Call for papers

International management and sovereignties

Globalization has undermined state sovereignty, but successive health and geopolitical crises have put it back at the heart of the debate. The interdependence between countries and the fragility of the economic sovereignty of certain States were highlighted by the rapid spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. This debate has gained momentum with recent geopolitical changes. In Europe, the war in Ukraine is raising questions about energy and food sovereignty. The economic and political conflict between the United States and China raises questions about digital sovereignty (Zuboff et al., 2019) and technological sovereignty (March and Schieferdecker, 2023).

Louis Le Fur describes sovereignty as "the capacity of the State to be obliged or determined only by its own will, within the limits of the higher principle of law, and in accordance with the collective purpose which it is called upon to achieve" (Le Fur, 1896).

This definition emphasizes the role of the sovereign State, which acts in self-determination but must nevertheless accept the rules of customary or conventional international law. Sovereignty is therefore exercised over a clearly defined geographical territory, but this monolithic vision is challenged on a daily basis by upheavals in the international environment.

Although sovereignty is a topic of geopolitical debate, it is less well known in scientific research, particularly in the field of international management. Yet the various forms of sovereignty have an impact on international management at different levels. The Covid-19 pandemic severely disrupted global value chains and international trade in goods. These tensions over supplies, for example, have led to a global awareness of the close link between international logistics management and economic sovereignty.

In Europe, the debate on energy sovereignty is forcing a trade-off between the development of renewable energies and household purchasing power (Wetzel et al., 2023). In China and the United States, the free choice of consumers is being challenged by the hegemony of the State or the Internet giants, which are thus hampering individual sovereignty.

Sovereignty is thus a theme that raises multiple issues for international management. By putting sovereignty on the agenda of the 15th Atlas-AFMI Conference, we are calling on lecturers specializing in management, economics and international relations to reflect on the connection between international management and the various forms of sovereignty.

THEMATIC WORKSHOPS

1. International management in an African context, Suzanne Apitsa, Emmanuel Kamdem & Eric Milliot

2. International entrepreneurship and the internationalisation of SMEs, Hamadou Babacar, Ghassen Bouslama & François Goxe

3. International entry mode, Foued Cheriet & Laure Dikmen

4. International finance, Ludivine Chalençon & Sophie Nivoix

5. Responsible International Management, Hervé Cheillan, Philippe Very & Marion Vieu

6. Coping with crises, threats and increasing disruption in the international environment, Kaouther Boubaya & Olivier Furrer

7. Innovation, digitalisation and internationalisation, Hela Chebbi, Fadia Korbi & Marion Neukam

8. Strategy and organisation of multinational companies, Hanane Beddi & Jacques Jaussaud

9. Intercultural management and international HRM, Anne Bartel-Radic & Fabienne Munch

10. Internationalisation and sovereignty, Wafa Bouaynaya & Guillaume Delalieux

11. Doctoral workshop, Anne Bartel-Radic & Frédéric Prevot

12. Case studies workshop, Noémie Dominguez & Caroline Minialai

DATES TO REMEMBER

• 13 January 2025: deadline for submitting papers, doctoral projects and teaching cases (full text)
• 17 February 2025: assessments and decisions sent to authors
• 3 March 2025: authors send in the final versions of their selected papers
• 19 May 2025: doctoral workshop and Atlas-AFMI case workshop, at IAE La Rochelle
• 20 and 21 May 2025: Atlas-AFMI annual conference

POSSIBLE PUBLICATIONS

• A selection of papers will be published in a special issue of the journal "Management International" (FNEGE, rank 2).
• A collective book on the theme of the conference will be published by Vuibert (Collection Atlas- AFMI). The book could then be submitted to an Anglo-Saxon publisher.
• Teaching cases may be submitted for the Atlas AFMI 2025 prize for the best case in international management and quality cases may be awarded the Atlas- AFMI label (organised in cooperation with the CCMP, Centrale de Cas et de Médias Pédagogiques).

INDICATIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arikan, I., & Shenkar, O. (2022). Neglected elements: What we should cover more of in international business research. Journal of International Business Studies, 53(7): 1484-1507.

Beugelsdijk, S., & Luo, Y. (2024). The politicized nature of international business. Journal of International Business Studies, 55, 281-284.

Floridi, L. (2020). The fight for digital sovereignty: What it is, and why it matters, especially for the EU. Philosophy & technology, 33, 369-378.

Godsell, D., Lel, U., & Miller, D. (2023). U.S. national security and de-globalization. Journal of International Business Studies. 54(8): 1471-1494.

Han, X., Lukoianove, T., Zhao, S., & Liu, X. (2024). International relations in international business research: A review and research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 174.

Le Fur, L. (1896). État fédéral et confédération d’états, Marchal et Billard.

March, C., & Schieferdecker, I. (2023). Technological sovereignty as ability, not autarky. International Studies Review, 25(2), viad012.

Wetzel, M., Gils, H. C., & Bertsch, V. (2023). Green energy carriers and energy sovereignty in a climate neutral European energy system. Renewable Energy, 210, 591-603.

Zuboff, S. (2019). The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power, 540 p