Global Disruption and Organisational Innovation
AIRC5 is the fifth in a successful series of Ashridge international research conferences that bring to the research and discussion table top of mind CEO, leadership and management challenges, in a multidisciplinary global setting where HR, IB, policy, marketing, innovation and strategy scholars present and debate their research in interaction with keynote speakers and practitioners
In our last 4 conferences, we have seen a dynamic evolution of the topic and research foci, covering "Global Leadership, Global Ethics", the "Challenges to bring the sustainability agenda from strategy to implementation"," The multigenerational organization - from Gen Y to working beyond 65" - and last year's "Challenges to managing HR in knowledge intensive institutions".
AIRC conferences are linked to Special Issues of reputable peer reviewed international journals; to date the following have been / are being guest-edited: IJHRM, JMP, JOCM [2x], JMD, JBE, JKM, JAET, JPA [2x] TFSC.
For the 5th conference we focus on how to innovate, re-shape and strategically manage our sometimes stagnating, increasingly easily disrupted organisations, taking global and multi-disciplinary perspectives.
Many firms are experiencing the disruptive impact of the financial crises and the recession, of the digital era, of disruptive technology, of the diverse generational demands, of integration and narrowing of the global world, its increasingly knowledge-intensive nature, the growing importance of integrity and acting responsibly, changes in consumption patterns, the large scale migration, and attention to global warming and the environment.
Earlier in 2015 Hult/Ashridge Business School conducted research about what was top of mind amongst C-suite respondents in the G7. While the multigenerational workforce and the longevity of the western consumers were perceived as both an opportunity and a threat, for the greater majority of respondents the most important issues were the need for creativity and innovation, managing knowledge workers, sustainable business [ethics and responsibility requirements as well as changes in consumer demands], and the effects of digital disruption [e.g. disaggregation of industry, retail supply and value chains; internet; mobile phone based markets and payment system growth]. Overwhelmingly Board members saw 'speeding up innovation', 'creating a service culture' and 'achieving organisational integration' as top strategic priorities for their organization, and pronounced 'communication and team work', and 'managing complexity' as indispensable skills.
The AIRC5 conference welcomes submissions that discuss the organisational and strategic answers to the dilemmas of these and other organisational disruptions. Probing and evaluating these answers, we strive to challenge the literature and address e.g. effects of lack of integrity, specificities of knowledge intensive firms, ICT challenges, multigenerational issues, and other demands of the current experiences: what new models can be posited, as the old rules and systems no longer seem to work.
All disruptions affect the firm, its people, its leadership, its global strategies and policy, entrepreneurship, models and effectiveness. There is a need for specific innovations and instruments to leverage, even profit from them, in- and externally.
The complex patterns of disruption that are occurring globally have given rise to the term "VUCA environment" (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous), and demand re-examination, reinterpretation or replacement of traditional thinking, opening it up to new concepts, new solutions. They may be multidisciplinary, multicultural, and must be dynamic, creative, forward looking, tolerant and inclusive.
We welcome the submission of Extended Structured Abstracts of original full papers, both conceptual papers that combine different and novel theoretical perspectives and empirical papers contextualizing the topics above, including advanced WIP, policy papers and research based proposals for panels.
To AIRC5 we welcome (interdisciplinary) scholars and practitioners in the various research areas that are affected by organisational disruption such as (but not limited to) People Management (HRM), International Business and Marketing, Organisational Change Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Sustainability, Ethics, IC and Knowledge Management, Talent Management, Technology Management, and Leadership.
For the AIRC5 conference we are envisaging three tracks with research topics including but not limited to:
| The Global VUCA environment: Innovations and challenges
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A1. Global Industry Innovation:
A2. Global disruption driven innovation
B. Creating the VUCA cadre & management: Education, techniques, challenges