*Call for Program Submissions*
Navigating Institutions: Business, Government, and Civil Society Track
Academy of Management Africa Conference
January 7-10, 2013 / Johannesburg, South Africa
Much of the existing scholarship in organization and management studies is based on empirical and theoretical work that has its origins in developed economies and consolidated states. An important implication of this tradition is that the specific institutional arrangements we see in the "Western World" are used as benchmarks for examining phenomena in other parts of the world. Institutional contexts are often described in terms of the absence and weakness of the institutions we take for granted in Europe or North America. As such, we miss opportunities to engage diverging and maybe even more complex institutional conditions in the world. In so doing, we miss the opportunity to advance theory and better inform decision making.
We need to better understand how individuals and organizations shape and are shaped by the formal and informal institutions where the state fails to create and enforce commonly binding rules, or simply does not does not fulfill this role at all. Africa offers an interesting and dynamic environment to explore these issues. Those interested in contributing a paper or a symposium proposal to this track might examine such questions as:
· How do local firms develop strategic and organizational templates in contexts of institutional complexity? How do industries evolve in such contexts?
· How do organizations respond to the regulatory uncertainties and gaps in 'good governance' prevailing in many African states? How do these political strategies differ from strategies in other contexts?
· How do local firms react to increasing pressures and opportunities as they become more integrated into the global economy and/or are exposed to new corporate parents (e.g., Chinese companies)?
· How can public - private partnership mitigate risk in areas with weak states? What are the motivations, forms, dynamics, and both intended and unintended consequences of such partnerships?
· What is the role of international development agencies and supra-national organizations in developing institutional contexts? How do they foster market-based activity? What is the role of local civil society in building markets and shaping institutions?
Track 1 – Navigating Institutions: Business, Government, and Civil Society
African Track Chair: Ralph Hamann, University of Cape Town.
Northern Track Chair: Johanna Mair, Stanford University.
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"Navigating Institutions: Business, Government, and Civil Society" is one of four program themes presented at the Academy of Management Africa Conference. This conference will be held January 7-10, 2013 at the Gordon Institute of Business Science at the University of Pretoria in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The purpose of the Academy of Management Africa Conference is to bring Africa's unique capabilities and needs to the attention of the world's organization and management scholars and at the same time, to provide an opportunity for interested colleagues to collaborate and work on the many interesting theoretical and practical problems presented in Africa. For more information about the AOM Africa Conference, please visit the conference website: http://aom.org/africaconference or email the program development team at: globalconference@aom.pace.edu
The deadline for all program submissions is May 15, 2012 (5:00pm EDT). Please visit the conference website for details on submission policies and procedures.