The 2024 AIB conference in Seoul offered up plenty of food for thought, as evidenced by AIB Insights’ recent special issue (Volume 24, Issue 3) on the conference theme: Dynamics of International Business. (See Welch, 2024, for a review of the conference and Newburry & Rose, 2024, for a summary of the special issue.) In this issue, we are delighted to highlight some of the truly special sessions from the conference. Here, you will find summaries of the outstanding doctoral research done by the five finalists for the 2024 Peter J. Buckley and Mark Casson AIB Dissertation Award, along with interviews with the recipients of the three awards made annually by the AIB Fellows.

Peter J. Buckley and Mark Casson AIB Dissertation Award Finalists

There were five finalists for the very prestigious Peter J. Buckley and Mark Casson AIB Dissertation Award:

  • Thomas Michael DeBerge, Loyola University Chicago (Ph.D. from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

  • Stefano Burzo, University of British Columbia (Ph.D. from University of British Columbia)

  • Soni Jha, Purdue University Fort Wayne (Ph.D. from Temple University)

  • Laura Kirste, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg (Ph.D. from FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg)

  • Chengcheng Miao, University of Reading (Ph.D. from University of Reading)

We are certain that you will find their work to be fresh and insightful.

The winner of the 2024 Peter J. Buckley and Mark Casson AIB Dissertation Award is Thomas Michael DeBerge, whose work addresses how multinationals are challenged by – and deal with – political competition. Considering three very distinct contexts – the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United States, and Russia – he explores aspects of political competition, and the strategies that MNEs develop to deal with it.

Stefano Burzo considers how legal disputes, such as those arising from host-country expropriation, affect foreign direct investment location decisions, given treaties that make it possible for multinationals to undertake legal action against governments. His work also considers factors that shape public preferences for government behavior in such disputes.

Soni Jha investigates the multilateral nature of foreign direct investment activities. Her research sheds light on how the structural properties of multinationals and their locations – the patterns of relationships and connectivity of locations and firms – affect multinationals’ performance and FDI behaviors, particularly under conditions of risk and uncertainty.

Laura Kirste looks at the increasingly codified demands for multinationals to embrace more corporate responsibility, and how firms must navigate complex political environments characterized by demands that are ambiguous and potentially irreconcilable. Her work addresses the resultant institutional pressures and their effects on firm-level behaviors and strategies.

Chengcheng Mao reports on an ethnographic study about the motivations and experiences of Chinese business expatriates in Tanzania. She finds that expatriation motivation prioritizes family over individual well-being; language proficiency mediates power dynamics, reducing information asymmetry; and petty corruption, while lacking reciprocity, is considered a strategic investment for navigating bureaucracy and securing benefits.

We thank Chengcheng, Laura, Soni, Stefano, and Thomas for sharing their innovative research with AIB Insights. We also want to acknowledge, on behalf of the AIB community, the selection committee for the 2024 Buckley and Casson AIB Dissertation Award. The members of this committee commit a tremendous amount of time and thought, and we extend our gratitude to Sjoerd Beugelsdijk (chair), Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra, Christine M. K. Chan and Bryan Husted for their service.

Interviews with AIB Fellows Award Winners

Complementing the five articles authored by the finalists for the 2024 Buckley and Casson AIB Dissertation Award, we also feature interviews with the winners of the AIB Fellows awards for 2024: Executive of the Year, Eminent Scholar and International Educator of the Year. Each of these outstanding awardees was selected by a subcommittee of the AIB Fellows, as indicated below.

Hyeon Joo Park, Founder and Global Strategy Officer of Mirae Asset Financial Group, was selected as the 2024 International Executive of the Year; he is interviewed by AIB Fellows Seung Ho Park and AIB Insights Editor William Newburry. In this interview, Mr. Park discusses the factors that led him to found Mirae Asset, his career path, and keys to success in the financial services industry. He also addresses Mirae Asset’s global expansion, and lessons that the South Korean experience offers for other emerging markets. The selection committee for this award was comprised of Seung Ho (Sam) Park (chair), Paula Caligiuri, Sea-Jin Chang, Tatiana Kostova, and Jaeyong Song.

R. Edward Freeman, Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden School, is the 2024 John Fayerweather Eminent Scholar; in this interview, he discusses his scholarly journey with AIB Fellow Dan Li. Dr. Freeman highlights the importance of adopting a comprehensive perspective on stakeholders, in light of recent global uncertainties such as the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tension and conflicts, and technological disruptions. He also provides advice regarding business school curricula and guidance for business scholars. The selection committee for this award was comprised of Dan Li (chair), Ruth Aguilera, Anthony Goerzen, David Griffith, Jane Lu, and Elizabeth Rose.

Frank Bournois, Vice-President and Dean of China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), is the 2024 International Educator of the Year; he is interviewed by Shameen Prashantham. Dr. Bournois offers several lessons for international business scholars, including the needs to balance and synergize knowledge creation and dissemination, to foster cross-culturally intelligent talent for international organizations, and to facilitate the building of bridges between East and West by mobilizing stakeholders representing business and non-market organizations. An overarching theme is the need to nurture the link between learning and leading. The selection committee for this award was comprised of Carl Fey (chair), J.T. Li, Anu Phene, Saeed Samiee, and Grazia Santangelo.

We congratulate Hyeon Joo Park, Ed Freeman, and Frank Bournois for their AIB Fellows Awards, as well as all five finalists for the Peter J. Buckley and Mark Casson AIB Dissertation Award. We hope that you enjoy reading our 2024 AIB Insights Awards Issue. Please look for more exciting issues in 2025 – and please continue to submit your applied international business research to the journal!