Free markets and social inclusion: Toward a common goal

As part of a cooperative effort between the Journal of Business Research (JBR) and the Business Association of Latin American Studies (BALAS), this special issue brings updated research on the Latin American business environment. Out of 107 papers submitted to the BALAS 2013 Conference, which was hosted by ESAN Graduate School of Business, in Lima, 25 were pre-selected to be reviewed for publication in this special issue — and only nine were accepted after the demanding process of three rounds of double blind review that was run after the conference. This introduction to the special issue of JBR on BALAS 2013 Conference brings an overview of the changes that have taken place in the Latin America, regarding the relationship between free markets and social inclusion. The articles accepted for publication in this special issue address several aspects of the Latin American business environment.