Last July, the annual Business Association of Latin American Studies (BALAS)  conference was held remotely, which was attended by more than 100 participants from business schools and organizations interested in Latin American business.

 

Continuing with the objective of promoting education, research and providing a setting for the exchange of ideas and discussion on Latin American issues that affect the business environment of both national and transnational companies, this year the conference topic was focused on the impact caused by the COVID19 pandemic.

 

Considering the current outlook that Latin America is experiencing because of the global health crisis, the topics addressed led to discussions that sought to contribute to helping the region’s economies towards becoming more resilient and achieve better results in terms of economic recovery and solid job creation programs, especially in terms of strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises, which are recognized as crucial for economic and social development.

 

Among the issues discussed centered on business and economic recovery, the emphasis focused on three elements: innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology, which were analyzed by academics and researchers from recognized and prestigious international universities. 

 

On this occasion, the event was organized by the University of La Salle in Colombia and had the collaboration of a consortium of member schools, among which were Universidad de Los Andes and Universidad de Rosario, Colombia; Universidad ESAN, Peru; Universidad de Puerto Rico and the Faculty of Economics and Business of Universidad de Chile.

 
Among the FEN spectators present at this year's conference were faculty academics from the Administration Department Cristóbal Barra, Francisco Sánchez, José Luis Ruiz, Juan Pablo Torres; Pablo Farías; the director of the Department of Administration, Pedro Hidalgo and the director of the School of Economics and Administration, Roberto Álvarez.

 

The BALAS event, this year once again, offered publication opportunities and collaborative agreements with leading business and economics media, as part of the support and networks it provides for the development of successive generations of Latin American and Caribbean academic and professional leaders.

 
Among the publishing agreements and associations that BALAS maintains so that the best articles, cases, and works are considered and evaluated for possible publication, are Journal of Business Research (Q1), Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administración - ARLA (Q2), Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Science (Q2), Brazilian magazine Gestão e Negócios (Q3), and Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies (Q3) .

 
In addition to the annual conferences, BALAS produces special edition publications, doctoral consortia, case studies, and award programs, continuing with the commitment of being a space that drives innovation and helps increase entrepreneurship in the region.

 
FEN’s marked presence at BALAS 2021
Once again, the Faculty of Economics and Business left with one of the most important distinctions of the event, the Best Teaching Case Award for “Viña Concha y Toro and its restructuring challenge”, a case developed jointly by María Pilar Pizarro, Ema Oyarce, Juan Pablo Torres and Francisco Sánchez graduates and professors of the MBA FEN UCHILE, respectively.
 

“The case mainly deals with how in 2017 Viña Concha y Toro exhaustively reviewed its production and commercial processes, considering the current global changes affecting the wine industry. The company began a restructuring whose main objectives were to control expenses and costs, considering doubling operational results in 5 years” explains Ema Oyarce, Account Manager of Immersive Technologies.

 
From an academic perspective, Juan Pablo Torres, director of  the Sunrise MBA and MBA Concepción programs indicates that “the recognition shows the importance of teaching, educating and training MBA students through case study instruction. It even enhances the interest that MBA program professionals show today in solving a complex and real corporate problem, which also allows them to develop their thesis work or Equivalent Training Activity”.

 
Additionally, the Department of Administration professors Pedro Hidalgo, Pablo Farías, Sergio Olavarrieta and Enrique Manzur were nominated for the Lourdes S. Casaniva Best Applied Paper Award for their research on “Consumer Responds to Exaggerated Claims for Utilitarian and Hedonic Products”.