Positioning in the IB Conversation (jibs-literature-positioning)

When to trigger

• Your introduction reads as "little research has examined X" (gap-spotting)
• You cite general-management work but not the IB conversation your paper joins
• A reviewer asks "how does this engage existing IB theory?"
• You are unsure which IB debate your finding actually speaks to

Problematize, do not gap-spot

JIBS, as a phenomenon-driven journal, rewards papers that problematize an assumption in the IB literature rather than catalog an empty cell. Identify a tension, an anomaly, or a contested mechanism in IB scholarship and show why resolving it matters for understanding cross-border activity. "No one has studied this country" is not a contribution; "the dominant internationalization-process account predicts X, but this phenomenon shows the opposite" is.

Join a live IB conversation

Situate the work inside a recognizable, ongoing IB debate — for example: