Challenges of AACSB international accreditation for business schools in the United States and Europe

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB International) is committed to its role in setting worldwide standards to enhance the quality of management education. The organization is expanding its brand presence in Europe, where business schools are beginning to seek AACSB International accreditation. In the United States, an increase in the number of business schools seeking AACSB International accreditation is also occurring. Business school leaders not only see the transcendent importance of AACSB International accreditation; they also realize the challenges that are involved in the accreditation process. The focus of our discussion is on the challenges confronted by business schools in both the United States and Europe. We compare and contrast the challenges on both continents. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Cooperative strategies in international business and management: Reflections on the past 50 years and future directions

Over the past 50 years, cooperative forms of governance such as equity joint ventures and other strategic alliances have received tremendous attention in international business and management research. This article traces the history of this research over these past five decades with particular emphasis on the critical role that (Columbia) Journal of World Business has played in disseminating scholarly and managerial expertise on the successful management of cross-border, inter-firm collaboration. We highlight the evolution of interest in different contexts, phenomena, theories, and methodologies, along with the factors that have driven interest in these topics. Several suggestions for future research are also provided.     

Thirty years of international business scholarship in Canada

Upon the invitation of the Hemant Merchant (Editor, Strategic Management and International Business Division) I have reviewed the development of international business (IB) scholarship in Canada and related this to my own research conducted while I was a faculty member at the University of Winnipeg 1970–79, Concordia University 1979–80, Dalhousie University 1980–87, and the University of Toronto 1987–98. I have developed a retrospective analysis of four key thematic areas of research that are specifically relevant in a Canadian context. Copyright © 2008 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The federal role in international business education

Rapid global change, driven especially by the telecommunications, computing, and biotechnology industries, are rapidly transforming the international economic, social, and cultural landscape. Affected are both urban and rural businesses that face intense competition at home and abroad. If the United States is to continue to main‐tain a competitive advantage in the global marketplace, educational institutions must prepare the next generation of leaders for a pluralistic world in which multi‐culturalism dominates and international business education is multidimensional. This article addresses the role that the U.S. federal government has played in prepar‐ing international business graduates. It examines the contributions of two federal grant programs: the Business and International Education program and the Centers for International Business program, both authorized under the Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended. ? 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

International business education of the United States in the 1990s: Accredited vs. nonaccredited schools

This article reports the status of the international business education in the United States as of the 1990s and examines the differences between AACSB accredited and nonaccredited business schools regarding the various aspects of internationalization. The overall conclusions are that along all dimensions significant progress has been made regarding internationalization. Accredited schools have progressed further than nonaccredited schools. Nevertheless, many of the schools have not aimed very high or made major changes in structures, operations, incentives, or requirements of their college to accommodate internationalization. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Trends in international business,thought, and literature: The past and future of political analysis for international business

The literature on political risks (and opportunities) in international business has expanded far beyond its initial preoccupation with expropriation and instability in “third world,” developing countries. The literature has thus become more concerned with other types of government policies and with political conditions in “first world” and “second world” countries as well. In those respects, the literature has developed analytically and become of more widespread relevance to managerial issues in international business. This article reviews the topical coverage of the political risk literature of international business, and in addition it considers key analytical issues concerning the levels of analysis, theoretical content, and analytical methods that have been evident, as well as those that have been neglected. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A document analysis of drowning prevention education resources in the United States

There have been long-standing calls to better educate the public at large on risks of drowning; yet limited evaluation has taken place on current resources in circulation. The purpose of this qualitative research is to develop an understanding of the content in currently circulated drowning prevention resources in the United States. Data points (n = 451) consisting of specific content within 25 different drowning prevention educational resources were analyzed using document analysis methods; a grounded theory approach was employed to allow for categorical development and indexing of the data. Results revealed six emerging categories, including safety precautions (n = 152), supervision (n = 109), preventing access (n = 57), safety equipment (n = 46), emergency procedures (n = 46), and aquatic education (n = 41). Results provide an initial insight into the composition of drowning prevention resources in the United States and provide a foundation for future research.     

Twenty-five years of business systems research and lessons for international business studies

Since 1992, the national business systems (NBS) approach has been increasingly used to analyse not only firm characteristics, structures and strategies within NBS, but also the nature of international business and its interactions with both national and transnational institutions. In reviewing 25 years of NBS literature, we heed calls in IB journals urging researchers to use NBS notions and findings in IB research. Our systematic review of 96 articles analyses the patterns and contributions of NBS literature, revealing four thematic junctures: (1) comparative business systems, (2) firm internationalisation and the management/organisation inside MNCs, (3) the role of internationalisation in the development of organisational capabilities and innovation and (4) the emergence of transnational communities in and across firms and societies. Themes are described in terms of (a) the research questions (RQ) they focus on, (b) how NBS approach investigates the RQ and what are the major findings, (c) how IB frames and approaches the same RQ, (d) how does the NBS approach extend the perspectives of IB and (e) what are the problems faced by NBS in terms of developing further insights into the RQ. Our review contributes to the recent endeavour of IB research to institutionalism, encouraging a productive dialogue between IB and NBS research.     

Exporting and productivity in business services: Evidence from the United States

Does exporting make firms more productive, or do more productive firms choose to become exporters? This paper considers the link between exporting and productivity for a sample of firms in US business services. We find that larger, more productive firms are more likely to become exporters, but that these factors do not necessarily influence the extent of exporting. This conforms with previous literature that there is a self-selection effect into exporting. We then test for the effect of exporting on productivity levels after allowing for this selection effect. We model both the relationship between exporting and productivity, and a simultaneous relationship between export intensity and productivity after allowing for selection bias. In both cases we find an association, indicating that productivity is positively linked both to exporting and to increased exposure to international markets.     

A review of research methodologies in international business

What is common practice in international business (IB) research methodology? To address this question, we surveyed 1,296 empirical articles published in six leading international business journals from 1992 to 2003. The study uncovers state-of-the-art approaches in research methodologies in IB in terms of five major aspects: data collection methods, sample sources including sampled countries and subjects, sampling methods, sample sizes, and response rates. The results indicate that (1) mail questionnaire surveys dominate empirical research, (2) 60.9% of the studies use a one-country sample (88.9% from western countries), (3) 33.7% of the studies are based upon sample frames provided by third parties, and (4) the median sample size is 180 with an average response rate of 40.1%. Suggestions and recommendations are also provided to improve the methodological rigor of IB research.     

A new look at ethics in international business

In many countries there are stated rules that gift-giving and solicitation in business practice are unethical and prohibited. However, except for the American FCPA, all the rules and guidelines seem to govern only domestic business practices and there are no clear-cut rules for international business practices in this respect. This study investigates gift-giving and solicitation in international business practice, using the data collected from 111 New Zealand international business firms. The research findings show variable conduct and contradictory attitudes. These findings suggest that, with the variety of ethical standards and levels of morality which exist in different cultures, neither Deontology nor Utilitarianism could be the answer to the dilemma of ethics and pragmatism that faces today's international business managers. Instead, “Culturalism,” as developed in this study, should be the guiding principle to international business ethics.     

Determinants of bribery in international business

Levels of perceived bribe taking in 54 countries in two time periods were analyzed with respect to two independent variables—their level of human development measuring education, wealth, and health (Human Development Index) and the level of economic freedom measuring the extent to which a nation's economy is open to market forces. The results indicate that lower levels of bribe taking are associated with high human development and greater economic freedom. Developed countries that have shown improvements on the two variables over a five‐year period also show a reduction in their perceived levels of bribe taking. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.