About the 2027 Conference

Conference Theme

Corporate Governance, Resilience, and Sustainable Value Creation in Latin America

Corporate governance shapes how firms define purpose, allocate power, and create long-term value. In Latin America—marked by inequality, institutional volatility, resource dependence, and strong business groups—governance plays a central role in resilience, development, social inclusion, and environmental impact.

With this context in mind, Esade Business School warmly invites you to the BALAS 2027 Annual Conference, to be held in Barcelona on March 16–19, 2027. The conference will provide a forum for academics, practitioners, and policymakers to examine whether corporate governance can foster institutional modernization and sustainable value creation, or instead reinforce concentrated power and existing inequalities.

The conference particularly welcomes research addressing governance, ownership, stakeholder capitalism, business groups, institutional fragility, geopolitical shifts, digital transformation, sustainable finance, the green transition, and artificial intelligence in the Latin American context.

See all the Conference Tracks HERE!

About Esade

Founded in Barcelona in 1958, Esade is a global academic institution committed to education, research, and social impact in management, business, law, and leadership. With campuses in Barcelona and Madrid and a highly international academic community, Esade connects Europe, Latin America, and other regions through teaching, research, and institutional partnerships.

Esade combines academic excellence with a strong commitment to responsible leadership, entrepreneurship, innovation, sustainability, and social impact. Its longstanding engagement with Latin America and expertise in corporate governance, strategy, and organizational transformation make it an ideal setting for the 2027 BALAS Annual Conference.

About Barcelona, Spain

Local Attractions

Barcelona offers an exceptionally broad range of attractions within the city and its surrounding region.

Sagrada Família: Antoni Gaudí’s most internationally recognized work and one of Barcelona’s defining landmarks.

Park Güell: Explore Gaudí’s distinctive integration of architecture, landscape, color, and urban design.

Passeig de Gràcia and its Modernist buildings: Walk along one of Barcelona’s major avenues and visit landmark modernist buildings including Casa Batlló and La Pedrera–Casa Milà.

La Rambla and La Boqueria: Barcelona’s vibrant boulevard and iconic market, where culture, flavors, and local life come together.

Gothic Quarter: Discover Barcelona’s medieval urban core, including narrow streets, historic squares, the Cathedral area, and remnants of the ancient Roman city.

El Born: Explore one of the city’s most vibrant historic districts, combining medieval streets, cultural institutions, restaurants, galleries, and independent shops.

Montjuïc: Visit museums, gardens, Olympic facilities, cultural institutions, and viewpoints overlooking the city and Mediterranean. Barcelona Tourism describes Montjuïc as one of the city’s major green and cultural areas, combining gardens, museums, sports facilities and Olympic heritage.

Barceloneta and the Mediterranean Waterfront: Walk or cycle along Barcelona’s seafront, explore the old fishing neighborhood of Barceloneta, or enjoy the city’s urban beaches.

Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site: Discover one of the most remarkable examples of Catalan modernist architecture beyond Gaudí.

Camp Nou / FC Barcelona: Explore the history of one of the world’s best-known football clubs, subject to stadium access and visiting arrangements during the ongoing redevelopment period.

Tibidabo, Temple of the Sacred Heart and Collserola Tower: Visit one of Barcelona’s highest and most panoramic areas, combining the Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor, the historic Tibidabo Amusement Park, and the nearby Collserola Tower. The area offers sweeping views over Barcelona, the Mediterranean, and the surrounding metropolitan landscape.

Discover Barcelona

History

Barcelona’s history spans more than two thousand years, from Roman Barcino and the medieval Mediterranean city to industrialization, the expansion of the Eixample, and the emergence of Catalan Modernisme.

The twentieth century brought profound political and urban transformations, culminating in democratic transition and the redevelopment associated with the 1992 Olympic Games. These historical layers remain visible throughout Barcelona’s neighborhoods, architecture, public spaces, and cultural institutions.

Architecture & Urban Culture

Barcelona’s urban landscape reflects its successive historical transformations. Roman remains and medieval streets coexist with Ildefons Cerdà’s Eixample, industrial heritage, Catalan Modernisme, Olympic urbanism, and contemporary architecture.

The works of Antoni Gaudí, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, and Josep Puig i Cadafalch are central to the city’s architectural identity. Barcelona is also internationally recognized for its approaches to public space, waterfront regeneration, urban mobility, and contemporary urban design.

Museums & Art

Barcelona has a rich network of museums and cultural institutions. Major references include the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC), Museu Picasso, Fundació Joan Miró, and Fundació Antoni Tàpies.

Beyond its museums, art is embedded throughout Barcelona in its architecture, galleries, public spaces, and cultural centers.

Literature & Publishing

Barcelona has long been an important literary center in both Catalan and Spanish and one of the major publishing hubs of the Spanish-speaking world.

The city has been associated with writers such as Mercè Rodoreda, Juan Marsé, Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, and Carlos Ruiz Zafón, while its publishers, bookshops, and cultural institutions have historically connected European and Latin American literary communities.

Music & Performing Arts

Barcelona’s musical identity combines Catalan traditions with Mediterranean and international influences. Traditional forms such as the sardana, havaneres, and cobla coexist with opera, classical music, jazz, flamenco, and contemporary genres.

Major institutions include the Palau de la Música Catalana, Gran Teatre del Liceu, and L’Auditori, alongside a diverse network of festivals and performance venues.

Gastronomy

Barcelona’s gastronomy reflects Catalan and Mediterranean culinary traditions, emphasizing seasonal produce, seafood, olive oil, rice, vegetables, meats, cheeses, and locally sourced ingredients.

Typical specialties include pa amb tomàquet, escalivada, botifarra amb mongetes, crema catalana, and, during the conference season, calçots. Historic markets such as La Boqueria, Santa Caterina, and Sant Antoni provide another way to experience the city’s food culture.

Beyond Barcelona: Discover Catalonia

Beyond the Barcelona metropolitan area, Catalonia offers historic cities, Mediterranean landscapes, vineyards, mountains, natural parks, and distinctive cultural traditions across its four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona, and Lleida.

Barcelona Province

Montserrat combines dramatic mountain scenery with its historic Benedictine monastery; Penedès offers vineyards, wineries, Cava, and wine tourism; and Sitges and the Garraf coast combine Mediterranean beaches, architecture, and cultural heritage.

Girona Province

Girona offers an exceptionally preserved medieval center, cathedral, walls, and historic Jewish Quarter. The Costa Brava combines coves, beaches, fishing towns, and historic villages, while Figueres, Cadaqués, and Cap de Creus form part of the landscapes associated with Salvador Dalí. Farther inland, the Girona Pyrenees offer mountain landscapes and outdoor activities.

Tarragona Province

Tarragona, ancient Tarraco, preserves outstanding Roman archaeological heritage. The province also includes the beaches of the Costa Daurada, the celebrated wine landscapes of Priorat and Montsant, and the wetlands, rice fields, wildlife, and natural environments of Terres de l’Ebre and the Ebro Delta.

Lleida Province