Beatriz Rodríguez-Satizábal

2021 Hopin Virtual Events Platform

Abstract: This paper aims to explore the use of the past as an affective event in family firms. In particular, we are interested in analyzing how historical celebrations are the opportunity for the family business to experience and give meaning to its legacy through the management and experience of affective events. Grounding in the affective events theory (Weiss, & Cropanzano, 1996) and “uses of the past” literature (Foster et al., 2017), we propose a discussion on how a family firm decided to celebrate its first one hundred years of existence during a period of strategic change and increasing turbulence in the sugar industry. As a result, we explain how emotions influence business decisions and performance through the strategic use of their past as a family-owned firm. Methodologically, we accomplish this using case analysis (Eisenhardt, 1989, 1991; Eisenhardt & Graebner, 2007) and archival data of Manuelita, a sugar company founded in 1864 by James Eder, a North American entrepreneur, who started by owning a traditional sugar plantation to then transformed it into a modern sugar cane factory in Colombia. Later, in 1930, his sons took control over and expanded the business trying to reach economies of scale and dominate the national market by investing in new sugar technologies and land ownership. Our analysis of monthly board minutes, history books edited by the family, newspapers, and correspondence intend to reveal how the family firms managed and experience the celebration of the first one hundred years of the company. Overall, our study contributes to the literature on the uses of the past and emotions in family firms.

2023 Detroit, MI, United States

Abstract: The second globalization wave has seen an increase in the women participation in the Peruvian market, both as entrepreneurs and managers. Commonly, women’s ventures were a reaction to changes in the economic, political and social environment. Between the increase in access to education promoted since 1950, the massive entry into the labour market in 1970 (Barrig 1988; Tello and Paredes 1989; Elías 1994) and the impact of the 1980 debt crisis, the transformation of women's work and its role in the economy is a more visible reality since 1980. Despite these changes, the emphasis of gender studies in Peru has been on women as subjects of political and health rights, as vital members of the family unit, exploring the differences between rural and urban women, especially those related to perception and impact of machismo, and women as cultural managers and artists. Thus, this paper aims to contribute to the analysis of women as economic actors by answering the question on how the press reported the characteristics of Peruvian women and their relationship to changes in society. Based on a review of newspaper articles published in El Comercio (newspaper of record) and Gestión (economics and business newspaper) between 1980 and 2020, we trace the way in which this media outlet gives visibility to women's activities during a period of adjustments.

2023 Detroit, MI, United States

2026 London

Abstract: The twenty-first century has renewed debates about the interconnection of three key spheres within business history: academic research, education, and practice. This paper argues that the articulation of these spheres can advance through three complementary approaches: (1) reflecting on the role of historical thinking in addressing contemporary challenges; (2) fostering historical thinking and the insights derived from historical research within business school curricula; and (3) promoting historical thinking, memory, and oral history as vehicles for historically informed perspectives among practitioners and decision-makers in firms. These approaches are examined through the lens of the subfield of applied [business] history, which has gained increasing prominence worldwide over the past decade and has been developed as both a research agenda and a pedagogical framework by the Business History Research Group at Universidad EAFIT, Colombia, since 2021. The paper makes three main contributions. First, it provides a synthesis of the current theoretical and methodological advances—as well as the existing limitations—within the subfield of applied business history. Second, it presents preliminary findings from the graded course assignment Research/Consulting in Applied Business History, based on interviews conducted by students with general managers and decision-makers from companies of various sizes, mostly located in Colombia, over the past two years within the undergraduate course Business History at EAFIT University’s School of Management. Third, it outlines potential research directions to further consolidate applied business history and strengthen its articulation with academic research, management education, and business practice.