Theme and objectives
Theory and practice in the field of management have been challenged by the emergence of deep transitions such as those driven by globalization, the rise of social and environmental issues, and the diffusion of digital technologies. Events such as the ensuing geopolitical crises and the pandemic further contribute to spur management scholars to feel the call to produce impactful research with theoretical and managerial implications on the relationship between location and strategy (Bathelt and Li, 2022).
As a consequence, scholars and practitioners have been asked to design new business models and rethink value chains in a twofold direction (Mazutis et al., 2021). First, the relevance of local roots sheds light on the way people create and shape places, as much as places shape people and their organizations, suggesting a need to rethink how all lives ‘take place’ in places, as well as how all business happens in paces (Sternad et al., 2017). Second, a need for new interactions emerges, suggesting that businesses are deeply connected to their roots, that are their homes, from which they draw inspiration, identity, and sources of competitive advantage (Soderstrom and Weber, 2020).
Rediscovering local roots and specific assets, as well as developing new ways of interaction among the economic actors and their stakeholders, can help firms to design effective and innovative strategies to create and share values (Mair et al., 2016), with positive economic, social, and environmental impacts (Attig and Brockman, 2017).
Several research questions stimulate an interdisciplinary debate in the field of management. These questions relate to the ability of firms and managers to move, among the others, between global and local relations, near/physical and far/digital interactions, reshoring and offshoring activities, omnichannel competition and retail interactions, market transactions and system operating structures, traditional and innovative approaches, social/local benefits and financial/global performances, business ethics and ethics in business.
In the same way, different theories, methodological approaches, and units of analysis are required to generate scientific research that has an impact not only in terms of theoretical contribution but also on the real business world.
References
ATTIG N., BROCKMAN P. (2017), “The Local Roots of Corporate Social Responsibility”, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 142, No. 3, pp. 479-496.
BATHELT H., LI P. (2022). “The interplay between location and strategy in a turbulent age”. Global Strategy Journal, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 451-471.
MAIR J., WOLF M., SEELOS C. (2016), “Scaffolding: A Process of Transforming Patterns of Inequality in Small-Scale Societies”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 59, No. 6, pp. 2021-2044.
MAZUTIS D., SLAWINSKI N., PALAZZO G. (2021), “A Time and Place for Sustainability: A Spatiotemporal Perspective on Organizational Sustainability Frame Development”, Business and Society, Vol. 60, No. 7, pp. 1849-1890.
SODERSTROM S.B., WEBER K. (2020), “Organizational Structure from Interaction: Evidence from Corporate Sustainability Efforts”, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 65, No. 1, pp. 226-271.
STERNAD D., KENNELLY J.J., BRADLEY F. (2017), Digging deeper: How purpose-driven enterprises create real value, Routledge, London.
The Conference welcomes both theoretical and empirical contributions, although contributions are expected to provide implications for theory and practice.
Local roots: “Not knowing where you are, you can lose your soul or your soil, your life or your way home”
Wendell Berry, Poetry and Place (in Standing by Words)
Topics
Based on this general idea, we welcome full papers and extended abstracts that highlight the function of territorial or cultural roots and of operational interactions in management, to shed light on phenomena such as:
- Big data and business analytics for process integration
- Brand, trust, and communication strategies boosting local roots
- Business ethics, hybrid organizations, and B-Corps
- Business model innovation and sustainability
- Capturing and theorizing local roots and interactions in management inquiry
- Complexity, supply chains and cross-border management developed through interactions
- Coopetition, ambidexterity, glocal strategies and paradoxes in management research
- Corporate finance, firm growth, and resilience
- Corporate and business strategies in a world of interactions
- Corporate governance across legal, economic, and cultural local contexts
- Equality, diversity, inclusivity, and respect in management practice and academic institutions
- Innovations and legacies of the pandemic and geopolitical crisis for leveraging local roots
- Local values, local identity, and reputation in management research
- Making resources and dynamic capabilities actionable through interactions
- Managing interactions through artificial intelligence, internet-of-things and blockchains
- Modern slavery and social cohesion
- Non-market, social, and political strategies rediscovered through local roots and interactions
- Redefining the concept of success and performance rediscovering local roots
- Relevance of the local roots in the age of Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs)
- Stakeholders, public engagement, and the Agenda 2030
- Strategic entrepreneurship in the era of interactions
- Strategies of platforms, ecosystems, networks, and strategic alliances in the age of local roots
- Sustainable vs. temporary competitive advantage through local roots
- Trust, confidence, and relationship quality within and between organizations