The University of Bergen, in cooperation with the European Business History Association (EBHA), will host the 1st World Congress on Business History, which will be held in conjunction with the 20th Congress of the European Business History Association. The theme of the meeting, to be held August 25-27, 2016, in Bergen, Norway, will be “Business History around the World.”Today business and globalization are under fire. Both multinational and local businesses are challenged by a combination of an insecure macroeconomic environment and expectations about commerce’s social role. Recent economic data has called into question the inevitability of high growth rates in even the most dynamic emerging markets, such as China and Brazil, and raised questions about the viability of old and new business models. Much of Europe has not completely recovered from the 2008 Crisis and its aftershocks. In contrast to many other downturns, US growth does not seem large enough to compensate for weaknesses in other regions. Inconsistent financial flows to and from OECD countries have added to the volatility and extent of economic growth in developing countries. To what extent is business responsible? The historical origins of this development deserve revisiting existing theoretical frameworks and empirical research. Are the visible hands of enterprise responsible for “great leaps forward” as well as economic crisis?Session proposals and single paper proposals can be submitted online through the Congress website or the EBHA website beginning on October 1. An explanation will guide applicants about the format of the proposals (length of abstract, cv, etc.). Please use that platform for submissions. Deadline of all proposals is December 31, 2015.
The program-committee consists of Andrea Lluch (National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Buenos Aires, Argentina, alluch@conicet.gov.ar), Christopher Kobrak (EBHA / University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management, Canada, Chris.Kobrak@rotman.utoronto.ca), Andrea H. Schneider (EBHA / GUG, Germany, ahschneider@unternehmensgeschichte.de) and Takashi Shimizu (BHSJ / University of Tokyo, Japan, tshimizu@waka.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp.
For a more extensive description of possible topics and further information, please consult the full call for papers.