A Long and Winding Road: IBAR and the Foundations of Research in Irish Business and Management¹

Business education and research in Ireland are currently flourishing and scholars in Ireland punch above their weight in the international research literature – ironically the main reason for the demise of the Irish Journal of Management. But the road to the strong performance of the business academy in Ireland is both long and winding, stretching back to before the foundation of the state and reflecting change in the Irish economy and in the education priorities of Irish society. This paper examines the history of business and management education and research in Ireland and the emergence and development of the Journal of Irish Business and Administrative Research, the precursor to the Irish Journal of Management. The paper offers some thoughts on current challenges and threats and considers whether the internationalisation of research scholarship might sound the death knell for detailed research on business and management in Ireland.