Societal Impact through Entrepreneurship & Innovation: Responsible Leadership Education for the Changemakers of tomorrow.
MCI | The Entrepreneurial School® is pleased to invite you to the 9th Responsible Management Education Research (RMER) Conference, which will take place from 27 – 29 September 2022 and is organized in collaboration with the PRME Chapter DACH, the PRME Anti-Poverty Working Group, and the University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons (Switzerland).
Join us in beautiful Innsbruck, the heart of the Austrian Alps, for this annual gathering of the global PRME Community and beyond to share and discuss new ideas, approaches, theories, experiences and practical applications to responsible leadership education and the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Conference TopicThis year, the conference is centered around the topic “Societal Impact through Entrepreneurship & Innovation: Responsible Leadership Education for the Changemakers of tomorrow.” We invite you to jointly explore the role of entrepreneurship and innovation in preparing students for a fast-changing, challenging world that requires innovative and creative thinking, new mindsets and approaches, and brave and responsible leadership.
The necessary transformation of society and business towards more sustainable trajectories calls for leaders and professionals who not only act ethically and responsibly, but who also have the courage, values, competences, knowledge, and entrepreneurial spirit to actively co-create innovative responses to the most pressing social and environmental issues of our time. They will need to understand the challenges and create solutions, while also identifying new opportunities and sharing best practices in developing entrepreneurship and innovation capabilities for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Conference FormatThe conference will be a 3-day event, including an exciting program with diverse formats such as
For the first time this year, we are also planning a series of conference workshops with a focus on innovative teaching methods for RME, targeting practitioners, educators, and students. The Responsible Management Research Conferences are by tradition open for co-design by PRME Working Groups, PRME Regional Chapters, PRME Champion Groups, other international associations and actors operating in the landscape of responsible management education, Global Compact Local Networks and UN local offices, as well as from the research and educational community in general, and the respective stakeholders of all these groups.
The venues of the RMER Conferences, rotate among PRME DACH Chapter institutions and those from the global community of the PRME Anti-poverty Working Group members. The previous seven RMER Conferences, their themes and venues included:
The 9th RMER Conference will be held as an on-site event in Innsbruck, Austria from 27-29 September 2022.
All participants, presenting authors, track chairs, panelists or moderators will need to register and pay the conference fees. PRME members pay the full registration fees to attend the RMER Conference.
Registration will open in July. More details will follow soon.
By attending the 9th RMER Conference, you consent to photos, videos, etc. being taken for reproduction and distribution for educational, news or promotional purposes.
*IMPORTANT: papers without a registered presenting author and panels/tracks/workshops without registered panelists/chairs are withdrawn from the program.
The following rates apply for participating at the 9th RMER Conference:
Taxes and a CO2 compensation rate are included in the conference fees.
Conference fee includes Welcome Reception, admission to all sessions and conference workshops, coffee breaks and lunches. Conference fees do not include conference dinner (50 EUR per person).
We do not offer special rates for accompanying persons. All attendees must register as conference participants.
Payment options will be announced in due course.
Welcome to MCI | The Entrepreneurial School®
We are living in historic times shaped by a global pandemic, climate change and biodiversity loss, increased poverty and rising inequalities, increasing political, economic and social conflicts, the rise of populism, and many other challenges. The significant transformations and paradigm shifts required to address these pressing social, environmental and economic issues call for radically new ways of thinking, acting and being.
For the leaders of today, and certainly of tomorrow, it is not enough to walk in the well-trodden paths left by their predecessors. They have to re-imagine and implement sustainable forms of doing business, re-assess and articulate social impact and value creation for stakeholders, and find innovative ways of working, communicating, and collaborating within and beyond their organisations, industries, disciplines and communities. They have to be changemakers, entrepreneurs and innovators who are able to re-imagine, re-invent, and re-build a new normal, and they need to bring others along with them on the journey.
So how do we, as educators, prepare them for these challenges?
This year’s 9th RMER Conference addresses the implications, challenges and opportunities for management and leadership education resulting from these circumstances. We invite you to jointly explore the role of entrepreneurship and innovation in preparing students for a fast-changing, challenging world that requires innovative and creative thinking and brave and responsible leadership.
To this end, we kindly invite fellow researchers (PRME community and beyond) to share their valued expertise and submit a contribution (extended abstract, short paper, full paper, poster). In the spirit of co-creation, we encourage submission of alternative session formats, which encourage the sharing of best practices and new approaches in the spirit of experiential learning, collaboration, and experimentation (other format).
We welcome both, established work and work in progress that draw significant attention within “Societal Impact through Entrepreneurship & Innovation: Responsible Leadership Education for the Changemakers of tomorrow” and within the listed conference tracks.
Each submission will undergo a blind peer review process and based on this, submissions will be either accepted for presentation at the conference (in person) or rejected.
The conference program committee is currently also exploring publishing opportunities for paper submissions beyond the conference.
Please note that we will not be able to consider contributions submitted after the due date.
It is still unclear whether and how management education is capable of equipping future managers with the capabilities and competencies necessary to address our persistent problems. In this track we want to shed light on the content and the way management education addresses sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship, finding an answer to the question: What and how do we teach managers for sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship?
Download full track description ( pdf | 259.52K )
Submit a Paper
This track introduces futures literacy as a key competence for responsible leaders, and explores approaches that foster this competence. To enable students to go beyond critically reflecting the status quo of various industries by exploring different visions of these and working towards implementing respective futures, we invite submissions about relevant approaches such as trends analysis, foresight, and scenario planning, backcasting, and prototyping in the context of leadership education.
Download full track description ( pdf | 287.87K )
This track focuses on two issues: (1) new research that provides a better understanding of how entrepreneurship and innovation can support poverty alleviation and the advancement of related SDGs; and (2) research that explores managerial and leadership capabilities as well as the mindset that facilitates entrepreneurship for poverty alleviation.
Download full track description ( pdf | 221.90K )
This track will focus on innovations in student learning in service of one of society’s greatest challenges: Poverty alleviation. Contributions that illustrate how to develop mindsets and capabilities for societal impact and poverty alleviation through responsible management education and leadership development are suitable for this track.
Download full track description ( pdf | 222.07K )
Management and leadership education in higher education institutions should be reinvented under the more challenging era of capitalism. In this context, the following three core concerns are addressed in this track: Shortcomings of capitalism lead to shortcomings of responsible management, ethical failure of management leadership, academic responsibility under new capitalism unexamined.
Download full track description ( pdf | 215.54K )
Gamification, especially social simulation games are one way to approach the most urgent challenges of our times in a "playful" way. In this track, we call for integrative and suitable approaches to learning and training (e.g., gamification, role playing, simulations) in business and management education.
Download full track description ( pdf | 229.69K )
This track is interested in research addressing sustainability challenges around the three broad themes law, culture and digital transformation. We invite contributions that look at the roles of legal, technological and cultural drivers (or inhibitors) of sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation to directly shape or inform management education.
Download full track description ( pdf | 920.19K )
This track addresses the question of who is responsible for taking the lead in ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages (SDG 3). By integrating individual, social and structural perspectives, we aim to jointly explore social and structural environments, which facilitate citizen empowerment, i.e. that citizens can make more informed and better decisions for their health and wellbeing.
Download full track description ( pdf | 214.58K )
This track explores how both current and future business leaders develop the skills, knowledge and mindset required to understand high-impact climate solutions and their contributions to a positive, equitable future for all. The track seeks to elicit submissions that encourage debate on how responsible management educators can engage students and business leaders in creative thinking, the development of new mindsets and approaches, and to exhibit brave and responsible leadership for climate solutions.
Download full track description ( pdf | 204.51K )
With a share of more than two thirds of all businesses, family firms are the most prevalent form of business organizations worldwide. Family-owned businesses differ from other businesses since they are governed with the intention to shape and pursue the vision of the business held by a dominant coalition of family members in a manner that is potentially sustainable across generations of the family or families. This track addresses family business education needs and focuses on effectively preparing future leaders to become the new custodians of a sustainable family legacy.
Download full track description ( pdf | 211.77K )
This track focuses on the so-called Sustainability Change Agents (SCAs) who can facilitate necessary change and contribute to more sustainable societies. In order to become successful SCAs, individuals not only need to be equipped with factual knowledge from a variety of disciplines, they also need to train certain competencies such as systemic and normative thinking, they should be able to work in diverse teams, create strategies as well as put plans and interventions into action.
Download full track description ( pdf | 233.96K )
Business leaders are called to develop new directions to embrace sustainable economic models and turn grand challenges into new market opportunities. This track focuses on finding innovative ways in which businesses can identify opportunities inherent in the SDGs which offer a compelling growth strategy, and the implications of this quest for education.
Download full track description ( pdf | 235.19K )
This track focuses on the evaluation of the quality and effectiveness of programs and/or courses designed to develop capabilities related to responsible leadership and sustainable development. Professors and instructors delivering courses or leading programs related to responsible and sustainable management are confronted with the challenges of effectiveness measurement and quality assurance. This track seeks submissions that present and discuss instruments and tools used for these aims.
Download full track description ( pdf | 237.97K )
The General Track is open for submission in various areas that directly or indirectly relate to the main conference theme or different issues, challenges, opportunities and solutions that are connected with the advancement of the SDGs, sustainable development, societal impact and the role of entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as with the new approaches to and practices of responsible leadership education that are needed for the changemakers of tomorrow.
Conceptual or empirical research papers, along with works in progress and/or proposals for innovative research designs that lead to new insights or challenge established frameworks about the issues involved are highly welcome for this track, as well as case studies illustrating creative solutions and innovative practices in business, management education, policy making and/or the respective partnerships among different stakeholders.
Depending on the paper submission concentration, the accepted papers for the General Track might be grouped into different thematically focused sub-tracks.
Christian BaumgartnerHead of Major Sustainable Tourism& International DevelopmentFachhochschule GraubündenChur, Switzerland
Lisa FröhlichPresidentProfessor of Strategic Supply Mgmt.CBS International Business SchoolCologne, Germany
Milenko GudicFounding DirectorRefoment Consulting and CoachingBelgrade, Serbia
Regina ObexerConference CoordinatorMCI | The Entrepreneurial School®Innsbruck, Austria
Alfred RosenbloomProfessor Emeritus, Marketing &International BusinessBrennan School of BusinessIllinois, USA
Desiree WieserConference CoordinatorMCI | The Entrepreneurial School®Innsbruck, Austria
Anita ZehrerHead Family Business CenterHead R&D “Management & Society”MCI | The Entrepreneurial School®Innsbruck, Austria
MCI | The Entrepreneurial School® is a young, vibrant higher education institution that stands for internationality, academic quality, practice orientation, innovation, close cooperation with industry, solution-oriented research and development, first-class infrastructure, a high level of customer and service orientation, and international reputation. With over 3700 students, 34 undergraduate, graduate and executive master programs in the areas of Management & Society and Technology & Sciences, MCI addresses interdisciplinary questions relating to management, technology and society in teaching and research. As an entrepreneurial school, MCI proactively supports regional, national and international entrepreneurship initiatives.
Find out more:
Located in the west of Austria, the capital of Tyrol Innsbruck scores above all with its unbelievable diversity: urban flair, untouched nature, and a rich history. With a stunning mountain world, unique historic city center, rustic alpine pastures, a wide range of cultural and sporting activities, trendy bars and cafés and the very special charm of its inhabitants, Innsbruck is a city that enchants.
MCI’s commitment to responsible management education is evident in our strong engagement in the PRME network over a decade, our active role in the PRME Chapter DACH as well as many initiative and activities driven by MCI staff, students, and partners in the local and international community.
In this light, in 2021, the Center for Responsible Management & Social Impact has been established to initiate, coordinate and support measures, projects and activities to prepare our students for a complex and uncertain world, achieving real impact through research and stimulate, support and advance the discourse around commitment, responsibility, sustainability and ethics.
VENUEMCI | The Entrepreneurial School®Universitaetsstrasse 15, 4th floor | 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
The Entrepreneurial School® MCI is located in the heart of Europe in the Austrian Alps and in the immediate vicinity of European cosmopolitan cities such as Munich, Zurich and Milan.
GETTING TO INNSBRUCKWe encourage you to choose sustainable travel options and consider the many train connections between major European hubs and Innsbruck, including several night trains. Should you have to fly, please consider CO2 compensation. We recommend the Austrian climate mitigation project of the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna. Getting around in Innsbruck is easily doable on foot.
By train: Innsbruck's central station is located at Südtiroler Platz, within easy walking distance of the city center. Get your ticket here: ÖBB-Austrian Railways.
By coach: the coach service of Flixbus provides you with a convenient and low-cost way to travel to Innsbruck within Europe.
By car: Innsbruck is connected to major European motorways arriving from the North (Western Europe and Germany via Munich), from the South (Italy via Verona), from the West (Switzerland via Zurich) and from the East (Hungary via Vienna). This means that Innsbruck can be reached by car within a couple of hours driving from Central, Western and Eastern Europe.
By plane: The airport of Innsbruck is located 10 minutes from the city center and has excellent coach and taxi connections. Short check-in times as well as a smooth and fast processing upon arrival are guaranteed. The airport handles regional flights around the Alps as well as international flights to European destinations. Further info can be found here. Other airports with international flights, reachable within 2 to 4 hours from Innsbruck: Munich Airport (Germany), Vienna International Airport (Austria), Verona Airport (Italy).
ACCOMMODATIONAccommodation options can be found here.
COVID REGULATIONS | INNSBRUCK AND AUSTRIAThe safety and well-being of our guests is of utmost importance to us. Attendance at the conference will only be possible within the rules applicable to travelers to Austria as they stand in September. We will update this page according to the requirements in place at that time. Further information can be found here:
Multiple submission as first author are not allowed.
No, each paper can only be allocated to one track.
The Deadline is 15 June 2022.
You will be notified by the end of July about paper acceptance/rejection.
No, re-submissions are not possible.
Yes, please have a look at the “Submission guidelines and formatting” section above.
Paper word count: Extended Abstract: 1,500 - 2,000 words | Short Paper: 2,500 - 3,000 words | Full Paper: max. 7,000 words.
If your paper has been accepted for publication, either you or one of your co-authors has to attend the conference in person.
Please contact the conference organizing team at prme@mci.edu.
Yes. Registration is separate from paper submission process. Please make sure to register in time to be considered as presenter.
Please inform the conference organizing team at prme@mci.edu.
No. We do not offer conference proceedings.
Yes, publishing opportunities with selected outlets are in negotiation. Further details to follow soon!
Each submitted paper undergoes a blind peer review process, based on which papers will be either accepted or rejected for presentation at the RMER conference.
Please have a look at the program committee section of the website and click on members to get an overview of the program committee members.
Please have a look at the “Travel & Accommodation Info” section on the website.
The conference is planned in a face-to-face format.
The conference workshops are part of the regular conference program and you are free to attend and participate in as many workshops as you like. You can sign up for workshops when registering for the conference.
No, the conference dinner is not included in the regular conference fees and has to be paid separately by ticking a box when filling out the registration form.
Conference fees depend on the participant category (students enjoy a special discount, as well as early-birds). Please have a look at “conference registration and fees” above.
Yes, also presenters have to register and pay the conference fees.
Unfortunately, we cannot consider accompanying persons and do not offer special rates for accompanying persons. All attendees must register as conference participants.
No, this conference is not exclusive to members of the PRME community and encourages the participation of scholars, researchers, educators, and practitioners beyond the PRME community.
Yes, student benefit from a reduced conference rate. Rates will be announced shortly.
The RMER conference welcomes student submissions.
Yes, every participant will get an attendance confirmation when showing up at the registration desk.
In order to allow our authors a certain flexibility in their submissions, we have decided on different formats that can be chosen according to the needs and preferences of the respective author. In other words, you decide what is the best submission format for you. Please note the length of the contribution and the specified word limit. Regardless of the submission format, all contributions will be peer reviewed and - if accepted - presented at the conference.
In the spirit of co-creation, we encourage submission of alternative session formats, which encourage the sharing of best practices and new approaches in the spirit of experiential learning, collaboration, and experimentation (other format). If you submit a proposal for other formats, we do not have any specific requirements (document size max. 3 MB). Please ensure that your description is clear and takes into consideration resource requirements (equipment, space, time, participants).
