IIM Tiruchirappalli Hosts 25th Annual Convention of Strategic Management Forum (SMF) 2023

IIM Tiruchirappalli hosted the 25th Annual Convention of Strategic Management Forum from 18 to 20 December 2023. The convention aimed to provide a platform for strategy and entrepreneurship researchers to reflect, share, and debate the future of strategy and entrepreneurship in the country. The convention was focused on the future of strategy and entrepreneurship and opportunities and challenges in the changing landscape. By bringing together eminent scholars, philosophers, researchers, and policymakers, the convention aimed to create an environment for exchanging and disseminating knowledge on various facets of Strategy, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship.

The forum included a panel discussion on “Indian Knowledge Systems,” which was graced by eminent academicians such as Dr. Pawan Kumar Singh, Director, IIM Tiruchirappalli, Dr. R P Banerjee, EIILM Kolkata, Dr. Subhash Sharma, Indus Business Academy, Bangalore, and Dr. B Mahadevan, IIM Bangalore.

The panel discussion on “Publishing in High-Quality Journals” was conducted by Prof. Rejie George Pallathiita, IIM Bangalore, Associate Editor – IIMB Management Review, Prof. Sushanta Kumar Mishra, IIM Bangalore, Associate Editor – IIMB Management Review, Dr. Raj Krishnan Shankar, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Editorial Review Board Member – Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice and Dr. Kshitij Awasthi, IIM Lucknow, Area Editor (Strategy), Journal of Indian Business Research.

The final panel discussion focused on the “Future of Business Schools and Management Education.” It was graced by Dr. Pawan Kumar Singh, Director, IIM Tiruchirappalli, , Dr. Asit Kumar Barma, Director, Bharathidasan Institute of Management, and Dr. Sapna Rakesh, Director, GL Bajaj Institute of Management and Research.

Workshops were organized in the domain of Research Methods conducted by Dr. Sankalp Pratap from IIT Bombay on “Best Practices in Qualitative Research” and Dr. K Gopinath, IIM Tiruchirappalli on “Introduction to Meta-Analysis.” Prof. Karthik Dhandapani, IIM Tiruchirappalli, conducted a workshop on “Teaching through Simulations”. Prof. K S Manikandan, IIM Tiruchirappalli, conducted a workshop on “Teaching through Case Method.”

The valedictory ceremony was organized on 20 December 2023.  Prof. K S Manikandan welcomed the dignitaries for the ceremony.  Dr. Asit Kumar Barma, Director of Bharathidasan Institute of Management, was the Chief Guest for the ceremony. In his address, he shared his perspective on the future of strategic management and the changing discipline of new businesses. He discussed the changes in a firm’s ecosystem due to the advent of technology and its domination by a few economies. He emphasized the growing importance of the ecosystem economy and highlighted the need for firms to align their value creation with the SDG goals. Dr. Pawan Kumar Singh, Director, IIM Tiruchirappalli, highlighted the importance of gaining knowledge on allied topics such as history, sociology, psychology and economics to understand Strategy better.

Dr. Arunaditya Sahay announced the recipient of the annual SMF alumni award. It was presented to Dr. Prateek Modi, Dean-School of Management, BML Munjal University. Dr. Pawan Kumar Singh, Director, IIM Tiruchirappalli, was announced as the chairman of the SMF, and IIM Mumbai was chosen as the next host for the 26th SMF annual convention. The chief guest awarded winners of best case, best research papers, and papers by doctoral students. The following is the list of winners on cases, research papers, and papers by doctoral students.

Besides SMF, the Desai Sethi School of Entrepreneurship and IIT Bombay also sponsored best paper awards in entrepreneurship. Prof. Karthik Dhandapani, convenor of the SMF conference, delivered the vote of thanks. The event concluded with the national anthem.