Ever since the publication of the BRIC [ Brazil, Russia, India , China ] report by Goldman Sachs in 2001, the debate about the role of emerging countries vs. the developed countries in shaping global business has gathered momentum. A revised version of the same report entitled “BRICs and Beyond by the same authors, with upward revision of certain growth projections, has added further fuel to the debate so much so that by now, most countries have accepted that the world economy is in transition. In other words, the countries as above, joined by others such as South Korea, Mexico and to some extent the major Arab countries and Iran and Indonesia will exert a much greater influence in world affairs aided by their increasing economic power. The developed countries, led obviously by the major economies of USA, Japan, Germany, Britain , France and others [ the so-called G-7/8 group of nations ] have accepted that their dominance in shaping world opinion will be shelved as the growth gradient of the emerging economies  becomes increasingly steeper. Nowhere has this been more reflected than in the  G-20 [ Group of 20 countries  developed and emerging ] meet last year [ 2008 ] in calling for fiscal stimulus to induce growth to beat the recessionary forces.

It is but natural that  such a changing economic scenario calls for fresh thinking towards development of policies examining macroeconomic stability as well as framing of strategies by firms irrespective of their sizes . Multinationals and SMEs, all will be involved in formulating strategies to compete effectively and grow- whether they belong to agriculture, industry or service sectors.

There is intense pressure on both governments and businesses to perform and deliver. In such a scenario, alternative -and may even be controversial-policies and strategies  will need to be thought out and placed before the decision making bodies.

Many experts have predicted the end of US dominance of world markets following the current business cycle. Needless to say, this will have strategic significance for the businesses at large as well as for those responsible for country management. The basic objective of the conference would then be to expose the participants to the challenges that lie ahead as a result of the shift in the purchasing power of countries in the east and the west. This could best be achieved by bringing together experts from various fields-academics and professionals- to discuss and evaluate the options opening up on a common platform namely, the conference proposed. It is expected that at the end of this exercise, the participants would be in a position to develop actionable strategies to put their organisations on a higher gradient of growth.

Subject Coverage

Although broad in coverage, the following areas are indicative and nurture the interests of the Conference:

• The linkage between international trade and overseas aid

• International Trade in the context of the current economic climate

• Transparency in government procurement

• Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

• Remittances and their part in trade and export development

• The interplay between the G4 and trade round implementation issues

• How trade facilitation is conceptualized and made operational in different emerging markets

• The role of the Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM)

• The linkages between global trade and corporate social responsibility

• The language and rhetoric of import sensitive products

• Business ethics and legal issues

• Business policies, strategies, and performance

• Business and retail research

• Consumer behaviour

• Emerging advances in business and its applications

• Innovation and product development

• Management and retail marketing

• Risk Management

• Retail Management and communication

• New venture start-up

• Demographics and Retail business, HRM and Retail business

• Innovation in retail management

• Faculty members or leaders who wish to develop or enhance programmes of study into international trade

• Academics and policy makers seeking to gain a broader insight into the issue of international trade

• Academics wishing to elucidate their own academic papers and benefit from subsequent discussions into issued raised.

• Faculty members who wish to forge fresh contacts in their field of study.

• Policy makers keen to gain a deeper appreciation of the current dynamics of the Global Economy.

• A fabulous opportunity to interact with fellow academics.

• An opportunity to see firsthand something of one of the BRIC economies.

• The conference will also feature a major International Trade Networking Event being attended by a number of diplomats, NGOs and leading figures from the world of international commerce.

• Academics will be able to enhance their research skills.

• A chance to present your paper and have it appraised and discussed by fellow academics.

• Your paper will be published in a special edition of the Journal of Business and Retail Management Research (listed Cabell's directory)

• Conference attendee voting will determine recipients of both the TLC and ABR conference Best Paper awards.

• Those who attend will automatically get go on to the priority booking for future conferences.

• Attendees will be eligible for an automatic 10% reduction on our next conference.

• Session timing: 15 minutes will be allowed for each presentation.