In contrast to the USA, the United Kingdom and Japan, where international management has been an integral part of business schools' teaching and research programs for decades, there was a strong reservation in this area in German-speaking business administration until the 1970s. Thus, when the subject of business administration was expanded in German-speaking countries, chairs were initially created primarily for the individual operational functional areas, while only very few chairs were established for the integrative core area of international management.

With regard to the increasing global expansion of the subject of international management, the European International Business Academy (EIBA) was founded in Brussels in 1974 at the instigation of the European Foundation for Management Development, which promotes and coordinates research projects in the field of international management in particular at its annual conferences.  Hans Günther Meissner, of the University of Dortmund, was the German representative on the EIBA steering committee for a period following its inception.

In 1976, the academic commission of International Management was founded as part of the Academic Association for Business Research (VHB). The first annual meeting of the commission took place at the University of Dortmund in February 1977. At the beginning, the commission consisted of around 20 professors. In the meantime, the number of members has risen to over 200. Prominent representatives from the business world are usually invited to the annual conferences.

Since its foundation, the following colleagues have chaired the commission:

1976-1978           Hans Günther Meissner

1978-1980           Ehrenfried Pausenberger

1980-1982           Eberhard Dülfer

1982-1984           Klaus Macharzina

1984-1986           Reinhart Schmidt

1986-1988           Martin K. Welge

1988-1990           Emil Brauchlin

1990-1992           Wilhelm Wacker

1992-1994           Brij Kumar

1994-1996           Johann Engelhard

1996-1998           Michael Kutschker

1998-2000           Dodo zu Knyphausen-Aufseß

2000-2002           Ursula Schneider

2002-2004           Martin Glaum

2004-2006           Michael Oesterle

2006-2008           Reinhard Moser

2008-2010           Stefan Schmid

2010-2012           Joachim Zentes

2012-2014           Jan Hendrik Fisch 

2014-2016           Dirk Morschett

2016-2018           Joachim Wolf

2018-2020           Bernhard Swoboda

2020-2022           Markus Pudelko

To date, the academic commission of International Management has carried out very intensive and differentiated work with regard to the establishment of international management as a subject within the catalog of business subjects in German-speaking countries. There are now a number of chairs that include international management or related disciplines in their title. Nevertheless, the subject of international management is still not sufficiently represented at German-speaking universities. Some large faculties in particular do not yet have any specialized chairs for international management.

Due to the increasing international integration of companies, particularly within the framework of the European Union, international issues are increasingly attracting the interest of practitioners. This is particularly evident in the fact that there is a growing demand of companies for graduates who have dealt with international management issues in a theoretical and systematic manner. According to the commission, the subject of international management will continue to gain importance in the coming years due to the generally observable globalization trends.