How it all Started

Some Historical Notes on the Crafting of IFSAM

Professor Klaus Macharzina

University of Hohenheim, Germany

In the first year of the new millennium IFSAM will grow 10 years old which does not seem to be a remarkable step in the life of an organization. Nevertheless the Editor of our Newsletter asked me to contribute a short review of the "history" of our still young organization which I am pleased to attempt. From the standpoint of a growing number of members over the years a look back might focus the earlier development which set the cornerstone for the international federation of today. 

When we discuss historical events two major questions might be addressed for explanatory purposes. At first we ask for the reasons of the event we are interested in. Secondly and not less important the "historian" has to point at the initial actions which lead to the event. Following this distinction my first concern is to hint at some of the more general reasons which shed some light on the background for the establishment of IFSAM.

The idea to establish a federation of the national academic associations in the field of management came up in the early 80ies. Incidentally, this was also the period in which the discussion about the phenomenon of ‘globalization’ emerged. Up to now the dynamic change from a more national to a global perspective of the environment plays an important role with respect to both actual problems and possible solutions in most parts of our society. Not only companies but also a growing number of NGOs have been following the new guideline "Think global, act local". Companies such as ABB and Sony or a NGO such as Greenpeace announced the new strategy indicating that the prerequisites of success of organizations are changing in these days. In the meantime the variety of slogans companies use and the strategies behind range from the original version to its opposite "Think local, act global" including any imaginable modification in between.

As the political, social and economic conditions were changing the scientific arena did not remain untouched. Especially the research on economic topics is confronted more and more with the international aspect concerning the situation of companies as well as industries and national economies. The accelerating growth of cross-border capital flows and of foreign direct investments in most industrialized countries, the increasing attention to
intercultural problems or the behavior of companies which follow international or global strategies are only some examples of the importance of the cross-border perspective in academic work.

But not only does the focus of international research in Business and Economics lend to the importance of institutionalized contacts between national academic associations. The internationalization process as such has also affected the field of teaching in universities or business schools. The education of students has to comply with the requirements of international career patterns. This requires that teaching contents be modified and international experiences are gained by way of international exchange programs.