The Seventh International Conference on Strategic Management in Latin America (SMLA), co-sponsored by Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez and the Journal of Business Research, was held on January 5 and 6, 2017, in Santiago, Chile. The theme of the conference was Challenges for Latin American Firms in a Changing World. Technological innovation, digital networks, in addition to changes in national business settings, have led to significant transformations in business models, innovation processes, corporate strategy, and global strategy in Latin America. The scale and scope of these changes question the traditional notions of strategic management research and practice as we know them. Naturally, these changes require that organizations in the Latin American region develop new resources and capabilities for their success and survival. With the objective of increasing our understanding about how organizations from Latin America can leverage their competitive position in a changing world, this article reflects on the theme of the conference and introduces some of the best research that was part of the conference’s program.

Introduction

During the last three decades, the Latin American region has experienced significant transformations as important changes have occurred worldwide (Lowenthal & Baron, 2014). There has been an awakening of some Latin American nations that has led to crucial transformations in trade, financial markets, labor markets, tourism, and technology (Oyewole, 2009; Vendrell-Herrero, Gomes, Mellahi, & Child, 2017). The old North-South divide—where the North represented a few rich countries and the South represented many poor countries—has slowly started to disappear (De La Torre, Didier, Ize, Lederman, & Schmukler, 2015). The growth in the Southern hemisphere has brought about a modernization process that has led to the rise of Latin American emerging markets (Martinez & Kalliny, 2012). With a population over half a billion, a growing middle class, and a GDP of approximately US$6 trillion, Latin America is an important economic region in the world (World Bank, 2018). After a period of import substitution industrialization that started in the 1950s (Toye & Toye, 2003), Latin American countries experienced a process of economic liberalization in the 1980s and 1990s that increased foreign competition (FAO, 2003). In order to survive, leading Latin American companies were forced to start strengthening their levels of competitiveness. The professionalization of many Latin American companies during the last three decades has also led to internationalization processes and the emergence of Latin American multinationals (Martínez, Paulo Esperança, & De La Torre, 2005).