CFP: Armageddon and Mammon

The summer of 2014 marks the centenary of the start of the First World War. On July 10-11, 2014, a workshop entitled "Armageddon and Mammon" will consider the war’s impact on international business. It will take place in the City of London at East India House. As the organizers explain,

The First World War had a dramatic and immediate impact on international business, particularly the financial services sector, but the impact quickly spread to other sectors as international trade and investment were disrupted. As the war progressed, the integrated world economy that had emerged during the first great era of globalization disintegrated and liberal assumptions and practices were discarded. The realities of the total war shattered the assumption that it would be “business as usual.” The disruption of international supply chains by the war created threats and opportunities for firms in many countries. The seizure of patents, factories, and other assets in belligerent countries created complex legal issues that lasted for decades. The war challenged the ascendancy of British international business and capital, opening the way for rivals from newly industrialising countries to compete in markets around the world. The impact of the war on international business lasted long after the fighting stopped, due in part to the nature of the peace settlement dictated by the victorious allies, the growth of institutions of global governance, and changes to the international political economy. In particular, the transfer of financial power from the City of London to Wall Street was not matched by a corresponding increase in the willingness of the United States to guarantee the political underpinnings of an integrated global economy. In turn, this change spurred organizational innovation and change among international firms as they adapted their strategies and structures to a changed business environment.

Workshop organizers are seeking contributors who are interested in presenting their research at the workshop and publishing their papers as part of an edited collection. Contributors can be of any nationality and can be from any discipline, although organizers expect that all papers will focus on the impact of the war on international business, will be based on original research, and will expressly engage with and seek to develop historiography and/or reflect on relevant business and management theory.

Proposals, in the form of a 300-word paper abstract plus a short CV, should be sent to Andrew Smith, ab0352@coventry.ac.uk by December 1, 2013.

For a more detailed call for papers and additional information, please see the full conference announcement.