Sustainability, Institutions, and Internationalization in Emerging Markets: Role of Sustainable Innovation for Sustainable World Development

Firm innovation and internationalization in emerging markets are intertwined with sustainability and the need for sustainable world development. The economic dimension of sustainability focuses on increased ROI, revenue and market share increases, lower costs, reduced risk, etc. The environmental dimension encompasses activities to preserve, protect, conserve and restore ecosystems and natural resources (e.g., climate change policies, preservation of natural resources, and minimization and prevention of toxic wastes). The social dimension addresses conditions and actions that specifically affect humanity (e.g., poverty, unemployment, education, health, human rights, etc.). Sustainability is critical for the developing world to ensure long-term business success while significantly contributing towards sustainable world development through a healthy environment and a stable society. Institutions, both formal and informal, facilitate or hinder sustainable business practices. Hence the need to incorporate the institutional lens, consisting of regulatory, cognitive and normal dimensions, in exploring sustainable business practices in emerging markets (Scott, 1995) [1]

In this special issue of the IJoEM, we intend to raise questions of sustainability, institutions and  internationalization in emerging economies akin to those raised by Peng, Wang, and Jiang (2008) [2]: (1) What drives firm strategy in emerging markets? (2) What role do sustainable business practices and innovation play in firm success and failure? and 3) “How to play the game, when the rules of the game are changing and not completely known?” (Peng et al., 2008). Any contribution that furthers these topics, or related ones, in the context of MNCs in emerging markets is most welcome. In line with the above topic, we are editing a special issue of the IJoEM examining these issues. The special issue will feature the best papers from the Academy of International Business Southeast (AIB-SE) chapter meetings to be held in Miami, Florida in October 2014as well as submissions in response to the general call for papers.

Potential Topics of Interest (among others)

We welcome papers within the broadly defined subject theme area from all the major disciplines in business and management studies, including: strategy, international business, organizational behavior and cross-cultural management, marketing, operations and decision sciences, finance and accounting, international trade and business economics.  Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Sustainability as a driver for innovation, growth and internationalization in developed vs emerging markets
• The role of institutions in promoting or constraining sustainable innovation in emerging markets
• Factors impacting the geographic clustering of internationalization efforts in sustainability worldwide
• The impact of distance on sustainable innovation and internationalization
• The effect of internationalization on sustainable innovation within a company or geographic region
• The role of institutions in promoting or constraining inward and outward internationalization
• Managerial mindsets needed for sustainable innovation and internationalization in emerging markets
• Cross-cultural collaboration in sustainable innovation efforts
• The marketing of sustainable innovations in emerging markets vis-à-vis the developed world
• Theoretical and Empirical contributions to the field of sustainability, institutions, and emerging markets

Deadlines, Submission Guidelines and Editors’ Information

Submissions for the special issue will be sourced from the best papers of the 2014 AIB-SE conference as well as responses to a general call. Based on editorial review, top rated papers will be invited to go through additional peer review to be considered for publication. Manuscripts for the special issue should be submitted through the IJoEM website: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ijoem.

The deadline for submissions is December 15, 2014.     

For general submission guidelines, see: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/products/journals/author_guidelines.htm?id=ijoem                                  

For additional information on the 2014 AIB-SE Conference, see: http://www.aibse.org/2014-annual-conference/2014-call-for-papers/

Dr. Anshu Arora (Special Issue Editor)

Associate Professor - Marketing

Director of Global Logistics & International   

Business Education and Research Center

Savannah State University, Georgia, USA

aroraa@savannahstate.edu

Phone: (912) 358-3387

Dr. Nicole Hartley (Special Issue Editor)

Lecturer - Marketing

University of Queensland Business School

University of Queensland,

Brisbane, Australia

n.hartley@business.uq.edu.au

Phone:  +61 7 3346 8022

Dr. Rangamohan V Eunni (Consulting Editor)

Professor & Chair, Management Department

Director: Emerging Markets Initiative

Williamson College of Business Administration

Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio

rveunni@ysu.edu

Phone: (330) 941-7180

References:

[1] Scott, W.R.1995. Institutions and Organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

[2] Peng, M., Wang, D, & Jiang, Y. (2008). An institution-based view of international business strat­egy: A focus on emerging economies. Journal of International Business Studies, 39, 920–926.