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International Association for Business & Society 2018 conference: Call for Proposals

Theme: Making the Invisible Visible in Business & Society Research

Hong Kong, June 7-10, 2018

Submission Deadline: December 8, 2017

(Apologies for cross-postings)

One of the most dynamic cities in the world, Hong Kong is a study in contrasts. A rich city, it also has a substantial population of workers from other countries who do the jobs that are largely hidden from public view: childcare, manufacturing, and domestic service to name but three. It is a city of finance and a city of massive income inequality, a city of highly paid workers and of people who are trafficked for their labor.

The conference theme is an invitation to reflect on our own thinking regarding the relationship between business and society by considering what we may not be seeing in our research and teaching. Making the invisible visible can include:

• considering stakeholders that heretofore have not been taken into account in our field's theoretical and empirical work,
• questioning why some B&S topics are more visible than others,
• embracing creative approaches to business & society research-perhaps from core disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, political science, history, and literature-that we have not used, and
• pondering our own research, and the implicit ideologies and points of view that function as frames that we largely are unaware of and that in turn affect what and how we engage in research.

Proposals are invited for the following session types:

• Pitch sessions, which allow you to engage in discussion with others about a research idea that you are just starting to explore.
  
• Discussions, in which the author(s) share an idea that is in the early to middle stages of development but is not yet paper-ready. [Note: There will be no AV for discussion and pitch sessions!]
  
• Papers on a topic related to business & society using a variety of research paradigms.
  
• Symposia, which can focus on a particular area of business and society research or on a specific teaching-related topic.
  
• Workshops, working meetings that focus on a specific research or teaching challenge.
  
• Innovative sessions, with activities/experiential exercises that facilitate reflection on the conference theme.  
  

The conference can't happen without all of you! Please consider attending (of course!), submitting proposals, and signing up to review. The YMCA Salisbury, a four-star hotel in the vibrant Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) section of Kowloon Island, is the site for IABS 2018. TST is centrally located, close to Victoria Harbor and the world-famous Star Ferry that will bring you to Hong Kong Island in just a few minutes.  

More information about the conference, including submission guidelines, accommodations, social events, and logistics will be available soon at http://iabs.net/Conference.aspx. The submission deadline is December 8, 2017.

Please contact the conference chair, Harry Van Buren (University of New Mexico) at hjvb3@unm.edu with any questions.