It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the 2026 Annual Meeting of the Academy of International Business in Manchester, United Kingdom. This year’s conference brings us together at the University of Manchester, under the timely and important theme: “Generational Shifts and International Business: Navigating Demographic Change in a Diverging World”.

This theme speaks directly to the world in which international business scholarship now operates. Across countries and regions, populations are aging, birth rates are changing, workforces are expanding in some parts of the world and contracting in others, and generational expectations about work, mobility, consumption, technology, leadership, and institutions are shifting. These developments are not background conditions for IB; they are central to how firms internationalize, how global value chains are organized, how talent is managed, how markets evolve, and how societies negotiate the future of globalization.

Manchester is a fitting place for such conversations. It is a city shaped by industrial transformation, migration, entrepreneurship, social change, and reinvention. Its history reminds us that business, technology, labor, place, and society have always been deeply intertwined. It presents a rich setting for reflecting on the major transitions facing international business: geopolitical turmoil, technological transformation, climate change, demographic divergence, generational renewal, and the changing geography of opportunity.

These issues cut across the full range of IB scholarship. They matter for global strategy, global value chains, international HRM, migration, sustainability, diversity, finance, marketing, entrepreneurship, policy, teaching, and research methods. They invite us to think across levels of analysis—from individuals and teams, to firms and industries, to countries, regions, and global systems. They also invite us to work across disciplines, drawing insights from management, economics, sociology, demography, psychology, finance, marketing, and beyond.

This is precisely where AIB is at its best. Our community brings together scholars from across the world, across generations, across methodological traditions, and across intellectual perspectives. We do not always see the world in the same way, and that is one of our strengths. The Annual Meeting allows us to debate, challenge, refine, and expand our understanding of international business in a spirit of openness and collegiality.

The Annual Meeting is only one part of a much broader AIB ecosystem—one that supports research, teaching, professional development, networking, and the dissemination of knowledge throughout the year—which includes our journals, regional chapters, and special interest groups.

The 2026 conference also reminds us of AIB’s responsibility to make IB scholarship matter. Our work helps explain the changing realities of firms, markets, institutions, and societies. But it can also help shape better decisions—by educators, managers, policymakers, and communities. At a time when the world and global economy are reshaping in profound but uneven ways, our scholarship has much to contribute.

Along these lines, Manchester Metropolitan University and AIB UK & Ireland are organizing a Day of Cross-Cutting Dialogue between research and policy. It will feature high-profile panels of scholars and politicians discussing issues like geopolitical fragmentation, the imperative of sustainability, and techno-nationalism. This political dialogue day takes place just before the AIB Meeting and is open to all AIB 2026 Meeting delegates.

I want to express my deep appreciation to Program Chair Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, Pre-Conference Chair Grazia Santangelo, and the entire program team for developing a stimulating intellectual agenda for AIB 2026. I also extend my sincere thanks to Timothy Devinney, the local organizing committee, and our host institutions in Manchester for their tremendous work in preparing to welcome our global community. I also want to thank the many reviewers, track chairs, session chairs, panelists, presenters, volunteers, AIB Fellows, chapter leaders, Special Interest Group leaders, and members of the AIB Secretariat who will make this meeting possible.

Most of all, I thank you—our members—for bringing your ideas, energy, questions, and commitment to Manchester. Whether you are attending your first AIB conference or returning to reconnect with long-time colleagues, I hope this meeting will offer intellectual inspiration, new collaborations, constructive debate, and a renewed sense of belonging to a truly global scholarly community.

I look forward to seeing you in Manchester as we explore how generational shifts and demographic change are reshaping international business—and how IB scholarship can help us understand, navigate, and improve the world that is emerging.

Torben Pedersen
President (2025-2026), Academy of International Business
Professor of Global Strategy, Copenhagen Business School