JABES Seminar Talks (JST 2020) with the message Asian context, Global Problems: Opportunities and challenges for Asian Management scholars

26 Jan, 2021

The Seminar with the theme "Economics and Business: Agendas for the Uncertain World" consists of a series of talks related to economics and business aimed at directing research in the context of ongoing global instability (such as the Covid-19 epidemic). Under the presentation of Professor Ajai Gaur - guest attending as speaker, JABES Seminar Talks (JST 2020) was the first in a series of events held on December 22nd, 2020, at Campus A of HCMC University of Economics (UEH), attracting more than 60 guests online and nearly 20 guests related to economics and business attended offline.

2020 was a year of volatility for the whole world. The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted many countries to implement different policies to limit the spread of the epidemic. In addition, this outbreak has significantly affected the global economy while creating unprecedented challenges and opportunities, affecting the future development of the economy. Moreover, countries' economies have mutual impacts. Especially the developing economies of Asian countries are most affected. Therefore, scenarios and predictions regarding countries' economic and business impacts need to be considered after the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Seminar "Economics and Business: Agendas for the Uncertain World" consists of a series of talks related to economics and business, aimed at directing research in the context of ongoing global instability (such as the Covid-19 pandemic). JABES Seminar Talks (JST 2020) with the theme "Asian context, Global Problems: Opportunities and Challenges for Asian Management Scholars”, presented by Professor Ajai Gaur, a guest speaker, was the first in a series of conferences held on December 22nd, 2020 at HCMC University of Economics (UEH), Campus A - 59C Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Ward 6, District 3. The Seminar attracted more than 60 guests online, and nearly 20 guests related to economics and business attended offline.

Prof. Nguyen Trong Hoai, Vice-President, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Asian Business and Economic Studies (JABES), chaired the Seminar. At the beginning of the program, Mr. Huynh Luu Duc Toan, representative of the Journal of Asian Business and Economic Studies, made the opening remarks, announcing the reasons and context of the Seminar on the topic of opportunities and challenges for economic management in the context of the Asian economy.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Trong Hoai - Vice-President and Editor-in-Chief of the Magazine attended as chair of JST 2020

Prof. Huynh Luu Duc Toan – made a statement on reasons for organizing JST2020

At the Seminar, Professor Ajai Gaur lecture on the topic "Asian context, global issues: Opportunities and challenges for Asian scholars". Professor Ajai Gaur is a professor of Strategic Management and International Business at Rutgers School of Business. Professor Ajai currently holds the position of Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of World Business (ABDC: A*, ABS: 4, Impact factor: 5194) and the advisory board of the Journal of International Business Studies (ABDC: A*, ABS: 4*, Impact factor: 9,158). Professor Ajai's research has been published in leading journals of international strategy and business, including Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management, ABDC: A*, ABS: 4*, Impact factor: 8.8), Journal of Management Studies, ABDC: A*, ABS: 4, Impact factor: 4,888), Global Strategy Journal (ABDC: A, ABS: 3, Impact factor: 4,065), and Organizational Research Methods (ABDC: A*, ABS: 4, Impact factor: 5,705). Professor Ajai Gaur has won the award five times, and nine finalists have been nominated for various awards: the AIB's Best Thesis Proposal Award, the AIB's Best Thesis Award, and the best review paper awarded the scholarship.

Professor Ajai Gaur talks with online attendees and in-person guests

The key point the Professor offers is that the challenges which are truly global are locally challenging and must be addressed at the local level. Moreover, global challenges are inherently due to Asian challenges (e.g., pollution, population growth, traffic congestion, problems in developing countries in Asia, etc.). In the face of these challenges, this is an opportunity for Asian researchers, as Asian scholars themselves to understand the context better than academics from elsewhere. Only Asian scholars can come up with the best solution for the very locality in which they live.

He said that the facing global challenges, especially for Asian countries, are: Green energy and stable goods prices, good jobs, sustainable economic growth, innovation infrastructure, smart cities, the impact of climate change on competition and markets. Besides, the role of technology in today's society is also an opportunity for Asian researchers.

Even before the GLOBAL COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, between China and the U.S., there was a trade war, companies were thinking of re-positioning the global value chain, which became especially important in the period of dealing with the pandemic. Countries like Vietnam and many Southeast Asian countries have tremendous opportunities to attract foreign direct investment. As tensions between the U.S. and China and related to COVID-19, many corporations are looking to relocate activities in their value chains and take them out of China. However, many of these companies do not even know what is available, and the government doe not know what policies they should put in place to attract foreign direct investment. That is why Professor Ajai believes this is a tremendous opportunity for Asian scholars and research-oriented to bring more information to society, businesses, and policymakers.

At the end of the Seminar, Professor Ajai summarized some academic studies that focused too much on theory, and this was a research gap, such as International business, supply chain, marketing are new academic trends, many researchers have ignored the problems of the real world or the social challenges that we are facing.

The Seminar took place successfully, nicely, oriented research issues related to management and economy in the uncertainty of the global economy.

To continue the series of seminars with the theme "Economics and Business: Agendas for the Uncertain World", JABES Seminar Talks (JST 2021) will continue on January 21st. 2021 with the presence and presentation of Professor Kevin Lang with the theme "Agenda for Labour Economics Research in an Uncertain World". Professor Kevin Lang is working at Boston University (USA), and is a member of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), President of the Society of Labor Economists and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Labour Economics (ABDC: A*, ABS: 4, Impact factor: 3,356). All information about registration for JST 2021 is posted on JABES's website.