
Rajat Panwar is a professor of responsible and sustainable business in Oregon State University’s College of Forestry. He’s also the deputy editor of the journal Business and Society, and frequently gives seminars around the world on how to successfully publish in the journal. His most recent lectures were in Spain and Italy in December.
Where were you?
I was in the Universidad Pontificia Comillas in Madrid, Spain, the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome and the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna Pisa in Italy.
What languages are spoken there?
Spanish and Italian, but English is also widely used, especially in academic settings.
What was the focus of your work?
I gave two publishing seminars in Madrid and one in Pisa, and in Rome I gave a talk on “Forest Sector Innovations in the Global South” at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The publishing seminars came about because of my work as deputy editor of the journal Business and Society, where I have been on the editorial staff for four years. I talked to a bunch of Ph.D. business students and junior faculty about publishing in Business and Society. A core aim of this journal is theory development, so I focus on the meaning of the word “theory” and what makes for a novel theoretical contribution. We also talk about articulation: There are a lot of academics outside North America who are doing amazing research but have not had the training to write for North American journals; the writing style is very different.
The other thing is that sometimes these scholars don’t promote their work the way Americans do. So I help make them aware that they are responsible for making sure their contribution shines.
Last year I gave eight or 10 of these seminars, though I try to minimize travel and do them via Zoom. Next month I am going to France and Finland. In Finland, I will be the keynote speaker at the Responsible Business Research Conference, which is free to attend and will be available on Zoom.
How much time did you spend there?
This trip was Dec. 8-17, 2024; I have worked with the Food and Agriculture Organization in the past and have been there before, but my visits to Pisa and Madrid were my first time there.

Rajat Panwar (tan slacks) at the FAO in Rome.
What was the biggest challenge of working there?
It might have just been my restaurant choices, but I had a really hard time finding vegetarian food, and the times I did find some, it was like I could swim in the cheese. That was a bit challenging.
What was the best food you had on your trip?
I loved farinata in Italy. It is a chickpea pancake.
What’s an important phrase you learned to say in the local language?
Honestly, everyone I interacted with spoke English, so I didn’t have to. But I like to say “Muchas gracias” for “Thank you very much” in Spanish.
What’s one thing from your experience that you’ll take back to Oregon with you?
Like on every other trip, I met so many wonderful people, and I continue to be reminded how amazing and how humble people are. In this university in Spain, these amazing scholars have great accomplishments and this level of scholarly humility that, to me, was truly, truly striking.
It was even on another level in Pisa at the Scuola Superiore. This institute is actually one of Italy’s most elite research schools, but it was never communicated to me like that. The Italian government has created these centers of excellence to do cutting-edge research; this institute is focused on sustainable management and sustainability in general. I was super impressed with the work they are doing. That was my jaw-dropping moment.
What piece of advice would you give others who might travel there?
One thing I would share is that even without knowing the language, I did not feel at any place that there was any difficulty. If you don’t know the language, that should not hold you back, as long as you are open to communicating. You can communicate friendliness through eyes and smiles.