Decolonizing international business

Boussebaa, M. (2023) Decolonizing international business. Critical Perspectives on International Business, 19(4), pp. 550-565. (doi: 10.1108/cpoib-12-2022-0121)

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to encourage scholars of international business (IB) to engage with the “decolonizing the university” project and reflect on what decolonizing might mean for IB research and education. The paper also argues that it is particularly important for IB scholars to join the decolonizing project given that the field’s main object of study – the multinational enterprise – has been central to colonialism. Design/methodology/approach: An essay style is adopted to introduce the decolonizing project to IB and to explain why and how this scholarly field might benefit from engaging with it. As part of that, the paper calls upon IB scholars to work on decolonizing the field and to do so by not only interrogating its knowledge claims but also broadening the scope of its research so it can address the theme of neo-colonialism. Findings: The paper reveals the conspicuous absence of IB scholars from the decolonizing project and situates such absence within a long-standing indifference within IB to the issue of colonialism. Social implications: In learning about and engaging with the decolonizing project, IB scholars will be able to not only enrich IB theory and education but also help to tackle one of the grand challenges facing the modern world society, namely, social inequality and injustice rooted in colonialism. Originality/value: It is hoped that this paper will stimulate reflection on IB’s absence from the decolonizing project and assist scholars in developing an understanding of the project’s rationale and underlying literature. It is also hoped that the paper will open dialogue within IB about how this field might be decolonized and help scholars engage meaningfully with other disciplines as they do so.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Boussebaa, Professor Mehdi
• Authors: Boussebaa, M.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Management
• Journal Name: Critical Perspectives on International Business
• Publisher: Emerald
• ISSN: 1742-2043
• ISSN (Online): 1758-6062
• Published Online: 12 June 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 Emerald Publishing Ltd
• First Published: First published in Critical Perspectives on International Business 19(4):550-565
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher