The History of the Academy of International Business and its Chapters

This chapter examines the emergence and development of AIB as the preeminent professional association of IB and discusses its role in shaping the IB as a field of study. Building on theories of professional associations, combined with insights of social movement and interest groups, the chapter begins with theorization of academic associations and their role in the development of academic fields of study. Drawing on this framework, the authors outline the evolution of the AIB as an international academic association, referring to the internal and external forces that facilitated and inhibited its growth over time. The discussion focuses on the evolution of AIB chapters, drawing on extensive face-to-face interviews with founders and current chairs of the AIB’s chapters that have marshalled this institutional development, supported by archival material. Applying qualitative methods of analyses to the interview material, the AIB is likened to an MNE, with the AIB Executive Board as its HQs and the chapters equated with the affiliates. Within this framework, the authors discuss the challenges to the institutional development of AIB and the way these shaped its expansion. The authors introduce the ‘IB scholar’s mindset’ construct and suggest that it explains the chapters’ agendas and their relationships with the AIB Executive Board. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the local and regional relevance of AIB chapters for the growth of the AIB.