Event Tracks

Presentations will be focused on one of the following topics for the Responsible Leadership conference: 

TRACK 1: Implications for Management Education (MED) 

Track Chair: Elena Antonacopolou, University of Liverpool 
Assistant Track Chair: Olga Andrianova, The Open University Business School  

This track explores how the development of responsible management and sustainable innovation can be supported by designing modes of learning that challenge fundamental assumptions about leadership and responsibility. Responsible Management continues to receive prominence both as a field of research and practice, as it centers on managerial learning and how such learning relates to change and innovation for sustainability, responsibility and ethics. It is also fast emerging as a critical approach to leading that seeks to make a difference in addressing global environmental and societal challenges. Illustrative questions that we week to address focus on how leadership and responsibility are intertwined, both respectively and collectively.  How are they developed? How might professionalism be redefined if responsible management and leadership are intended to guide conduct and associated actions? What are the explicit and implicit constraints, possibilities and consequences generated by organizational learning environments that facilitate and impede responsible management practices and sustainable innovation? How do organizations contribute or respond to a need for responsible leadership and which ethical dilemmas arise as a result? Which ideologies and strategies are used to further and legitimate responsible leadership?  What are the main methodological issues when researching responsible leadership and leaders? Which existing theories best inform our understanding of reshaped landscapes of modern learning environment? To what extent are we in need of a new theory? 
 

TRACK 2: Responsible Leadership and Organizational Behavior (OB) 

Track Chair: Alexander Newman, Deakin University 

This track theme, with an emphasis on rising economies, broadly examines the impact of responsible leadership on individuals and groups within an organizational context. The track welcomes submissions from researchers that explore such questions as: How and why do people become responsible leaders? How can organizations foster the development of such leaders? How do responsible leaders influence employee attitudes and behavior? How do responsible leaders shape the way in which employees work and collaborate with internal (e.g., teams) and external stakeholders?  To what extent does responsible leadership contribute to “doing good” (e.g., promoting citizenship behaviors) vis-à-vis “avoiding harm” (e.g., reducing counter-productive work behaviors)? How does responsible leadership influence organizational performance and what are the various processes through which this occurs? Does the influence of responsible leadership on organizational, team and employee outcomes differ as a result of cultural, institutional and organizational factors? Do levels of responsible leadership vary across cultures and industries and, if so, why does this occur? How might we best conceptualize and measure responsible leadership? Does responsible leadership helps companies to attract and retain talent, and if so why? When might responsible leadership not always lead to desired outcomes? 

TRACK 3: Responsible and Sustainable Innovation (ONE) 

Track Chair: André Martinuzzi, Vienna University of Economics & Business 
Assistant Track Chair: Norma Schönherr, Vienna University of Economics & Business  

The track theme seeks submissions broadly engaged with responsible and sustainable innovation. Contributions from adjacent fields of research (social innovation, eco-innovation, social entrepreneurship, innovation management, innovation systems, etc.) are welcome. We particularly encourage submissions that are of both scholarly and practical relevance, addressing such questions as: How do responsible and sustainable innovation link up with corporate sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility? How can principles of sustainability and responsibility be applied to innovation and innovation management, especially in the context of radical innovation? How do concepts of responsible and sustainable innovation relate to well established business approaches? Is there a business case for responsible and sustainable innovation? Which practices and strategies do organizations apply to achieve innovation that reduces potential negative impacts and enhances positive impacts on society and the natural environment? How should responsible and sustainable innovation performance be measured? Which tools and methods can be applied to achieve more responsible and sustainable innovation? How can established approaches, such as co-creation, citizen and user engagement, design thinking and open innovation, be adapted to enable responsible and sustainable innovation? How should organizations deal with potential conflicts of interest and ambiguity in responsible and sustainable innovation? What types of conflict may arise within responsible and sustainable innovation processes (e.g. openness and inclusion vs. intellectual property)?  How do companies and related actors resolve such conflicts?  How can innovation governance enable more responsible/sustainable innovation? What role do networks, multi-stakeholder initiatives and other forms of collaboration among organizations play in fostering responsible and sustainable innovation? 

TRACK 4: Transformative Ethics, Governance, and Stakeholder Horizons for Advancing Leadership and Responsibility (SIM) 

Track Chair: Erica Steckler, University of Massachusetts Lowell 

This track theme challenges participants to go beyond established paradigms of business in society relationships, including individual and organizational ethics, corporate and systemic governance, and stakeholder relationships, to explore and generate next-generation theories, mechanisms, and applications that support responsible management and sustainable innovation in dynamic rising economy contexts. Wicked problems threatening societal well-being are also opportunities for reimagining the role and responsibility of leadership and business to advance social transformation and sustainable development. Embedded within this context, areas of focus might include such considerations as: What paradigm shifts are needed to promote issues such as human rights and dignity, ecological protection, community well-being, and societal flourishing as pillars of responsible leadership? What key dimensions of responsibility intersect with pillars of social progress and environmental protection unique to rising economies? How can we understand the role, influence, structure, accountability, and interactions of different types and levels of actors, including governance, necessary for responsible leadership? How is the articulation of or adherence to moral norms, values, and principles relevant to leadership responsibility and healthy economic transformation? What business and organizing trends may be harnessed as beneficial, or avoided as harmful, to the development of robust firm-environment interactions and responsible leadership? In what ways might social innovation transform the potential scope and impact of responsible leadership? 

TRACK 5: Strategic Management and Sustainable Development (STR) 

Track Chair: Caroline Flammer, Boston University 

This track theme seeks to understand how various players—from start-ups and established firms, and non-profit and for-profit organizations, to the finance and investing community—can develop innovative solutions to mitigate market failures and have a positive social impact, while growing and sustaining their operations over time. We particularly encourage submissions related to emerging economies, focusing on such questions as: Which governance mechanisms encourage responsible corporate behavior, the adoption of longer time horizons, and corporate actions aligned with long-term societal goals (such as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals)? What are the opportunities and challenges of crowdsourcing, technological innovations, and financial innovations to help mitigate market failures and have a positive impact on society, the natural environment, and the economy? What is the role of corporate political responsibility―especially in absence of government leadership―and non-market strategy in shaping government policies to reach sustainable outcomes at the societal level? What are their implications for firm performance? What role and impact do social movements and shareholder engagement have in influencing strategic decision-making processes? What are needed improvements in the assessment, disclosure, and standardization of non-financial metrics? What role could inter-organizational relationships of non-profit, for-profit, and hybrid organizations play in developing innovative and sustainable solutions to overcome grand challenges faced by emerging (and other) economies? What are the implications of societal issues―such as increased obesity, food scarcity, forced migration, discrimination, social and economic exclusion, and climate-change risks―on firms’ competitive strategy and their inter-organizational relationships with non-profit, for-profit, and hybrid organizations?