2025 AJBS Conference
June 28, 2025 – Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Submission Deadline Extended to January 17, 2025
The Conference
AJBS will hold its 37th Annual Meeting in cooperation with the Academy of International Business (AIB) in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. The combined conference will run from June 28 – July 2, 2025. The AJBS Conference is June 28, 2025, and the AIB conference is June 28–July 2, 2025. The Program Chair for this year’s conference is Masashi Arai from Asia University, Japan.
Why should you participate in both (AJBS and AIB) conferences? With one trip, you can attend both the most prestigious professional meeting in international business and an intimate conference that focuses specifically on Japanese business issues. The AJBS conference provides additional opportunities for journal publication and best paper awards, as detailed below.
About AJBS
From its genesis as an informal network in 1982, AJBS was officially organized and held its first conference at the Wharton Business School in January 1987. AJBS holds annual meetings at venues worldwide, providing an opportunity to discuss current developments and research on a range of business, public policy, and teaching issues related to Japan. Papers for the AJBS conference presentation are double-blind peer-reviewed. Accepted papers are considered for publication in the journal Asian Business & Management (ABM). AJBS welcomes scholars, students, and practitioners from all disciplinary backgrounds interested in Japanese business issues.
Submission Types
AJBS welcomes two types of submissions: research papers and panel proposals.
Research Paper
Earlier stage papers may be submitted for inclusion in interactive sessions. Later stage, fully developed papers should be submitted for competitive sessions. Please note that the final assignment to interactive or competitive sessions depends on reviewer inputs (blind-review process) and other considerations.
Authors may submit papers to either or both conferences. AJBS will consider submissions that have already been presented elsewhere but not published in a journal or book. Authors are encouraged to consider submitting a paper tailored to the specialized audience at the AJBS conference as well as a modified version appropriate for a wider audience at AIB. As done in past years, we also plan to hold an AJBS Best Papers session at the AIB conference.
Panel proposal
Panels should focus on topics relevant to Japanese business. In addition, we welcome issues related to what the rest of the world can learn from Japanese business. The panelists must have appropriate expertise or background to inform the proposed topic. Panel submissions are not blind-review.
Formatting Instructions
• Please note that ALL SUBMISSIONS:
• Must be written in English.
• Must follow the JIBS Style Guide.
• Must be uploaded in MS-Word format (if MS-Word format is not available, please use a basic text format that can be easily converted to MS-Word. Please do not submit papers in PDF format).
• Must be on letter paper (8.5″ x 11″ or 216mm x 279mm), with double-spaced text, a font type 11 or 12-point Times New Roman, and be left-aligned.
Research Papers
• Papers must have no author-identifying information: None of the pages (not even the first page) should list any author information. Also, the File Properties for the documents should be cleaned to remove identifying information.
• Paper submissions must be fewer than 12,000 words, inclusive of all materials, including tables, figures, appendices, and references. Papers exceeding these limits will be returned to the authors.
• Papers should include the paper’s title and an abstract, between 150-200 words.
• Conference paper applies to the submission types: competitive and interactive. Note that a paper submitted as competitive/interactive may end up in a different session because of the reviewer inputs and other considerations, such as a lack of space on the program or lack of fit with existing sessions.
Panel Proposals
• Panel proposals should be no more than 6,000 words, including all materials, and must be submitted by the panel chair. In addition, each proposal must include the following:
• A Cover Page that includes the panel’s title, name/affiliation/contact information for all participants, and their roles in the panel (please identify the chair, discussants (if any), and the panelists).
• An Abstract (150-200 words) summarizing the panel (for Conference Proceedings).
• Description of the purpose of the panel
• A detailed overview of the main issues/topics addressed or arguments to be made in the panel.
• Please also note that only panelists who plan to appear in person at the conference should be listed in the panel proposal.
Important Dates
Submission Deadline: January 17, 2025
Please submit your paper or panel proposal via the AJBS online submission system (not yet available)
Target Communication of Decisions: March 15, 2025
Conference Registration
Registration for the conference is handled through AIB, and registration for AIB and AJBS can be done at one time. Membership is required in both AIB and AJBS at time of registration. AJBS membership includes a one-year subscription to Asian Business & Management.
Academic Journal & Best Paper Award
Asian Business & Management: In 2003, AJBS established a partnership with the journal Asian Business & Management (ABM), published by Palgrave Macmillan in the U.K. As in recent years, the editor of ABM and the AJBS conference committee will select several papers from this year’s conference program to be considered for publication in ABM.
Palgrave Macmillan – AJBS Best Paper Award: Palgrave Macmillan has sponsored a ‘Best Paper’ prize at the annual AJBS meetings. The Best Paper Committee will review the finalist papers and select the winning paper.
Further Information & Questions
Information on:
AJBS, Membership, and AJBS Conference is available at https://ajbs.org/
Louisville, the meeting venue and 2025 AIB conference is available at https://www.aib.world/events/2025/
For questions on:
Conference papers and submissions, please contact the Program Chair, Masashi Arai (ajbsconf@aib.msu.edu or arai@asia-u.ac.jp)
AJBS or conference registration, please contact AJBS.org@gmail.com or the AJBS President, Carol Reade (carol.reade@sjsu.edu)
AJBS Conference Leadership
Program Chair: Masashi ARAI, Asia University, Japan
President: Carol Reade, San José State University, USA
Vice-President: Derek Lehmberg, North Dakota State University, USA,Treasurer: Naoki Ando, Hosei University, Japan
Secretary: Richard Nakamura, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Public Relations: Ting Liu, Kyoto University, Japan
Executive Director of the Secretariat: Diane Bird, Forest Grove, USA