Call for Papers
[Expired] Call for Papers for Thematic Issues on:
- Transforming Regions: Policies and Planning for People and Places Final date of submission of papers: June 15, 2024
- Risk Management Practices of European Companies in Times of High Global Uncertainty Final date of submission of full papers: March 10, 2024
- Sustainability in the New Consumer Era Final date of submission of papers: May 15, 2023 (deadline extended)
- Internationalization and Foreign Direct Divestment Flows in Central and Eastern European Countries [CEE] Final date of submission of papers: July 31, 2022
Transforming Regions: Policies and Planning for People and Places
Regions are always transforming. Global megatrends transform the way we live, work, interact, finance, produce and consume. At the same time, these long-run transformations are punctuated by events both large and small. We can think here about how the Covid-19 global health crisis and war in Ukraine have disrupted the social, economic, political and environmental landscape. Nationally, regionally and locally, new governments, policies, plans, developments, along with social movements and mobilisation around everyday issues of identity, representation, inclusion/exclusion, citizenship, all lead to change or transition in one form or other. Typically, many such attempts at transforming regions are also met with resistance, with interests keen to preserve the status quo or propose their own alternative changes.
Today, transitions to a new global order, to a post-Covid world and toward net zero dominate academic and public policy debates. Economic change is framed around resistance to support for growth/de-growth, globalisation/de-globalisation, capitalist/anti-capitalist futures. Industrial transition focuses attention on decarbonisation and carbon-neutral economies, technological change, and for many parts of the world, Industry 4.0. Societal changes in many regions are leading to aging populations, shifting electoral patterns, and new forms of exclusion. Add in the ever-changing dynamics between public/private, urban/rural, and the idea that we are living in ‘turbulent times’ is clear to see. The question is where do we go from here? More critically, what transitions should we be encouraging, and which require intervention to promote alternatives.
This thematic issue on transforming regions is dedicated to examine the topics which were discussed in the RSA23 annual conference and is a timely opportunity for you to present your point of view on these important issues. Regional research has a key role to play in revealing the opportunities, impacts and challenges of these transitions on people and places. This issue will welcome contributions which also seek to improve the “what” and “how” of regional policies and planning, to ensure that transitions deliver for people and places. Researchers are invited to submit quantitative and qualitative studies as well as systematic literature reviews that contribute to answering the relevant research questions in the topics below.
Tentative Topics
The major focus should be on (but is not limited to) the following issues:
- Regional innovation and technological change
- Demography, labour markets and migrations
- Financing regional transformations
- Entrepreneurship and innovation
- Spatial economy, infrastructure and housing
- Regional inequalities and EU cohesion policy
- Agglomeration, clusters and externalities
- Value chains and international trade
- Sustainable tourism
- The future of EU, Brexit and W Balkans
- Climate change, energy and environmental sustainability
- Globalization and de-globalization
- Governance, policies and institutional change
- Populism, nationalism and social change
- Inclusive growth
- Future of metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas
Time Frame
- Launch for the Call for Papers: July, 2023
- Final date of submission of papers: June 15, 2024 (deadline extended)
- Thematic Issue is to be finalized in March 2025
The papers should be between 6,000 and 8,000 words.
Guest Editors:
Sonja Šlander Wostner
School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana
sonja.slander@ef.uni-lj.si
Vasja Rant
School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana
vasja.rant@ef.uni-lj.si
Further information about the Call for Papers may be obtained by contacting any one of the GE team members.
Submission Rules
Submissions should be made through the EBR’s Editorial Manager platform (EM) (https://www.editorialmanager.com/ebr/). When submitting to this Call for Papers, authors should select “RSA Thematic Issue (Transforming Regions)” in the EM. Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the EBR’s Author Guidelines (https://www.ebrjournal.net/home/author_guidelines.html).
Risk Management Practices of European Companies in Times of High Global Uncertainty
Background
In recent years, global uncertainties have been steadily increasing. We are witnessing rising geopolitical and sociopolitical risks, environmental challenges, currency volatilities, technological uncertainties and the erosion of the already weak foundations of the post-war multilateral Bretton Woods system (UNCTAD, 2023).
EU member states are highly open economies that are intensively integrated into European and global value chains. The domestic markets of most Member States are relatively small, and companies are forced to enter other markets, either within the EU or at the global level. Therefore, risk management in global markets emerges as one of the most important success factors for internationalised European companies (Braito et al., 2021). Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are particularly vulnerable and disadvantaged in such situations, due to limited options to diversify their business activities and tougher financial conditions to manage risks (Hsu et al., 2013). Resource constraints may also limit SMEs' ability to engage heavily in a foreign market and they are often less willing to share control with a partner, especially if they are family-owned and/or owner-managed (Laufs & Schwens, 2014).
The global economic and financial crisis of 2008/2009 reminded us that most corporate failures are the result of poor risk management (Rutledge, 2009). It was a painful lesson to understand that none of the tasks of corporate governance is more critical than risk oversight (Zhivitskaya & Power, 2016). However, it seems that companies have not properly responded with the implementation of suitable risk management practices (Gennaro & Nietlispach, 2021). Companies implement risk management systems (RMS) depending on their needs and choices. We currently know that risk indicators have to be linked to a strategy to help managers monitor and evaluate organisational progress towards strategic goals (Arena & Arnaboldi, 2014). Also, the recent revision of the well-known COSO framework (COSO, 2017) highlights the importance of integrating enterprise risk management (ERM) with the company’s strategy and performance (Dvorski Lacković et al., 2022). However, studies show that RMS is still mainly implemented to meet regulatory requirements (Lundqvist, 2015) and not strategic alignment (Peljhan et al., 2018), therefore the potential effect of strategy remains insufficiently researched and offers avenues for further research (Peljhan & Marc, 2021). Future studies should inform risk managers especially on how they can achieve integration of RMS with strategy, leading to the risk based (strategic) performance management (Smart & Creelman, 2013).
The US-China trade war and rising protectionism, the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions and the energy crisis following Russian aggression in Ukraine have further exposed vulnerability to global supply chain disruptions and intensified backshoring, friendshoring (i.e., shifting supply chains to "trusted countries") and decoupling of European companies' value chains (Eppinger et al., 2021). Given current global developments, geopolitical risks are becoming a critical aspect of supply chain risk management. In addition to the general increase in political risk exposure, the nature of political risk differs significantly among emerging markets (Ali et al., 2021). Furthermore, cultural risk can increase the liability of foreignness or adversity that the investing company must overcome when expanding abroad (López-Duarte & Vidal-Suárez, 2010). Consequently, the risk management practises applied differ from market to market. However, in most companies, political risk management is reactive and not linked to ERM (Jones & McCaffrey, 2021). Important questions are how to be proactive, take a cross-functional approach to political risk management and integrate it into ERM.
Given the ambitious goal of making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, as set out in the European Green Deal, managing climate-related and environmental (C&E) risk becomes central to the adjustment process toward a lower-carbon and more environmentally sustainable economy and to the medium- to long-term resilience of a companies' business model (ECB, 2020). On the one hand, companies need to address exposure to physical risks related to climate change - both extreme weather events and gradual climate changes - as well as environmental degradation, while on the other hand, the adaptation process toward a lower-carbon and more environmentally sustainable economy gives rise to transition risks, e.g., from relatively abrupt adoption of climate and environmental policies, technological advances, or changes in market sentiment and preferences. The latter aspect is a particular challenge for internationalised companies operating in multiple countries, as climate and environmental policies change rapidly and approaches differ between countries.
With multilateralism weakening, companies are increasingly relying on regional economic integration processes. As Alday (2022) warned, multinationals that regionalize to take advantage of the lower risk that regional economic integration initiatives offer may, on the other hand, increase their regional risk by deepening their commitment and embeddedness in regional business networks. Such a regional risk paradox raises questions about the balance between regional value chains and global diversification, and about the benefits and pitfalls of friendshoring and backsourcing strategies. These increasing global uncertainties also exacerbate key questions in the VUCA environment: How to manage the trade-offs between risks and opportunities when entering or remaining in foreign markets; how to make decisions about which risks to accept, mitigate, transfer, or reduce; how to measure the success of risk management; how to raise SMEs' awareness of the importance of risk management without discouraging them from entering new markets (Fridgeirsson, Kristjansdottir & Ingason, 2021).
Illustrative Topics
This thematic issue will give preference to papers on risk management approaches and cases of European companies trying to enter or maintain their presence in foreign markets. The scope of this thematic issue includes, but is not limited to, the following aspects of risk management:
- Supply chain risk management
- Challenges of integrating SMEs into global value chains in the age of Industry 4.0.
- Geopolitical risk management and political risk insurance
- Managing economic and financial risks
- Managing C&E (climate-related and environmental), ESG (environmental, social and governance), technological and cultural risks
- Resilience to global systemic risks
- Enterprise risk managemnet (ERM)
- Risk management system and strategy
- The role of regional integration processes in risk management
Submissions of case studies with clear practical implications for balancing risks and opportunities and relating them to strategic decision making are particularly encouraged. Statistical analyses, surveys, mathematical/econometric models, concept papers or literature reviews are also welcome.
Important dates
- Submission of full papers: March 10, 2024 (deadline extended)
- Revision period: March 2024 to August 2024
- Notification of acceptance: October 2024
- Expected publication: December 2024
Submission process
Submission of full papers
Submissions of full papers must be made via EBR online submission system (Editorial Manager (EM) platform) by March 10, 2024. Please indicate that the paper is intended for this thematic issue (please select “Risk management practices Thematic issue” in the EM:
https://www.editorialmanager.com/ebr/
All submissions should be prepared for blind review according to the EBR author guidelines (https://www.ebrjournal.net/home/author_guidelines.html).
Submissions will be subject to the standard journal's double-blind peer-review process.
For questions about the thematic issue, please contact the guest editors:
Guest Editors:
Katja Zajc Kejžar
University of Ljubljana, School of Economics and Business
katja.zajc@ef.uni-lj.si
University of Ljubljana, School of Economics and Business
darja.peljhan@ef.uni-lj.si Peter Trkman
University of Ljubljana, School of Economics and Business
peter.trkman@ef.uni-lj.si Anastas Vangeli
University of Ljubljana, School of Economics and Business
anastas.vangeli@ef.uni-lj.si Danijela Miloš Sprčić
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics & Business
dmilos@efzg.hr
References
- Alday, S. S. (2022). Regional integration and the regional risk paradox. European Management Journal, 40(2022), 793–808.
- Ali, T., Butt, A., Arslan, A., Tarba, S. Y., Sniazhko, S. A., & Kontkanen, M. (2021). International projects and political risk management by multinational enterprises: insights from multiple emerging markets. International Marketing Review, 38(6).
- Arena, M., & Arnaboldi M. (2014). Risk and Performance Management: Are They Easy Partners? Management Research Review, 37(2), 152-166.
- Braito, N., Ceccanti, D., & Huynh-Olesen, D. (2021). Challenges and concerns for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) doing business in third countries. European Parliament Policy Department for External Relations Directorate General for External Policies of the Union. https://doi.org/10.2861/19217
- COSO - Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2017). Enterprise risk management integrating with strategy and performance. Executive summary. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2021.2011192
- Dvorski Lacković, I., Kurnoga, N., & Miloš Sprčić, D. (2022). Three-factor model of Enterprise Risk Management implementation: exploratory study of non-financial companies. Risk Management, 24, 101–122.
- ECB (2020). Guide on climate-related and environmental risks. Supervisory expectations relating to risk management and disclosure. https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/ecb/pub/pdf/ssm.202011finalguideonclimate-relatedandenvironmentalrisks~58213f6564.en.pdf
- Eppinger, P., Felbermayr, G., Krebs, O., & Kukharskyy, B. (2021). Decoupling Global Value Chains. CESifo Working Paper No. 9079.
- Fridgeirsson, T.V., Kristjansdottir, B.H., & Ingason, H.T. (2021). An Alternative Risk Assessment Routine for Decision Making; Towards a VUCA Meter to Assess the Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity of Complex Projects. In R. Cuevas, C-N. Bodea & P. Torres-Lima (Eds.), Research on Project, Programme and Portfolio Management (pp. 41-54). Springer, Cham.
- Gennaro, A., & Nietlispach, M. (2021). Corporate governance and risk management: Lessons (not) learnt from the financial crisis. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 14(9), 1-19.
- Hsu, W-T., Chen, H-L., & Cheng, C-Y. (2013). Internationalization and firm performance of SMEs: The moderating effects of CEO attributes. Journal of World Business, 48(1), 1-12.
- Jones, O., & McCaffrey, C. R. (2021). The CEO Imperative: Are you making political risk a strategic priority?. EY. Available from: https://www.ey.com/en_sg/geostrategy/the-ceo-imperative-are-you-making-political-risk-a-strategic-priority
- Laufs, K., & Schwens, C. (2014). Foreign market entry mode choice of small and medium-sized enterprises: A systematic review and future research agenda. International Business Review, 23(6), 1109-1126.
- López-Duarte, C., & Vidal-Suárez, M. M. (2010). External uncertainty and entry mode choice: Cultural distance, political risk and language diversity. International Business Review, 19(6), 575-588.
- Lundqvist, S. A. (2015). Why firms implement risk governance–Stepping beyond traditional risk management to enterprise risk management. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 34(5), 441-466.
- Peljhan, D., & Marc, M. (2021). Risk management and strategy alignment: influence on new product development performance. Technology analysis & strategic management.
- Peljhan, D., Miloš Sprčić, D., & Marc, M. (2018). Strategy and Organisational Performance: The Role of Risk Management System Development. In M. J. Epstein, F. H. M. Verbeeten and S. K. Widener (Eds.), Performance Measurement and Management Control: The Relevance of Performance Measurement and Management Control Research. Studies in Managerial and Financial Accounting, (Vol. 33, pp. 65–91. Emerald Publishing Limited.
- Rutledge, W. L. (2009). Risk Management Lessons from the Global Banking Crisis of 2008. Senior Supervisors Group. Available from: https://www.sec.gov/news/press/2009/report102109.pdf
- Smart, A., & Creelman, J. (2013). Risk-Based Performance Management. Palgrave Macmillan.
- UNCTAD. (2023). Trade and development report 2022. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. United Nations Publication ISBN: 978-92-1-113075-1.
- Zhivitskaya, M. & Power, M. (2016). The Work of Risk Oversight, in Power, M. (Ed.). Riskwork: Essays on the organizational life of risk management. Oxford University Press.
Call for Papers for Thematic Issue on “Sustainability in the New Consumer Era”
Sustainability is a pervasive theme in today's management world and novel research topic. Based in the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations (UN SDGs), throughout various initiatives on the environmental and social governance, up to the behavioral changes noticed within younger consumers, all actors in the society are striving to create a better, long-lasting surrounding. The marketing research community has consistently questioned its role and contribution to creating a better world and the social and environmental aspects at the heart of that role (Chandy et al., 2021; Kelley, 1971). In addition, sustainability remains a key consideration for consumers in 2021 with 32% of consumers highly engaged in adopting a more sustainable lifestyle. Equally important, 28% of consumers no longer purchase certain products due to ethical or environmental concerns (Deloitte UK, 2021).
Why Thematic Issue?
While the topic of sustainability is very broad and interdisciplinary, this Thematic Issue narrows it on consumers and sustainability from marketing and consumer perspective. It is very important to understand consumers, starting from their basic needs and motivations regarding environmental and social issues and continuing through their pro-environmental and pro-social values. These aspects help us to understand further perceptions, attitudes, intentions and finally behavior relevant to sustainable consumption and purchases. Ethematicly due to the attitude-behavior gap found in previous research on sustainability (e.g., Park & Lin, 2020).
The SDGs and issues related to sustainability are gaining more attention in research, but there is still a need to explore sustainable behaviors and their consequences and antecedents in developing countries and regions (e.g., Kadic-Maglajlic, et al. 2019). The importance of youth engagement with environmental and social issues is increasing (UN, 2016). All age groups show a change in their behavior when sustainability is their focus, and in particular changes are noticed with young adults' social cause-related purchase intentions (Arslanagic-Kalajdzic et al., 2022) and children's perceptions of the importance of environmental sustainability (Hosany et al., 2022). With the identification of potential frameworks, such as White et al. (2019) or Hosany et al. (2022), and other research guidelines (MSI, 2020) related to consumer and sustainability behavior research, sustainability is highlighted as important to society.
In light of the above, this Thematic Issue proposes to examine consumer perceptions and engagement with sustainable issues, exploring co-creation aspects, “green” purchases the concept of the consumers’ social responsibility. Additional insights into particular aspects of sustainability such as cause-related behavior or sustainability in specific sectors (e.g., tourism, agriculture, food industry, fashion or luxury brands) are also encouraged. The issue will welcome contributions which extend and apply the established and emerging marketing theories to better understanding of sustainable consumption. Researchers are invited to submit quantitative and qualitative studies as well as systematic literature reviews or bibliometric analyzes that contribute to answering relevant research questions in this domain. The papers coming from developing countries or regions are ethematicly encouraged to apply.
Tentative Topics
The major focus should be on (but is not limited to) the following issues:
- Defining sustainability from the consumer perspective
- Pro-environmental and pro-social consumer values
- Value (co-)creation with sustainability
- Attitude-behavior gap in sustainable behavior
- The concept of Consumer Social Responsibility (CnSR)
- Consumer engagement in sustainability issues
- “Green” consumer behavior
- Cause-related behavior
- Sustainability driven prosumers
- Sustainable marketing tactics (e.g., green packaging, labels, sustainable pricing, net-zero supply chain, communicating awareness)
- Green/Organic products
- Perception of sustainability in branding
- Ecosystem services
- Creating socially responsible services to improve consumers’ wellbeing
- Sustainable tourism
- Application of new technologies for sustainable consumption
Time Frame
- Launch for the Call for Papers: June 2022
- Extended abstracts submission (optional): October 7, 2022 (please send the extended abstract by e-mail to the guest editor)
- Workshop with authors (optional): October 2022
- Final date of submission of papers: May 15, 2023 (deadline extended; submission should made through the EBR’s Editorial Manager platform)
- Thematic Issue is to be finalized by mid-2024
The papers should be between 6,000 and 8,000 words.
Guest Editors:
Prof. Dr. Maja Arslanagić-Kalajdžić Associate Professor, School of Economics and Business, University of Sarajevo maja.arslanagic@efsa.unsa.ba
Prof. Dr. Melika Husić-Mehmedović Full Professor, School of Economics and Business, University of Sarajevo melika.husic@efsa.unsa.ba
Prof. Dr. Jelena Filipović Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade jelena.filipovic@ekof.bg.ac.rs
Prof. Dr. Jasmina Dlačić Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Rijeka jasmina.dlacic@efri.hr
Further information about the Call for Papers may be obtained by contacting any one of the GE team members.
Submission Rules
Submissions should made through the EBR’s Editorial Manager platform (EM) (https://www.editorialmanager.com/ebr/default1.aspx). When submitting to this Call for Papers, authors should select “SNCE Thematic issue” in the EM. Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the EBR’s Author Guidelines (https://www.ebrjournal.net/home/author_guidelines.html).
References
- Chandy, R. K., Johar, G. V., Moorman, C., & Roberts, J. H. (2021). Better marketing for a better world. Journal of Marketing, 85(3), 1-9.
- Kelley, E.S. (1971). Marketing's Changing Social/Environmental Role. Journal of Marketing, 35(3), 1–3.
- Park, H. J., & Lin, L. M. (2020). Exploring attitude–behavior gap in sustainable consumption: Comparison of recycled and upcycled fashion products. Journal of Business Research, 117, 623-628.
- Deloitte UK (2021). Shifting sands: Are consumers still embracing sustainability?, https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/consumer-business/articles/sustainable-consumer.html
- Arslanagic-Kalajdzic, M., Kadic-Maglajlic, S., Dlacic, J.& Zabkar, V. (2022). “We Go Together”: Understanding social cause-related purchase intentions of young adults. Journal of Business Research, 140, 130-142.
- Hosany, A. S., Hosany, S., & He, H. (2022). Children sustainable behaviour: A review and research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 147, 236-257.
- Kadic-Maglajlic, S., Arslanagic-Kalajdzic, M., Micevski, M., Dlacic, J., Zabkar, V. (2019). Being engaged is a good thing: Understanding sustainable consumption behavior among young adults. Journal of Business Research, 104, 644-654.
- MSI, Marketing science institute (2020). Research priorities 2020-2022. https://www.msi.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/MSI_RP20-22.pdf
- UN (2016). World youth report - The global situation of young people. Retrieved from: https://www.un.org/development/desa/youth/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2018/12/un_world_youth_report_youth_civic_engagement.pdf
- White, K., Habib, R., & Hardisty, D. J. (2019). How to SHIFT consumer behaviors to be more sustainable: A literature review and guiding framework. Journal of Marketing, 83(3), 22-49.
Call for Papers for Thematic Issue On Internationalization and Foreign Direct Divestment Flows in Central and Eastern European Countries [CEE]
Globalization has created the critical concept of internalization of firms and the world has become a boundaryless world. There are many studies that are carried out on the determinants of foreign direct divestment in European Countries [EC]. However, there are not many studies on foreign direct divestment in the Central and Eastern European countries. Hence, it could be concluded that studies regarding the internationalization of firms, especially those responsible for owning and operating units in foreign locations, are the need of the day. Multinational companies that own and operate units in foreign locations (CEE) countries are being considered drivers of internationalization and globalization. These multinational companies promote interdependence between Central and Eastern European countries and internationalization. They are therefore regarded as key actors in the globalization process of Central and Eastern European economies.
Why Thematic Issue?
Despite the fact that there are many qualitative studies [non-empirical] on the determinants of foreign direct divestment, empirical [quantitative] studies on the drivers of foreign direct divestment (or foreign direct divestment inflows) are negligible in case Central and Eastern European countries. There is also limited research [qualitative] regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the economies of Central and Eastern European Countries. Similarly, the empirical studies on the drivers of foreign direct divestment inflows in Central and Eastern European countries are nonexistent. It is, therefore, imperative to examine the post COVID-19 drivers of internationalization and foreign direct divestment [inflows] in Central and Eastern European countries.
Issues to be taken up
In light of the above, this thematic issue proposes to examine the determinants of foreign direct divestment [inflows]. The investigation will be conducted by reviewing the theoretical and empirical literature. The papers may use the empirical model to investigate the drivers of foreign direct divestment [inflows] in the Central and Eastern European economies in particular. The prospective authors may also use panel data econometric techniques to estimate the empirical model. The results of this study will have policy implications for the Central and Eastern European economies in particular. The thematic issue will also focus on the effects of COVID-19 on the FDD inflows in Central and Eastern European Countries.
Tentative Topics
The major thrust should be on the following issues:
- Internationalization of Central and Eastern European countries.
- Role and contribution of internationalization in the development of Central and Eastern European countries.
- FDD Flows as a means of promoting internationalization in Central and Eastern European countries.
- Pre COVID-19 FDD inflows in Central and Eastern European countries.
- Post COVID-19 Growth pattern of FDD inflows in Central and Eastern European economies.
- Factors governing and affecting FDI inflows in Central and Eastern European economies.
- Promotion of trade and investment relations among the Central and Eastern European economies.
- Availability of incentives from the host countries to foreign investors under the persisting intensified competition among Central and Eastern European countries.
- Post-COVID-19 FDI Policy in Central and Eastern European countries.
- Emerging issues and challenges for Central and Eastern European economies for FDI inflows post COVID-19.
Time frame for the Issue:
- Launch for the Call for Papers: February 15, 2022
- Last date of submission of papers: August 31, 2022
- The expected date of publication is early 2023
The papers should be between 6000 and 8000 words.
Submissions should made through the EBR’s Editorial Manager platform (EM) (https://www.editorialmanager.com/ebr/default1.aspx). When submitting to this Call for Papers, authors should select “FDD Thematic issue” in the EM. Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the EBR’s Author Guidelines (https://www.ebrjournal.net/home/author_guidelines.html).
The Thematic Issue will be edited by the Guest Editor, Prof. Dr. Badar Alam Iqbal; Adjunct Professor; Monarch Business School; Switzerland. Further information about the Call for Papers may be obtained at any one of the following Email IDs: dr.badar@umonarch-email.ch badar.iqbal@fulbrightmail.org biqbal@daad-alumni.de