For six Notre Dame MBA students and their professor, an academic research trip to Sarajevo this month presented an unexpected variable: an international crisis triggered when Russia halted supplies of natural gas to the region. As a result, the team faced sub-zero temperatures without the benefit of heat for much of their 10-day visit.

The trip, part of a new MBA course taught by Associate Professor of Management Viva Bartkus, examines the role of business in rebuilding war-torn societies. "Business on the Frontlines" runs six months and consists of two parts. In the classroom segment, the students study developmental economics and topics related to peace-through-commerce efforts; during the field visit, they explore the activities and impact of local and international business in post-war reconstruction societies. This year, two teams were dispatched for field visits, one to Beirut, Lebanon and one to Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Soon after arriving, the Sarajevo team along with tens of thousands of homes and businesses in the area were subjected to overnight temperatures of 10 degrees below zero and daytime temperatures that reached only about five above – all without heat, according to MBA student Keith Flatley. "We've learned how resilient the Bosnian people are," says Keith. "They survived the Bosnian War from 1992 to 1995, many without windows in their homes after the glass was blown out during the siege." Now, without a supply of natural gas, a shortage of electric heaters, and a lack of firewood because the surrounding forest is filled with landmines, the people refuse to succumb to despair but instead press on in their desire to succeed.

Despite the conditions, the MBA group persevered in its research, conducting interviews with local residents and business owners. Professor Bartkus, who is traveling to both Sarajevo and Lebanon, says, "After facing man's inhumanity in our generation – and within the last 10 years in Bosnia's case – there is a real challenge to figure out how to reknit these societies deeply divided by religion, ethnic groups and socio-economic class." Believing that business has a role in the task, the group will present a detailed case study of their findings to Catholic Relief Services, which partnered with the MBA program in organizing the course.