How Asia's firms are managed has gained global significance academically and professionally. Researchers and scholars are interested in the unique management practices that result from the cultural roots of Asian societies and the economic, social, political and technological forces that shape them. In short, they are searching for the Asian model that could contribute to the universality of management theory. Business executives are intrigued by the region's growth potential and its enormous markets. They are searching for ways to manage their operations effectively to benefit from this fastest-growing region of the world. The Asia Academy of Management is designed to encourage management research, education and knowledge dissemination that are of relevance to management in Asia. The Asia Academy is a global organization that welcomes both ethnic Asian and non-ethnic Asian researchers and managers who are interested in management issues relevant to Asia.
The mission of the Asia Academy is to assume global leadership in advancing management theory, research and education of relevance to Asia. In August 1997, more than 60 Academy of Management conference participants met and agreed to set up the Asia Academy of Management with the above mission. They endorsed the principle that the Asia Academy should be an independent organization run in Asia, with links to the Academy of Management and other scholarly organizations. The objective of the Asia Academy is thus to encourage contextualized management research with Asia relevance towards global contribution to scholarship.