Challenges and possibilities in Asia Pacific business – introducing the Asia Pacific Journal of Business Administration

Citation

Steane, P. and Dufour, Y. (2009), "Challenges and possibilities in Asia Pacific business – introducing the Asia Pacific Journal of Business Administration", Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, Vol. 1 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/apjba.2009.41501aaa.001

Challenges and possibilities in Asia Pacific business – introducing the Asia Pacific Journal of Business Administration

Article Type: Editorial From: Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, Volume 1, Issue 1

There is a wonderful mechanism in the English language, known as the tautology, such as refounding, new innovation, or free gift. It is a rhetorical device where a meaning is repeated or a message is said twice. It is an appropriate mechanism to use in writing this editorial paper to mark the launch of a new journal, the Asia Pacific Journal of Business Administration (APJBA), within the Emerald suite of publications.

This new century brings a whole host of challenges and possibilities. To use a tautology, it is a time of refounding for the Asia Pacific. Some label this twenty-first century as the “Asia-Pacific century” due to the growth of China and India as economic powers, not to mention the robust so-called “tiger economies” of the ASEAN region or the major economies already present. The region also skirts the stunning economic activity on the “other side” of the Pacific, being the Latin American economies, with Mexico and Chile to mention only two. The region enjoys rapid economic prosperity on one hand and continuing under-development and poverty on the other. Apart from economic growth, there are other challenges within the region that will affect confidence and economic activity over the short to medium term, from climate change through to terrorism, from diverse governance systems to varied labour practices. As such, the region is rich in research possibilities, local and regional, unitary and comparative. But in many ways, this region has thousands of years of history – longer than the history of other economic powers – where economic and management influence and dominance is being rediscovered. This journal seeks to be a point of fusion in fostering debate on business administration, in a region where East meets West and cultural diversity influences all aspects of management behaviour.

For many economies, it is a time of recession or restructuring, brought on by the so-called global financial crisis. The latter half of 2008 witnessed downward movement in wealth of companies, the flip-flopping of government and policy responses in “rescue packages”, the acceptance (if not positive rationale) for deficit budgets. This year marks a time of particular challenge to capitalism – quite apart from unemployment and bank “stress” – with a fundamental rethink of the hegeonomy of neo-liberal economic thought and all the influence it has had on business and management practice over recent decades. In many ways, the response of governments to invest and subsidize during the past months, has been an about-face from free-market thinking to a renewed Keynesian approach to fiscal and monetary policy.

The Chinese have a blessing that goes something like “may we live in interesting times”. Well, we certainly do! This journal seeks to be a forum for publishing research and exchanging views about business activity and management practices. The disciplinary areas are deliberately broad and include: business strategy and policy; accounting and financial management; marketing and HR management; operations, logistics and supply chain management; quality, innovation and knowledge management. There many cases where an interdisciplinary or methodological perspective is required. So we include areas such as: public sector and non government organizations; public private partnerships; research methods: positivist (survey, statistical) and interpretive (case and action research).

This journal is innovative. It is the first journal to focus on business administration in the Asia Pacific arena. No doubt, there will be many submissions that are welcome. But the primary orientation is to the region. The journal also blends experience with passion in scholarship, with both established scholars and early career researchers engaged in all aspects of business administration. Like many journals, APJBA seeks research and review articles for peer review, as well as occasional viewpoint papers by seasoned scholars. But also, APJBA seeks to include some shorter non-refereed Thesis Reviews from successfully completed doctoral candidates, with URLs to the complete thesis; this provides an arena for promoting the most resent research in business administration. The Editorial Advisory Board is the key to any successful new journal, and in the case of this journal, it plays an important role in mentoring those articles submitted. We mourn the passing of Professor Ajit Desai of Nirma University, Ahmedabad, newly appointed to the Editorial Advisory Board, and we extend our condolences to his family. The Editorial Advisory Board will grow during this first year of the journal into an effective team of scholars committed to quality debate on business issues in the region. Special thanks, at this time to our Consulting Editor, Professor David Lamond (Nottingham Trent University).

This issue includes insights on a range of topics, ranging from epistemic failures in policy to forecasting inaccuracies in strategic projects; from values influencing choices in education and counterfeit garments, through to the values driving knowledge management in the arts industry. All contributions are about business and management practice in the Asia Pacific. They have breadth in topicality as well as lessons; there are failures and inaccuracies, as well as initiatives.

The media and press are full of the doom and gloom of business, especially during this present time. The challenges are formidable and the dialectic between scholars and practitioners is likely to stretch the boundaries of thinking in a range of disciplines. Globalization and outsourcing are ideologically and practically being challenged. Regionalism and deficits are gaining more credibility than before. Market self-regulation is being questioned and a more influential role for government policy in business is being rediscovered. The journal looks forward to embracing and providing a range of views in forthcoming issues. The metaphor of refounding is an apt metaphor to embark on the breadth of research and practitioner knowledge within the Asia Pacific region.

Peter Steane, Yvon Dufour