Calls for papers

 

International Journal of Trade and Global Markets

 

Special issue on: "East meets West: the Choice of Optimal Socio-economic and Business Models for Emerging Economies in the Early 21st Century"

Guest Editors:
Dr. Mark Esposito and Dr. Patrick O’Sullivan, Grenoble School of Management, France

This special issue will bring together the thoughts and analyses of scholars from a range of disciplines and of differing political convictions to address the question of what sort(s) of socio-economic model and approach to business strategy could be defined as optimal and competitively compelling for emerging economies in the early 21st century.

The 1990s and the early 2000s saw the heyday of popularity of an unreconstructed American-inspired capitalist approach to economic development which crystallised in the so-called Washington Consensus or in what in Europe is described as Ultraliberalism: unregulated or minimally regulated private enterprise operating in an unregulated market. This view allegedly offers the fastest path to development and to the creation of business opportunities. The focus is on the micro level whereas value is created through the narrow and ruthless maximisation of profits.

Company Social Responsibility is in Friedman’s very own words “unadulterated socialism”. The popularity of the ultra-liberalism which dominated in political, economic and business circles has been seriously tarnished, starting at least from the ignominious collapse of Enron in 2002 (which together with other lesser scandals called into question the effects of the ruthless pursuit of the profit goal at micro level), culminating in the financial crisis of 2008, and still ongoing – which is in the nature of a much more serious systemic or macro level challenge to the ultraliberal capitalist model. As a side effect of this narrow view of the fundamental nature of business, many countries have also suffered from diminished competitiveness and consequent impoverishment of their social, economic and political levers.

The result has been a puncturing of the blind faith in privatisation and markets, and a revival of interest in alternative approaches of a more socio-economic orientation to a certain type of organizational governance, especially in emerging economies and in Europe .

In Europe this takes the form of a reassertion of the merits of the much vaunted but not so easily defined European Social Model (also known as the Social Market Economy); while in the Far East the Chinese economic miracle has focused attention on another form of mixed socialist/market economic model, in this case associated with a one party state political régime.

The purpose of this special issue is to bring together contributions from political economists and business strategists on the question of the impact of these various socio-economic approaches to economic and business development, both at micro and macro levels. It is also to see whether, from the collection of papers received, there will be any discernable consensus emerging on what may be considered an optimal model for socio-economic and business organisation in emerging economies which seek development, establishment of proper competitiveness mechanisms, and consequent sustained escape from poverty. Papers with quite different points of view are very acceptable as the purpose is above all to stimulate debate and reflection on these issues after a decade and a half of effective “dogmatic slumber”. Papers may be quantitative or qualitative, conceptual and empirical in nature, and contributions from all corners of the world are strongly encouraged.

Subject Coverage
Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• Macroeconomics policies
• Microeconomics
• The determinants of competitiveness at the macroeconomic as well as microeconomic level
• Business strategy and its relationship to competitiveness
• Political economy
• Economics and strategy and relationship between prosperity and de-growth
• Understanding of social market economy and its integration with existing economic models
• Examples of successful cases of socio-economic development from emerging economies
• Bottom of the pyramid within a European social model – is this a viable conceptual context?

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. (N.B. Conference papers may only be submitted if the paper was not originally copyrighted and if it has been completely re-written).

All papers are refereed through a peer review process. A guide for authors, sample copies and other relevant information for submitting papers are available on the Author Guidelines page

Important Dates

Deadline for submission of papers: 5 March, 2012 (extended)