Introduction from the Editors

Citation

Cairns, G. and Roberts, J. (2005), "Introduction from the Editors", Critical Perspectives on International Business, Vol. 1 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/cpoib.2005.29001aaa.001

Introduction from the Editors

Welcome to the first issue of critical perspectives on international business (CPOIB), a new journal that will publish material that critically engages with the broad field of international business, addressing issues of importance within contemporary society from both academic and broader societal perspectives. The journal will publish material that addresses issues of – but not restricted to – globalization, production and consumption, economic change, societal change, politics and power of organizations and governments, and environmental impact.

The objectives of the journal are to:

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  support single, multi- and trans-disciplinary study at the theoretical, conceptual and empirical levels;

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  encourage reflexive and critical engagement with issues of contemporary interest and relevance in society;

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  question normative and performative approaches as represented in managerial text books, “airport” books, and “mainstream” journals;

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  challenge organizational orthodoxy, and governmental and organizational politics and power; and

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  respond to critique of academic work as being irrelevant to society at large, or as being directed at responding to governmental and organizational agendas, and dictated by allocation of and access to research funding.

The development of CPOIB is borne of discussions between ourselves in response to the call from John Peters of Emerald for proposals for a new journal that would deal with critical issues in international business that were being discussed in popular texts by authors such as Naomi Klein and George Monbiot. We considered that, whilst there is a considerable amount of critical discussion of these issues within the academic community, this discussion was to a large extent fragmented, conducted within disciplinary boundaries, and not actively promoted in society at large. Whilst there is a growing interest in subjects such as corporate social responsibility (CSR), business ethics, and environmentalism, there are some who would argue that much of what is written or spoken about, for example CSR, is mere organizational rhetoric, that is devoid of any underpinning commitment to fundamental change in response to issues such as Third-World debt, climate change, and the imperatives of the financial institutions and markets. As we write this introduction, in November 2004, we approach the twentieth anniversary of the Bhopal disaster. Some commentators might reasonably ask what, if anything, has changed in the intervening decades.

CPOIB supports radical discussion on the nature of globalization and international business that is academically rigorous, through empirical study and/or philosophical discourse. It is the only journal that exclusively supports critically reflexive discussion of the nature and impact of international business activity from trans- and multi-disciplinary perspectives, rather than within specific fields, such as business ethics, economics, politics, geography and so on. This multi-disciplinary approach, along with the global reach of CPOIB is reflected in the membership of the Editorial Advisory Board, where members are drawn from a broad range of disciplines and academic institutions, all being eminent and widely published in their own fields.

CPOIB provides a vehicle for the development of the broad field of Critical Management Studies, where this is concerned with critique, which goes beyond theoretical abstraction, of management action and practices. It seeks to address issues of importance in the fields of management education and practice, and to counter the prevalent “logic” of managerialism that pervades much of the populist literature. CPOIB seeks to challenge the orthodoxy and mainstream not only of managerialism, but also the hegemony of much governmental and organizational thought and rhetoric, and of North American and Western organizational theory and practice. However, the journal supports and incorporates work that challenges its own “orthodoxy”.

CPOIB specifically promotes and supports writing that engages in an academically rigorous manner with the “polyphony” of voices of those actors involved in international business – across social and geographic boundaries. The journal will include a range of refereed academic papers, non-refereed position papers and polemics, and review articles The journal enables academics to engage with, and build upon writings and activities from the broader societal context that challenge the hegemony of global and trans-national corporations, of managerial orthodoxy, and of dominant academic discourse. CPOIB encourages and supports work that is academically rigorous, but it is open to submission of work that explores new and innovative forms of thought and representation.

Within this first issue, we include two peer-reviewed academic papers. The first, “Globalization at bay? Multinational growth and technology spillover”, by Antonello Zanfei, identifies the need for new institutions to govern the globalization process, and, in particular, to enable economies involved in international production activities to capture and share the benefits associated with it. Zanfei singles out areas where new institutions are required and provides insights into the issues that such institutions should address. The second paper, “Benchmarking: a socio-economic interrogation of its global-local disconnect” by Kala Saravanamuthu, contests the “universal” application of benchmarks without regard for critical comparison of the contexts of benchmark measurement and of benchmark application. The author supports the discussion through a historical case study of the application of benchmarks for political purposes in the Australian motor industry in the 1990s.

In this issue, we include two position papers by the journal editors. These are intended to stimulate debate and to further discussion on aspects of international business. In the paper “Perspectives on a personal critique of international business”, George Cairns seeks to contribute to and to stimulate discussion on the nature of international business as represented in different literature sets, including mainstream management textbooks, critical journal papers, and populist publications. The intent is to highlight areas of difference, and to stimulate further debate on the implications for management research and education, and on difference in interpretation across cultural contexts. On a related theme, Joanne Roberts highlights the strategies adopted by authors and publishers to enhance the success potential of their books in her paper “The Ritzerization of knowledge”. She explores these strategies through the example of Alan Bryman’s (2004) The Disneyization of Society. Seeking to stimulating debate on the global publishing business, Roberts argues that while the imperatives of the market promote the production of what she calls “knowledge-lite” books there may be a threat to the survival of more demanding academic literature.

Also in this issue, we include a discursive review of a book that addresses issues of relevance to international business. In his review of John Gray’s “Al Qaeda and what it means to be modern”, Chris Grey provides not only a thought-provoking critique of Gray’s arguments on the nature of perception and an alternative reality of Al Qaeda, but also a further contribution to the discussion on the merits, or otherwise, of different forms of text, from the unreadable tome to the brassy polemic. He highlights how Gray’s text, despite its shortcomings, avoids the pitfalls of both extremes, and contributes to critical debate on issues of consequence to us all.

We hope that you will find CPOIB stimulating and challenging, and inclusive of multiple perspectives on the nature and implications of international business. We anticipate that you will be inspired to contribute to the discussion, through submission to CPOIB in response to the general call for papers, or to one of the special issues outlined at the end of this issue. Also, we invite you to join us, visit us, or correspond with us in relation to the stream, “Critical Perspectives on International Business”, at the 4th International Critical Management Studies Conference, to be held from 4-6 July 2005 at the Judge Institute of Management, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK (www.dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/close/hr22/cms2005/). We look forward to your participation in, and contributions to, the discussions and related activities that will develop through CPOIB over the coming years.

George Cairns, Joanne Roberts