2027 BHC Call for Papers

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Business History Conference 2027

Call for Papers

Business History and Political Economy

Corporations are political actors. They have political agendas and, when having enough power, develop strategies to shape and influence the political and economic landscape in which they operate. Scholars studying political economy, understood as the relationship between politics and economics, have considered the conflicts between social groups (represented by political movements) as the driving forces determining the creation of different economic and political orders at different times in history. The corporation, however, is often viewed as an actor that adapts to these wider economic and political changes, rather than as a driver of those changes. This call invites panels and papers that study the role of corporations in shaping and influencing the wider economic and political environment in which they operate, and the strategies they developed to achieve this end. The BHC program committee particularly welcomes studies that bring into the debate corporations from less developed or emerging countries or corporations that operate outside their country’s borders. With the conference taking place in Mexico City, papers or panels focusing on less developed or emerging economies are particularly welcome. We are also interested in including in our program studies that take a multi-disciplinary approach or that use theoretical approaches from disciplines like political science, economics, or sociology.

Marcelo Bucheli, BHC President, 2026-2027

2027 BHC Program Committee

Natalya Vinokurova, Program Committee Chair, Lehigh University, USA
Christy Chapin, University of Maryland at Baltimore County, USA
Laura Phillips-Sawyer, University of Georgia at Athens, USA
Jairo Campuzano, Universidad EAFIT, Colombia
Pierre-Yves Donzé, Osaka University, Japan

Venue

The 2027 Business History Conference will take place on March 18-20 at the Sheraton Mexico City Maria Isabel Hotel, in Mexico City, Mexico.

Proposals and Submissions

The deadline for receipt of all paper and session proposals is October 16, 2026

The BHC Program Committee invites sessions and papers that consider business history and political economy from a variety of different perspectives. While we encourage submissions to take up the conference theme, proposals addressing other topics in business history will receive equal consideration by the program committee in accordance with BHC policy.

Graduate students and emerging scholars in the field are particularly encouraged to attend. Graduate students and recent PhDs whose proposals are accepted may apply for funds to partially defray their travel costs. Information will be sent out once the program has been set.

The committee will prioritize fully formed panel proposals (composed of 3-4 papers, a discussant, and a chair). We also encourage creative formats that foster lively interactions among presenters and with the audience, such as roundtables and workshops. For recommendations on how to form sessions with other scholars, please see the panel proposal forums on the BHC website.

Individual paper submissions will be combined into new panels defined by themes chosen at the committee’s discretion.

Each presentation proposal should include a one-page (300 words) abstract and one-page curriculum vitae (CV) for each participant. Panel/roundtable proposals should also include a cover letter containing a title, a one-paragraph description of the session, the name and affiliation of a recruited chair (and discussant, if applicable), and the contact information for the session organizer.

To submit a proposal, go to https://thebhc.org/proposal-instructions.

In order to ensure balance, and in line with past practice, participants are limited to presenting only once in the program (e.g., presenting a paper or participating in a roundtable,). Participants may, however, also serve as the chair or discussant in another session.

The deadline for submitting is October 16, 2026. Notice of acceptance will be given by December 15, 2026. Information on registration and fees for participation and the provisional program will be announced by the end of January 2027. Everyone appearing on the program must register for the meeting.

Tercer Taller “Empresariado en América Latina en Perspectiva Histórica y Global” (en español)

El día previo al inicio de la conferencia, se desarrollará el Tercer Taller “Empresariado en América Latina en Perspectiva Histórica y Global.” Este taller se realizará en español y está abierto a académicos de América Latina y España para que presenten resultados de investigaciones recientes en historia empresarial de la región.

Las personas interesadas en participar en este evento deben enviar los resúmenes (máximo de 300 palabras) de sus ponencias antes del 10 de noviembre de 2026 y tendrán respuesta a mediados de diciembre. Los resúmenes deben ser enviados a la coordinadora del taller, Profesora Andrea Lluch (andrealluch@gmail.com).

Dissertation Colloquium

The BHC Doctoral Colloquium (DC) in Business History will be held on Thursday, March 18th, 2027. The participants will be invited for a welcome dinner on Wednesday, March 17th in Mexico City. During the DC, there will also be professional development sessions scheduled.

Prizes

The BHC offers a number of prizes tied to the conference. Please overview the following requirements to see if your paper can be considered and indicate that during the submission process.