Corporate governance, resilience, and sustainable value creation in Latin America
Corporate governance, resilience, and sustainable value creation in Latin America
Global agenda 06 October 2026
BALAS 2027 will bring researchers together at Esade to explore who makes decisions in companies, which interests guide those decisions, and how they influence the region’s development.
| To access the official registration, which closes on October 9, 2026, click here. To visit the BALAS 2027 website, click here. |
How can companies create value beyond the short term? Who makes decisions within them, and whose interests do they serve? Can good corporate governance become a driver of institutional modernization and sustainable development?
These questions are at the heart of BALAS 2027, the annual conference of the Business Association of Latin American Studies, which will take place at Esade in Barcelona from March 16 to 19, 2027. Under the theme Corporate Governance, Resilience, and Sustainable Value Creation in Latin America, the event will be academically coordinated by Esade professors and researchers Alfred Vernis, Ruth V. Aguilera, and Nestor U. Salcedo.
Latin America offers an especially relevant context for exploring these questions. The region brings together diverse institutional and business realities, with distinctive ownership structures, such as business groups, and a strong presence of family firms. Added to this are social challenges, digital transformation, and ever-higher sustainability expectations. For researchers, understanding how companies create long-term value, build resilience, and contribute to sustainable development is more necessary today than ever.
The debate will extend across several disciplines. In addition to a track devoted to corporate governance, the conference will host research on economics and public policy, strategy and family business, entrepreneurship and innovation, finance, marketing, and leadership, among other fields. Sustainability and digital transformation will also be part of this conversation.
Behind this edition is a well-established community. BALAS is an international academic association founded in 1989 that connects researchers focused on Latin America and its role in the global economy.
With the region as its focus, holding the event in Barcelona makes it possible to broaden the dialogue toward an Ibero-American perspective and incorporate the experiences of Spain and Portugal. Contrasting institutional and business contexts can help us understand why certain forms of governance work differently depending on where they are applied, and what lessons can be shared.
At Esade, we invite the research community to share its work, take part in an international academic dialogue, and help shape the future of business knowledge in Latin America. The thematic areas, requirements, deadlines, and access to paper submission can be found on the BALAS 2027 website.