IIM Visakhapatnam hosts the AIB South Asia Conference – Times of India

Visakhapatnam: The three-day Academy of International Business (AIB) South Asia Conference (SAC) commenced at the Indian Institute of Management Visakhapatnam (IIM-V) on Sunday. The event is being hosted by IIM-V in virtual mode.

Faculty at IIM-V and conference chair, AIB-SAC, Prof Deepika Gupta, said that AIB-SAC will provide a platform to the AIB members and scholars across the globe, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. “This will help collaborate with research professionals, exchange their ideas, present papers, and discuss matters of mutual interest and concerns,” said Prof Deepika.

In the keynote address, President AIB, and distinguished professor, Rutgers Business School, USA, Prof Farok Contractor highlighted the agenda of SAC. He spoke about the importance of studying international business. He emphasised the role of international business leading to sustainable development in South Asian economies.

Speaking at the inaugural function, Director IIMV, Prof M Chandrashekhar, said; “Sustainability and profitability go hand-in-hand, hence in the long run, organisations need to invest more in sustainable methods to create wealth.” Prof Chandrasekhar also spoke about the importance and emergence of the new business models.

The Chair AIB South Asia Executive Board and faculty at IIM Bangalore, Prof S Raghunath, said; “Seeing the current scenario one needs to adopt the 4R’s – reduce, reuse, restore and regenerate methods that will yield a sustainable business environment.” Prof Raghunath explained how digitalization helped businesses to thrive during the pandemic.

As many as 109 research papers across the globe were submitted at the AIB-SAC, covering themes such as the impact of Covid-19 and sustainable development, failures and survival strategies during Covid-19, international entrepreneurship, international finance, impact on SMEs, MSMEs, and new ventures, Atmanirbhar Bharat, Make-in-India initiatives, and role of digitalization in the survival of economies during the tough time.

Out of the 109 research papers, the top 50 papers were selected through the blind peer-review process for the presentation at the conference. These papers will be presented by academicians and scholars from top-notch institutes, including many IIMs, IITs, and other premier business schools across the globe.

Conference co-chair, and faculty at North-South University, Dhaka, Dr. Mohammad Tayeenul Hoque, gave concluding remarks for the inaugural.