Current status and future direction: views from global thought leaders - II

Current status and future direction: views from global thought leaders - II

This special issue – Number 2 of a series – by personal invitation from the editor includes articles from an exclusive group of “global thought leaders”. This selected group consists of academics that have had a lifetime of experience in their field of expertise.

The contributors are distinguished and well-known members of academia. The purpose of this special issue series is to document and share parts of their accumulated lifetime knowledge. Their insights and reflections will be valuable to the research community worldwide. Their ideas should also be of great importance to business. The special issue series will provide a unique source of their thoughts of the past, the present and their beliefs about the future.

The views of these global thought leaders are published in an unbiased manner, because their thoughts are based upon their long-term expertise. I am convinced that their expertise is indisputable and it does not need to be blind reviewed! Furthermore, their thoughts might inspire current and forthcoming generations in academia and business to unprecedented achievements in research and practice. So, this special issue consists of a selection of distinguished contributions as follows:

The first article is authored by Professor Shelby D. Hunt of Texas Tech University, USA. He shares his thoughts on economic growth in terms of whether policy should focus on investment or dynamic competition.

The second article is authored by Professor Ralph Stacey of the University of Hertfordshire, UK. He shares his thoughts on the challenge of human interdependence and the consequences for thinking about the day to day practice of management in organizations.

The third article is authored by Professor Joe F. Hair of Kennesaw State University, USA. He shares his thoughts in the field of knowledge creation in marketing and discusses the role of predictive analytics.

The fourth article is co-authored by Professor Michael R. Czinkota, Georgetown University, USA and Professor A. Coskun Samli, University of Florida, USA. They share their thoughts in the field of international marketing and its performance during the second half of the twentieth century.

The last article of this special issue is authored by Professor Ronald Ballou of Case Western Reserve University, USA. He shares his thoughts on the evolution and future of logistics and supply chain management.

I truly wish that you – the reader of European Business Review – will find the five contributions of this special issue of great intellectual interest and stimulation. I also believe that both scholars and practitioners will find them valuable, because they are based upon thorough expertise and deep insights communicated by highly knowledgeable and well-known professors in academia. In fact, their articles may be used for teaching purposes in higher education and doctoral programs, as well as at higher research seminars in academia.

The next special issue (i.e. number 3!) on views from global thought leaders will appear in European Business Review in mid-2008, including another collection of refreshing, thought-provoking and challenging articles from distinguished professors in academia worldwide.

So keep an eye out for this special issue series and the other ones that will appear in European Business Review during 2007/2008 and onward. For example, other forthcoming special issues in progress are on Wroe Alderson's intellectual legacy (Issue 6, 2007) academic publishing and academic journals/II (2008) and business schools or schools for scholars (2008).

Welcome to the thought-provoking and challenging world of European Business Review!

Göran SvenssonOslo School of Management, Norway