ECMLG Mini Tracks

The Mini Tracks for ECMLG

• Digital Transformation, Technology and Leadership in an Uncertain World
• Applied Neuroscience to Management and Leadership
• Leadership in Public Administration Complex Contexts
• Social Entrepreneurship and Leadership
• Leadership and Management Beyond Borders
• Leadership in Education: Ethical and Narrative Approaches

Digital Transformation, Technology and Leadership in an Uncertain World

Mini Track Chair: Dr Fred Strønen, Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway

ECMLG 2023 Mini Track on Digital Transformation, Technology and Leadership in an Uncertain World 

In todays’ environment we observe uncertainty in general and empirically in markets dominated by hyper competition and “black swans”, as small events create large unintended consequences. Some of the winners in the future are organizations able to cope with the forces of change in our society.

Digital transformation forces organizations to change how we organize, lead, and govern and create our future in terms of strategy. There are several interesting forces that drives competition. Not only competition for customers, but also for resources and highly skilled employees. Organizations simply need to develop new capabilities for changing and utilizing resources in new combinations to survive. Innovation and organizational renewal are central to develop competitive advantage. We see disruptions, not only in terms of new products or services, but also business models and new ways of configuring value chains. Network effects, in many different layers are central to how organizations both compete and cooperate. It is not only about technology, but also about relationships between organizations. Organizational change is a central element to developing new configurations. Change, if anything is maybe the single most essential factor in how we search for and create opportunities. Digital transformation is also central to corporate and social responsibility in a changing world. Leadership, management, and governance are highly important to digital transformation. We need insight into what it takes to handle highly skilled employees for our future competitiveness.

This track is not about technology per se. It is about how we as human beings deal with technology strategically and organizationally. We invite papers that contributes to knowledge about the consequences of technology for organization, leadership, and strategy development. Conceptual and empirical studies are welcome. conceptualisation and theorisation of the contemporary context in which organisations strive to survive and succeed.

Suggested topics include but are not limited to:

• Digital transformation and technological change
• Demand for new capabilities to meet competitive pressure
• Leadership of digital transformation processes and organizational change
• How organizations develop competitive advantage based on innovation and renewal
• How digital transformation and technology can be used to enhance corporate and social responsibility

Applied Neuroscience to Management and Leadership

Mini Track Chair: Dr Joao Alexandre Lobo Marques, University of Saint Joseph Macau SAR, China

ECMLG 2023 Mini Track on Applied Neuroscience to Management and Leadership 

The recent popularization of neuroscience tools and techniques is allowing the development of multiple applications to benefit the areas of Management (in a broader sense) and Leadership. For example, the areas of Consumer neuroscience and Neuromarketing are using physiological monitoring to measure consumers’ purchasing decisions, preferences, and their responses when exposed to product designs, sales prices, and marketing campaigns.

It is becoming more common to develop experiments collecting consumers’ reactions using brain monitoring (EEG, fNIRS, fMRI, among others), measuring skin conductance (also known as Galvanic Skin Response - GSR), classifying emotions based on facial expression analysis (FEA/FACS) and eye-tracking systems. These experiments area designed to benefit various kinds of products, packaging, brands, services, and communication methods. However, there has been billions of dollars of investment in marketing campaigns without being able to accurately predict customers’ decisions. In other direction, neuroscience-based activities and tools, such as biofeedback and neurofeedback systems, are used to assess and improve the development of soft skills such as decision-making, stress management, communication, and team building.

This track aims to receive submissions of works using physiological monitoring tools, but also other neuroscience-based strategies, such as surveys, observations, gamification, therapeutic interventions, and others.

Suggested topics include but are not limited to:

• Neuromarketing
• Neurosciences and Leadership
• Decision Making
• Consumer decision
• Consumer Neuroscience
• Cognitive Development

Leadership in Public Administration Complex Contexts

Mini Track Chair: Dr Elisabete Fialho and Dr Maria José Sousa, Universitary Institute of Lisbon and Dr Ana Moreira, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal

ECMLG 2023 Mini Track on Leadership in Public Administration Complex Contexts  

Unexpectedly, COVID-19 has changed the world in a way no one thought was possible. This situation poses a considerable challenge to the human resources of public and private organisations. A fast adaptation is needed to manage the resources while people are in “forced” teleworking. Effective e-leadership is essential to continue good results in this complex business environment for leaders and employees.

The COVID-19 pandemic reveals that the public sector is facing more complex problems that must be solved. The future capacity to respond to turbulent problems such as COVID-19 requires several strategies that the leaders must implement.

Suggested topics include but are not limited to:

• Public Administration leadership
• Leadership in complex contexts
• Public Administration Human Resources
• Solutions to public administration problems
• Public Administration leadership after Covid19
• Governance in Public Administration
• Digitalization of Public Administration
• Innovation in Public Services

Social Entrepreneurship and Leadership

Mini Track Chair: Prof Teresa Dieguez, Prof Isabel Ferreira & Prof Paula Loureiro, Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave (IPCA), Portugal

ECMLG 2023 Mini Track Social Entrepreneurship and Leadership  

Social entrepreneurship involves identifying unmet social needs and creating innovative and sustainable solutions to address those needs through a business model. Its primary focus is on creating social impact and social entrepreneurs are driven by a desire to make a positive impact on society. In the context of social entrepreneurship, leadership is crucial for bringing people together and guiding them towards creating a positive impact. Leaders must be able to motivate and engage their team, build partnerships, and overcome obstacles to achieve their goals. Social entrepreneurship and leadership go hand in hand, as both are necessary to create meaningful and lasting social change. A social entrepreneur with strong leadership skills can inspire and mobilize others to support their cause and have the potential to drive positive change and make a significant impact on society.

This mini-track aims to discuss the role of leadership in the social entrepreneurship process as well as in the business model. It also intends to share best practices for better discussion and reflection about the power leaders may have near their communities when they can empower people and use their network to build a sustainable future.

Suggested topics include but are not limited to:

• Social entrepreneurship processes involving opportunity recognition and evaluation
• Innovation and co-creation environments for reinforcing the entrepreneur ecosystem
• Emerging themes in leadership styles and social entrepreneurship
• Challenges of scaling and measuring social impact
• Research challenges in social entrepreneurship

Leadership and Management Beyond Borders

Mini Track Chair: Dr Tatiana Gladkikh, University of Aberdeen Business School, UK

ECMLG 2023 Mini Track on Leadership and Management Beyond Borders 

The mini-track will address the issues of leadership and management faced by organisations in a wider global context as the world emerges from the global pandemic. The reality of the postmodern world characterised by its fluidity, instability, insecurity and permanent change will be discussed from the leadership and management perspectives identified by contributors and could include such considerations as:

• conceptualisation and theorisation of the contemporary context in which organisations strive to survive and succeed
• global challenges facing organisations in the XXI century
• implications of social change on management and leadership in organisations
• cultural divergence and convergence in the post-pandemic world
• development of a global mindset as a step towards addressing universal issues
• the future of organisations, including their management and leadership, from the perspective of younger generations
• the impacts of the Great Resignation on our conceptualisation of the workplace, employee empowerment and organisational responses.

Suggested topics include but are not limited to:

• Organisational issues, challenges and opportunities in the post-pandemic context
• New trends in organisational culture of contemporary organisations
• Leadership developments in organisations of the XXI century as a consequence of societal change and uncertainty
• Universal issues and the global mindset
• Cross-cultural leadership and management in the age of online working

Leadership in Education: Ethical and Narrative Approaches

Mini Track Chair: Dr Elena Seghedin and Dr Ovidiu Gavrilovici, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University from Iasi, Romania

ECMLG 2023 Mini Track on Leadership in Education: Ethical and Narrative Approaches 

The main objective of the Mini Track is to connect people involved in strengthening the leadership in universities, schools and Education Research Institutes/ Centres for underlying some important issues for the Teachers Education.

We will bring together researchers who work on Narrative Approaches applied in Education, with the Teachers Professional Ethics experts and Arts Based practitioners to identify commonalities and to facilitate transnational leadership development strategies. We encourage presentations including both teacher leadership and student leadership, and studies on promoting democratic practice that enables teachers, senior leaders and other stakeholders in eduction settings to lead. We are looking for innovative research on the Teachers Leadership Domain. We aim to develop the understanding of innovative forms of leadership development that apply narrative, reflective and arts-based approaches to such development which facilitate self-learning through critical exploration of the creative and affective dimensions of leadership and leadership development in Education.

Suggested topics include but are not limited to:

• Narrative Approach to Educational Leadership
• Applied and Professional Ethical Issues related to Educational Leadership
• Leadership and Teacher Education
• From Theory to Competences Development Practices
• Arts Based Approaches on Educational Leadership
• Teachers as Reflective Leaders
• On-going studies on Teachers Leadership (including PhD researchers)