2015 Annual Conference

Entrepreneurship in a Diverse World of “Glocal” Initiatives
March 25 - 27, 2015
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Hosted by the Faculty of Business Administration, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus

BALAS 2014 conference introduced the theme of “local responses to global challenges” exploring various angles of the challenges and potential benefits present to the LATAM and Caribbean Region. BALAS 2015 will pursue the discovery of other dimensions of “Glocalization” that may represent the key to economic prosperity in the region.

It is argued that “glocalization” often involves a process of trial and error in which global companies assess the power and influence of their products on local consumers worldwide. The bids are high on connecting “glocalization’ and culture, in involving local people in playing key roles in supporting global business. Could it be that local actions actually dictate global policies? Should that assumption be true, cities and local authorities would exercise increased global influence, with the potential of benefiting the local economy. BALAS 2015 Call for Papers will focus on the theme of “glocalization” in the context of the following aspects:

• Can entrepreneurial efforts dedicated to non-traditional businesses such as the arts, and sports revitalize local economies and exercise global influence?
• If local people can actually play key roles in supporting global business do they need special communication skills to survive and thrive in the “glocal” environment? Can “glocal” social networks foster the integration of local to global?
• How can the historical, cultural, spiritual, political, and economic aspects of the local communities set the stage for the transformation of “glocal” initiatives?
• What are the key elements that define the readiness of the LATAM and Caribbean region to embark in successful global entrepreneurial initiatives?

BALAS 2015 is honored to have as keynote speaker, Professor Saskia Sassen, the Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology of Columbia University, and Co-Chair Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University. She has made compelling and controversial propositions on the impact of foreign investment in emigration, with the shocking and unexpected conclusion that foreign investment can actually aggravate emigration. She has proposed that globalization, far from being a phenomenon that is free from boundary demarcations, is actually nurtured by very specific territorial limits. We specially hope that academics that have explored the sociology of “glocalization” within the dimensions of emigration and foreign investment will take the challenge to respond to Dr. Sassen’s assertions, to make an intellectual contribution and leave their mark in this BALAS 2015 edition. It will be a unique opportunity for academics interested in this theme to debate, refute, assert their positions with the author of such provocative ideas.