Special Issue: German Business Economics

Aim and Scope of the Special Issue: In recent decades, research in business economics in Germany has increasingly become internationalized. However, unlike in natural sciences, knowledge in business economics is typically bound to a specific place and time. Against this backdrop, we call for contributions that take up a specifically German perspective in one of the following ways:

1. The contributions may address an aspect that is characterized by a particular tradition of research in Germany. In other countries, particularly in Anglo-Saxon countries, these questions were not in the same focus or were not examined from the same perspective. Examples could be given from the fields of business valuation and production theory, but it is important to question why there are "German peculiarities" in these areas.

2. The contributions may come from areas where the institutional environment plays a special role, as is the case, for example, in business taxation or accounting. This naturally raises the question of a national and thus a German perspective on certain problems. Potential questions could speak to the determinants or the interpretation of the institutional framework and also address its economic consequences. Such research should still offer conclusions that are generalizable beyond the German context.

3. In general, the question arises as to the extent to which empirical results for other countries can be transferred to Germany, since cultural peculiarities may also play a role in addition to the institutional framework. However, such research must be firmly based on a comprehensive theoretical foundation.

4. Even in sub-areas where normative questions are paramount, especially in business ethics, the German perspective on certain issues may be special. However, if there are already differences in goal definition, there will be differences in problem solving as well.

5. Each country has its own specific problems or overall economic/societal framework conditions that require special solutions, for example, based on the given production factor endowment (few raw materials, well-educated workforce, aging population, high immigration), which could lead to specific German questions and solutions.

The call is open to researchers from all sub-disciplines of business economics. Theoretical and empirical papers with a clear quantitative focus are particularly welcome. Empirical papers should be based on theoretically derived hypotheses and state-of-the-art hypotheses testing. Papers must be written in English and must not contain any reference to the identity of the authors.

Please submit an (extended) abstract of about 1,000 words to wolfgang.breuer@bfw.rwth-aachen.de by 06/30/2023. The authors of the selected abstracts will be invited to submit a full paper by 11/30/2023. They must not have been published previously. Submitted papers will be double-blind peer-reviewed and – upon acceptance – published in a special issue of the Journal of Business Economics at the beginning of 2025.

This collection was curated by the Editor in Chief from articles that also appear in the journal's issues. The journal&'s standard peer review policy applies here. If an article was also included in a special issue of the journal, please see the instruction for authors for the special issue peer review policy.