11 November 2012

Call for papers: Innovation and Business Development in a Latin American Context

A special issue of International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets

Innovation and business development are important for firms in emerging markets as a way of expanding their markets and increasing wealth, but also to meet threats from global actors. Much focus in research has been on Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa and the BRIC countries, while Latin America (apart from Brazil) has attracted less interest among researchers, especially in English-speaking journals.

However, efforts from governmental as well as private stakeholders indicate that there is a great interest from practitioners in raising the level of knowledge about innovation and business development throughout the continent. Various special conditions, including large rural populations, high percentage of indigenous populations, growing mega-cities and a common language over the continent combined with special political and institutional conditions in each country, makes it probable that research from other continents cannot always be applied directly to Latin America.

The purpose of the special issue is to bring together a high quality selection of contemporary research about innovation and business development in Latin America, taking some of the specific conditions above into consideration. We particularly seek empirical research articles with a clear theoretical contribution based on quantitative and/or qualitative data. The theoretical base for submitted articles must be explicitly elaborated and the practical implications must be clearly stated.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:
  • Institutional support systems for innovation in emerging economies; specificities and important factors with regard to the Latin American context
  • Triple helix models adapted to the Latin American context
  • Technology transfer between small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and universities in Latin America
  • Practices of knowledge management for innovation in Latin America
  • Innovation systems in the context of rural areas and/or connected to the cultural diversity of Latin America
  • Adoption and diffusion of innovations in emerging markets; theories and novel constructs that help explain variations
  • Small business networks and other forms of collaboration for innovation.
  • Moderating role of institutional, economic, and cultural variables on consumer, stakeholder and organisational behaviour
  • Successful new product strategies in emerging markets and successful strategies by local firms to fight global multinationals
  • Social innovations
Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 30 June, 2013
Comments to authors: 30 September, 2013
Revised papers accepted: 31 December 2013

 Papers submitted earlier than the submission date will be put through the review process on rolling basis and authors may expect feedback sooner.



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