by Jonas Puck
Just one year into my PhD studies, I had the opportunity to visit the 2003 EIBA Annual Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. If I remember correctly, this also was my first competitive paper presentation. I presented a paper jointly with a colleague and I believe it would be fair to say that the idea of the paper was slightly better than the execution. At the same time, I perceived the comments and feedback from the audience as critical but very developmental and I believe we strongly benefitted from it. The room was quite full with people and I remember that I felt quite special to present to many scholars I had only cited in my references before. At the same time, the perceived distance between me (being a very young and unexperienced scholar) and the big IB stars in the audience was quite low.
Looking forward, I believe that both the quality and developmental nature of the feedback and the warm welcome I perceived are two of the core elements of the special nature of EIBA. Both dimensions where also guiding me when developing EIBA 2016 in Vienna and should be nurtured and further developed by EIBA as far as possible. Doing so will help to maintain and expand the open, friendly, and social atmosphere while simultaneously striving for highest quality feedback.
by Stefnao Elia
Back in 2007, I took part to my first EIBA conference in Catania. At that time, I was afraid as I was going to present a paper in a large conference for the first time ever. However, after arriving and attending some sessions, I felt immediately at ease as the environment was extremely friendly and the feedbacks were very constructive. The comments I received were very helpful to advance my paper. Additionally, the EIBA 2007 was the starting point to create my new network of international business scholars, which has continuously increased after attending all the next conferences and which allowed me to expand my research collaborations and develop new ideas. Attending all the other EIBA conferences was extremely useful also to gain knowledge on how to organize big events, which I employed when we hosted the EIBA conference 2017 in Milan. This was one of the most challenging but also one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
I see a bright future for EIBA, as I believe that it will increase both its scientific and social values, by fostering the quality of research in international business and by promoting cross-countries collaborations and circulation of new ideas. These are, indeed, the main assets of this association, which need to be not only preserved but also expanded, and which I am sure are going to be appreciated by both present and future EIBA members.