• CO-ORGANISED WITH
• CHAIRS
• CONTEXT OF BUSINESS DIPLOMACY
• OBJECTIVES
• CALL FOR PAPERS AND DEADLINES
• PUBLICATION OPPORTUNITIES
• LINKED EVENT - EFMD ADVISORY SERVICES SEMINAR
• PRACTICALITIES
• LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
• DOWNLOAD ACCEPTED PAPERS

Prof. Dr Raymond SANER
University of Basle
Director, Diplomacy Dialogue
Switzerland

Dr Lichia YIU
President, Centre for Socio-Economic Development (CSEND-Geneva)
Switzerland

Global companies must be competitive in the business they are in and at the same time show dexterity in managing multiple stakeholders at home and abroad. While it is of key importance to have the right products and services at the right price, global companies need increasingly to be equipped with new competencies in dealing successfully with obstacles emanating from outside of their direct sphere of control. Often these operational obstacles outside of the “normal” business transactions stem from complex sets of relationships in an ever changing business landscape. Recent examples of such cases are the compromise on intellectual property rights concerning HIV/AIDS medication (e.g. Abbot Inc. and other pharmaceuticals vs Thai and Brazilian government), the violent conflicts around water rights (Suez and Bechtel in Bolivia and Argentina , powerful consumer backlash against child labour (Nike) and contaminated products (Coke Cola), destruction of production equipment (sabotage of Shell Oil’s pipelines in Eastern Nigeria by dispossessed and oppressed minority tribes), hostage taking (Sinnoc in Ethiopia).

Facing such challenges, global companies require a new set of relational competencies that most global managers have no prior learning or training in. The competencies needed to deal with non-business counterparts such as foreign governments, multiple domestic and foreign pressures groups or domestic civil society groups like tribal leaders or NGOs predispose that global companies acquire organizational competency in Business Diplomacy Management. This competency would help build bridges and networks between global companies and the complex political landscapes within which they conduct business. Many needed attributes of a Business Diplomacy Manager are comparable to the competency profile of a political diplomat other attributes are unique to the context of international business.

The objectives of this workshop will consist of the following:

1. clarification of terms covering business diplomacy and other forms of diplomacy (e.g. commercial diplomacy, economic diplomacy, foreign diplomacy);
2. presentation of research results from pilot work covering US, Swiss and German global companies;
3. discussion of application of business diplomacy to existing literature and identification of future research opportunities;
4. presentation of papers submitted by participants and accepted by workshop chairs;
5. assessing papers submitted for possible publication in relevant journals and books.
   

Submissions are invited of conceptual, theoretical and empirical nature adopting different methodologies from diverse sectors and possible countries which can help to highlight the context-specific nature and functioning of Business Diplomacy.

Proposals for presentations are invited which present research and theory or any of the following themes related to Business Diplomacy:

• Function and position of Business Diplomacy in Multinational Enterprises (e.g. separate unit? part of public affairs? part of CEO office? part of public relations?)
• Professional background of Managers performing function of Business Diplomat
• Case examples of Business Diplomacy in action (successes and failures)
• Protocol and code of conduct of Business Diplomats
• Knowledge creation on Business Diplomacy (Research, Theory building)
• Training and education of Business Diplomats at e.g. MBA schools, Diplomatic Academies or elsewhere
• Interactions between Business Diplomats, Foreign Service Diplomats, NGO Diplomats, Commercial Diplomats, Economic Diplomats
• Influencing strategies of Business Diplomats on standard setting International Organisations (e.g. WTO, World Bank, IMF, United Nations, ILO, WHO etc)

Deadlines

Extended abstracts (3-5 pages) should be submitted for consideration as of now.



PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT.

Authors of best abstracts and presentations will be invited to submit full papers for a book publication.

This workshop will be preceded by a one-day conference co-organised by EFMD and Diplomacy Dialogue chaired by Prof. Dr Raymond Saner, Director of Diplomacy Dialogue and Dr Lichia Yiu, President CSEND.

As companies face ever-increasing challenges in the management of external stakeholder groups, new competencies and approaches are required to enhance their corporate reputation. The goal of Business Diplomacy is to safeguard both the reputational and relational capital of a company so that its business interests are positively represented in the local communities and the world at large. In this workshop, Professors Saner and Yiu describe the issues and stakeholder groups that need to be considered, and the relational competencies that are required to deal positively with them.

During this conference, the scope, practice and management implications of Business Diplomacy will be presented by executives of global companies responsible for Business Diplomacy at their respective firm and by experts who have studied this new field and will share their research findings and practices. Executives from Nestlé, British Gas Group, Syngenta, and Toyota will be invited.

The conference will take place at the premises of EFMD in Brussels on November 12, 2008.

The target audience for this conference are executives of global companies, officials of international organisations and national governments as well as management scholars.

For full details regarding this event, please click HERE.

FEES

The fees include participation to the :

• workshop/conference/seminar
• tutorial documents
• lunches
• the workshop/conference/seminar dinner
• morning and afternoon refreshments

ADMINISTRATION