| 2023 Industry Studies Association
Annual Conference May 31 - June 2, 2023 The Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University Reconceptualizing Competition: Nation, Region, Firm, and Individual Please mark your calendars for the 2023 Industry Studies Association Conference to be held in Columbus, OH. Formal conference activities will begin around 1pm on May 31st, and end after lunch on June 2nd. The Professional Development Workshop (PDW) will be the morning of May 31st. As for excursions, we expect to be able to visit Honda of Marysville, the oldest Japanese automotive plant in the U.S. (built in 1982). We also hope to visit a large generic pharmaceutical manufacturer, and the U.S. headquarters of the large Scottish brewery, Brewdog. These excursions will be the morning of May 31st and/or the afternoon of June 2nd. While we have many great sessions in the works, we welcome thoughts from members for any special sessions-book authors, specific topics, etc. Far more than a college town, Columbus is a dynamic metropolitan area of two million people. Columbus is an important player in many industries, including automotive, pharmaceuticals, insurance, retail, logistics, hospitality, and-coming in 2024 with Intel's planned $20 billion investment-semiconductors. Columbus is also home to The Ohio State University, a leading research institution with an enrollment of over 60,000 students, making it among the very largest universities in the U.S.; often the largest when only considering on-campus students. The conference hotel and sessions will all be housed at the Fisher College of Business, a five-building complex on the campus. Our Wednesday night opening will be across the street in Ohio Stadium (also called The Horseshoe, or The 'Shoe), an iconic 100-year-old stadium that seats over 100,000 people. Our Thursday reception will be a few miles away on a rooftop adjacent to the Short North, a vibrant arts district just south of campus (and just north of downtown, hence the name). We are excited about this year's theme: Reconceptualizing Competition: Nation, Region, Firm, and Individual. The theme reflects a world that seems to be de-globalizing, due first to trade wars in the late 2010s, a realization of the risks of long supply chains during COVID (amid claims of "vaccine nationalism"), followed by high inflation and a ground war in Europe. Partially in response, there has been increased attention to industrial policy (no longer anathema) in many countries. This means that firms, governments, and individuals are interacting in a changed environment in which ideas and assumptions about competition are being challenged and reinvigorated. Topics of interest relevant to this year's theme include but are not limited to: - Competition among Nations:
- Effect of direct government incentives on national competitiveness of targeted industries
- The interplay between national government actions and innovation and competitiveness of the private sector
- Competition among Regions:
- The relative effectiveness of China's state-guided capitalism and the West's democracy-guided capitalism
- Effect of global trade agreements and tariffs on industry structure
- Within a country, the consequences of competition for business (e.g., among U.S. states for Amazon's HQ2 or Intel's new facility)
- Competition among Firms:
- Navigating the competitive landscape in a world marked by increased uncertainty
- Innovating globally as barriers emerge between large trading partners and more government policies target national advantage
- Competition among (and for) Individuals:
- Managing new employee expectations for "work from home" or "work from anywhere" among employer "return to office" pressures
- Worker shortages, the great resignation, quiet quitting
While the ISA encourages papers and panels related to the conference theme, a tie to theme is not mandatory. Any papers or panels that build upon the ISA's foundational interest in organizations and industries are welcome. Abstracts for paper and panel submissions are due Friday, January 20, 2023, 5pm. Submit your paper proposal Submit your panel proposal While we will periodically e-mail you, keep an eye on our main website (industrystudies.org) and conference website (industrystudies.org/isa-conferences) for updated information about plenaries and special sessions, and for the opening of the submission system. John Gray, 2023 Conference Chair Tonya Boone, 2023 ISA President Hiram Samel, 2023 Conference Committee Member Jeff Furman, 2023 Early Career Development Committee Chair |