 Steph

Commonwealth Trade after Brexit: historical reflections

History & Policy‘s Global Economics and History Forum

Wednesday, 15 March 2017 from 14:00 to 17:00 (GMT)

London, United Kingdom

Event Details

Based on historical experiences, what economic opportunities might the Commonwealth of Nations offer a post-Brexit Britain?

As the UK seeks a new place in the global economy post-Brexit, the Commonwealth of Nations is often touted as a possible alternative. In a week in which Commonwealth leaders meet the Commonwealth Trade Conference, historians, policy makers and other experts meet to consider the potential of Commonwealth economic relations in historical perspective.

CHAIR: Dr Marc-William Palen, Lecturer, University of Exeter and Co-director, Global Economics and History Forum (History & Policy)

SPEAKERS:

Tim Hewish, Director of Policy & Research, The Royal Commonwealth Society and Co-Founder, Commonwealth Exchange

Dr Surender Munjal, Director, James E. Lynch India and South Asia Business Centre, University of Leeds

Dr Andrew Dilley, Senior Lecturer, University of Aberdeen and Co-director, Global Economics and History Forum (History & Policy)

Be sure to register if you’d like to attend. Only a few spots left!