04.08.2018
Strategic Management Society Extension Workshop
“Country and Business Strategies in the Era of De-Globalization for Transition Economies“
Hosted by The University of Sofia "St. Kliment Ohridski" /
Faculty of Economics and Business Administration
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Workshop Program
Letter of Invitation
Dear Colleagues,
Today's era of de-globalization and political populism has added a significant degree of both risk and uncertainty for organizations seeking to do operate regionally and globally. This is seen not just in the developed world context but is even more salient in regional and emerging markets. This extension provides an opportunity for scholars interested in transition economies to discuss the application of current research to current economic, social and political implications of the changes rocking the world and avenues for future scholarship that can help business and political leaders navigate the turbulent environment they are facing.
The location of the extension in Sofia, Bulgaria presents the opportunity to see how one country and region is facing and addressing these challenges and how strategy research can help to cope with these new challenges. The country has been undergoing a slow and painful transition to a market economy since the end of Communist rule. It is the poorest country within the EU with the highest rate of corruption and a strict anti-immigrant policy. Its trade is mainly intra-EU while its major FDI comes from EU multi-nationals. Its role within the EU is critical at this juncture not just as a representative of the post 1989 entrants but also because this year it held the presidency of the Council of the European Union and will be in a position to drive major changes.
Global strategy research can help to identify country strategies and business models for addressing many of the contradictions of the globalization and for making globalization promises come true. In this context, research evidence shows that multinational corporations are often perceived as ‘knowledge transfer’ agents contributing to the improvement of country- and local-specific institutional factors. The extension presents a real opportunity to get a first hand glimpse at how this is, or is not working, through an interaction of scholars, business people and policy makers.
The workshop program is purposefully structured around topics of country and business strategies to improve institutional and corporate governance exemplified by countries like Bulgaria, which has lessons that can be applied to other transition economies. We hope the workshop and the reflections in these directions will contribute to ensure that our discipline is academically ambitious and practically relevant for a key part of EU and that the lessons learned can have wider applicability in this era of political and social turbulence.
For registration please follow this link:
https://www.strategicmanagement.net/paris/extensions/sophia#/?_k=4w5dzd
Looking forward to seeing you at the workshop.
Best regards,
Timothy Devinney
Joachim Schwalbach
Miroslava Hristova
Teodor Sedlarski