Call for Papers: 6th CAMOT 2015 International Conference, La Rochelle Business School, France

6thCAMOT 2015International Conference

6th – 8th July 2015

Conference Theme:

West meets East: Explore bestPractice

-

Building Sustainable Future through

Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship

Venue: La Rochelle, France

Sponsored by:

Tsinghua University, PRC

Newcastle University, UK

Penn State University, US

Windsor University, Canada

United Nations Academic Impact New York, US

Washington Academy for Management of Technology, UK

Sias International University, PRC

Hosted by:La Rochelle Business School, France

Organized by: China Association for Management of Technology, UK

Conference web:

What is the general aim of this conference?

In the 21st century West meets East is arguably one of the most important strategic themes and of great interest for academics, politicians and practitioners as West and East are facing different challenges. The term BRICS, coined by Jim O’Neill (Goldman Sachs) in 2008, has become a well-established acronym. This is due to the fact that the recent economic development in the Asia-Pacific area has been exceedingly dynamic. Economies all over the world have experienced various crises over the past decades due to systematic failures: Neither the Asia-crisis, dot-com-crisis, US-American subprime crisis nor the Euro-crisis have been predicted by Western management theories, the multilateralism and interrelatedness of the global economies have strongly changed the determining factors. Notwithstanding it has changed the focus of practitioners as well as academics on the future allocation of economic power within the world. Especially China’s economy is catching the world’s eye more and more: Some observers point out, China, being second largest science and technology producer, runs the second largest economy next to the US after succeeding Japan in 2010. Goldman Sachs predicted that the Chinese GDP will exceed the US by 2027 while the IMF economist forecasts that Chinese economy continues to create wonder and surpasses US economy in about twenty years of time by 2030, recently even bolder forecasts have been published by the Worldbank outlining the overtake within the next ten years.

Experts argue that Asia, with China and India in particular, is en-route to become the new world economic powerhouse. Even though China’s growth has slowed down in relative numbers over the last three years, its remarkable success over the past two decades has attracted attention to the current business model in terms of sustainability and innovation capacity. China has been seeking to establish an innovation framework and implementation strategy for sustaining and upgrading its economy. However economic scale and innovation capacity are different concepts. The complexity of China’s innovation strategy has not been well understood and explored, which not only pre-occupies Chinese politicians and entrepreneurs but also leads to the anxiety and misconception of the Western counterparts.

Despite the dynamic and thriving economic relations between China and the West, the knowledge gaps about the society, culture and the political system of the respective counterpart remain large. These gaps have not only allowed old stereotypes to persist, but create room for new misperceptions as the Sino-Western relations evolve.

While some of the stereotypes and misperceptions might do no harm, others have the potential to distort the relationship between China and the West. Even though the problem has been known for a long time, current instruments to overcome stereotypes have shown little effect.

Although the great philosopher G. Hegel (1770 – 1831) even argued that ancient China had no philosophy in the real sense of the world, being in philosophical “prehistory.” It is a shame that for such eminent authority to make such a colossal error of judgment and is truly regrettable. Western management scholars failed again to predicate the outstanding performance of the Chinese economy and its companies. According the most recent research, “embracing contradictions” of the ancient Chinese philosophy stimulates innovation whereas innovation is central to the wellbeing of societies. Innovation is found to be statistically three times more important to growth than other attributes or factors. Therefore, the penalty for people and firms not innovating is enormous. In principle there are three types of innovations in terms the outcome: growth, sustainability and efficiency. Therefore, a successful firm needs all these three elements.

Twenty years ago, management scholars forecasted that despite the ambition and a strong desire to do so, Chinese companies would not join the ranks of multinationals by this millennium. In fact, Chinese firms have not only squeezed themselves into the multi-nationals but also have created their own renowned brands. International collaborations, particularly with regard to technology transfer and innovation in high-tech industries, do clearly present both challenges and opportunities. As a matter of fact China is the first buyer of European technologies also the Chinese foreign direct investments have reached a new all-time high in Europe. However, Chinese firms’ successful case proves that the followers not only can catch up with its forerunners but also surpass them through technology transfer, technological leapfrogging and technology innovation. No doubt an appropriate culture creativity, entrepreneurship and technology innovation strategy will play a pivotal role

The goal of this conference is to inspire current and strategic thinking, provide a platform for exploring linkages and mechanisms, and explore appropriate and effective modes ofWest meets East, knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing, culture creativity and technology innovation and collaboration between China and the Western countries. The primary focus is on building technology innovation management capabilities on both the national (macro) and corporate (micro) levels for enhancing core competency and sustainable growth. Our intent is to provoke creative and innovative ideas, by bringing together various stakeholders, including academics, researchers, corporate leaders, policy makers, venture capitalists, managers, and senior students for exchange of ideas, research findings, current experiences, best practices, and lessons learned. The intellectual lens will rotate around addressing various questions with the thematic content of ‘West meetsEast” modes of collaboration in this field.

Key Note Speakers- Profiles

Allan Conway

Dr. Conway graduated with a Doctorate in Business Policy from the Harvard Business School and is the Dean of the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor (since July, 2005). Just previously he was Associate Dean of MBA Programs and Associate Dean of Executive Programs at the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary where he taught executive and MBA courses on corporate and competitive strategy. He has consulted for a wide variety of organizations, including Enbridge, Textron, NAL Resources, EnCana, Standard & Poor, University of Northern British Columbia, and the APEC Financiers Group. Besides Canada, Dr. Conway has taught executive programs in the Bahamas, Belgium, Brazil, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Thailand, and the United States. Previous to joining academia, Dr. Conway held management positions with London Life Insurance, Scott Paper Co., and Global Television.

Dr. Conway has authored or co-authored four books. He also led a team of 14 University scholars from across Canada on a research study of Canadian companies’ entry into the Japanese market, which led to the book Canadian Companies in Japan: lessons from experience. This followed on work on corporate product innovation published in such journals as Journal of Product Innovation Management and R&D Management as well as work on product-market innovation leading to world-wide product mandates within Canadian subsidiaries of foreign multinationals. In recent years he has been involved with work on research leadership, as a member of the Western Collaborative on Management and Leadership Training among Research Leaders in Canada and as an organizing committee member of a National Workshop on Research Leadership and Management. His current interests also include the role of the CEO, corporate governance, and competition in the MBA Industry. One of his current projects is an examination of CEO succession.

Dr. Conway has been heavily involved internationally in promoting curriculum innovation and change among MBA programs. For example, he was founding chair of the MBA Leadership Conference and was a charter member of the planning committee and conference faculty for AACSB’s MBA Emerging Curriculum Conference. His faculty’s programming was featured at a recent international symposium on MBA Innovation hosted by the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia in November, 2010.

Dr. Conway is a member of the Board of Directors of the MBA Roundtable, previously served as President of the Harvard Business School Club of Calgary, and serves currently as a member of the Board of Directors of the Harvard Business School Club of Michigan. He served a term as a charter member of the Entrepreneur-in-Residence Steering Committee at Calgary Technologies, Inc. and served as a member of the Industrial Cluster Strategy Steering Committee for the City of Calgary. He served as a member of the board of directors of the Windsor-Essex County Economic Development Corporation from 2007 to 2009, and currently serves as a member of the International Truck Research & Development Advisory Board, and of the board of directors of WEtech Alliance, a technology incubator. He is also lead board member for OPTIC (a virtual business incubator) and the Centre for Business Advancement and Research. Dr. Conway has recently joined CAMOT’s (China Association for Management of Technology) International Scientific Committee.

George Stonehouse (tbc)

Professor George Stonehouse is Dean of Napier University Business School and Professor of International Strategic Management. He is the founder of the Edinburgh Institute of Leadership and Management Practice and was runner-up (with commendation) for Global Director in the Scottish Institute of Directors Awards for 2010. He is a Non-Executive Director of Marketing Edinburgh and of Investors in People (Scotland) and is a founding member of Aspire4Africa, charity set up to promote leadership and business education and development in Africa.

He has wide international experience in both business and academia. He is an Honorary Professor of the State University of Management, Moscow, Russia, Honorary Chair in Leadership at ISB, Kolkata, India and Visiting Professor at the University of International Business and Economics Beijing and the University of Zhengzhou, Peoples Republic of China. His PhD is in Organisational Creativity and his main research and consultancy interests lie in the areas of leadership, strategic management, creativity, knowledge, collaboration, and global business. He has published 3 books and numerous articles in leading academic journals.

He has a strong interest in learning and teaching and in developing innovative approaches to support the processes. He has been engaged in research, consultancy and design and delivery of training with a number of leading UK and international organisations including Anderson and Strathern, Aegon, Black and Decker, NHS Lothian, Hanson PLC, the Improvement Service, Edinburgh City Council, Inland Revenue, Scottish and Southern, Nike, Severstal JSC (Russia) and Yutong Corporation (PRC).

Richard Li-Hua

Professor Richard Li-Hua is a world-leading expert on innovation management and technology strategy, and is an internationally recognized authority on international technology transfer, as well as Chinese business and management. He is a frequent speaker at international conferences, and was an invited senior expert on science and technology by the European Union and the P.R. China’s Ministry of Science and Technology in 2010. He has consulted for international business, global higher education, and government agencies. He is Professor of Strategic Management and Leadership, and President of SIAS International University in China.

With over 30 years of experience working in both the East and West (15 years of governmental and industrial work experience in China, and 16 years of experience in the UK’s higher education system), his leadership experience and extensive interaction, teaching, consultancy, and engagement globally, particularly in the UK, USA, Canada, Europe and China, as well as his in-depth research on international technology transfer between the West and the East, he has insightful observations and interpretation about what has happened in the last 35 years between the West and East, notably China, and how a university/firm can be well positioned in the twenty-first century.

Ramu Damodaran (tbc)

Ramu Damodaran is Chief of the Civil Society Service in the Outreach Division of the United Nations Department of Public Information. In this capacity, Mr. Damodaran oversees the Department's outreach to the public, including non-governmental organizations and educational institutions. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the Organization's flagship quarterly, UN Chronicle.

Mr. Damodaran’s prior United Nations responsibilities include that of Senior Officer in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, Senior Focal Point Officer in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and Political Affairs Officer in the Department for Special Political Questions, Regional Cooperation, Decolonization and Trusteeship. He was Secretary of the United Nations inter-agency mission that visited Kuwait in 1991 to assess damage to the country’s infrastructure and economy from its occupation by Iraq. As a member of India’s national diplomatic service, Mr. Damodaran served on the Indian delegation to the United Nations and was Chairman of the United Nations Council for Namibia Drafting Committee. He has worked in the Indian Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi and in the Indian Embassy in Moscow.

Mr. Damodaran has extensive work experience in media, including television, radio and print journalism, in India and is a recipient of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union award for best radio feature. Ramu Damodaran is a national of India.

Max von Zedwitz

Professor of Innovation and Strategy,Skoltech - Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow

Director, GLORAD Center for Global R&D and InnovationSkoltech, Moscow / Tongji, Shanghai / HSG, St. Gallen

Max von Zedtwitz is an expert in global R&D management and innovation. A professor at Skoltech in Russia and other universities in China and Europe, he runs GLORAD, the Center for Global R&D and Innovation with locations in Shanghai, Moscow, and St. Gallen. Previously, he was Vice President at PRTM, Managing Director of AsiaCompete Int’l, and professor at Tsinghua, Beijing University, and IMD in Switzerland. He holds Ph.D. and MBA degrees from HSG University of St. Gallen, and a M.Sc. in Computer Science from ETH Zurich. He also completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard University.

Nicola Bellini

Nicola Bellini is Professor of Economics and Management at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa (on leave) and Director of the Institute of Tourism at La Rochelle Business Schools. Until 2014 he was Director of the Galileo Galilei Italian Institute at Chongqing University and Italian Co-Director of the Confucius Institute in Pisa, as well as Executive Director of the joint DBA program of Chongqing University, Grenoble Ecole de management and Scuola Sant'Anna. He has been visiting professor at Stanford University (Florence Center), University of Sassari, University of Pisa and Grenoble Ecole de Management. From 2009 to 2011 he was the Director of the Regional Institute for Economic Planning of Tuscany – IRPET. He is author and editor of books and articles on industrial policy, local and regional development, business support services, place branding and tourism.

Special Sessions:

  • Competitiveness of Firms in China

Chaired by Professor Richard Li-Hua, President and Professor of Strategic Management andLeadership, Sias International University, with Palgrave MacMillan Publishing

  • WAMOT Workshop on Western Management and Eastern Philosophy

Chaired by Thorben Haenel, Executive Dean, WAMOT, UK

Special Issue and Publication

Quality papers presented at the conference will be published in international journals. The panel is composed of the editors of the following journals:

There will be award sponsored by the Washington Academy for Management of Technology (WAMOT) and other industrial sponsors for best papers, which will also be considered for publication as special issue for the Journal of Technology Management in China, and Journal of Knowledge-based Innovation in China.

What are the conference research topics?

Presentation papers (3,000-5,000) by both academics and professionals are welcome. Coverage includes the following tracks of technology and innovation and entrepreneurship and how they impact upon the areas of international business, marketing, human resources, accounting and finance, logistics and the supply chain management. All submission should be in English.

Conference Themes.

  1. Strategic Management of Technologyand Innovation

Topics

  • Impact of Technology on Work and Organization
  • R&D management
  • Smart Technology Development and Challenges
  • Technology Strategy and Sustainability
  • Technology and future mode of Organization
  • Technology Transfer, Knowledge Management and Innovation
  • International Technology Transfer
  • Technology and IP Management
  • Knowledge, Learning and Innovation Strategy
  • Open Innovation
  • Social Innovation, Responsible Innovation and Social Change
  • Innovation in Creativity and Design Thinking
  • Competitiveness and Innovation
  • Science and Innovation Policy
  • Knowledge-based Innovation and Triple Helix model
  1. Entrepreneurship

Topics

  • Global Entrepreneurship
  • Impact of Entrepreneurship Education
  • Entrepreneurship Vs Corporate Intrapreneurship
  • Managing Technology Start-up
  • International Entrepreneurship
  1. Technology and Innovation Management in China

Topics