History
In contrast to the USA, the United Kingdom and Japan, where international management has been an integral part of business schools' teaching and research programs for decades, there was a strong reservation in this area in German-speaking business administration until the 1970s. Thus, when the subject of business administration was expanded in German-speaking countries, chairs were initially created primarily for the individual operational functional areas, while only very few chairs were established for the integrative core area of international management.
With regard to the increasing global expansion of the subject of international management, the European International Business Academy (EIBA) was founded in Brussels in 1974 at the instigation of the European Foundation for Management Development, which promotes and coordinates research projects in the field of international management in particular at its annual conferences. Hans Günther Meissner, of the University of Dortmund, was the German representative on the EIBA steering committee for a period following its inception.
In 1976, the academic commission of International Management was founded as part of the Academic Association for Business Research (VHB). The first annual meeting of the commission took place at the University of Dortmund in February 1977. At the beginning, the commission consisted of around 20 professors. In the meantime, the number of members has risen to over 200. Prominent representatives from the business world are usually invited to the annual conferences.
Since its foundation, the following colleagues have chaired the commission:
1976-1978 Hans Günther Meissner
1978-1980 Ehrenfried Pausenberger
1980-1982 Eberhard Dülfer
1982-1984 Klaus Macharzina
1984-1986 Reinhart Schmidt
1986-1988 Martin K. Welge
1988-1990 Emil Brauchlin
1990-1992 Wilhelm Wacker
1992-1994 Brij Kumar
1994-1996 Johann Engelhard
1996-1998 Michael Kutschker
1998-2000 Dodo zu Knyphausen-Aufseß
2000-2002 Ursula Schneider
2002-2004 Martin Glaum
2004-2006 Michael Oesterle
2006-2008 Reinhard Moser
2008-2010 Stefan Schmid
2010-2012 Joachim Zentes
2012-2014 Jan Hendrik Fisch
2014-2016 Dirk Morschett
2016-2018 Joachim Wolf
2018-2020 Bernhard Swoboda
2020-2022 Markus Pudelko
To date, the academic commission of International Management has carried out very intensive and differentiated work with regard to the establishment of international management as a subject within the catalog of business subjects in German-speaking countries. There are now a number of chairs that include international management or related disciplines in their title. Nevertheless, the subject of international management is still not sufficiently represented at German-speaking universities. Some large faculties in particular do not yet have any specialized chairs for international management.
Due to the increasing international integration of companies, particularly within the framework of the European Union, international issues are increasingly attracting the interest of practitioners. This is particularly evident in the fact that there is a growing demand of companies for graduates who have dealt with international management issues in a theoretical and systematic manner. According to the commission, the subject of international management will continue to gain importance in the coming years due to the generally observable globalization trends.