What is the workshop about?

As part of the Euregio initiative, we aim to develop advanced learning modules for PhD students and early career researchers on the topic of “Research to address the dual challenge of digitalization/AI and sustainability/CSR”, with a focus on the needs of practitioners. In doing so, we hope to develop and foster new/early research ideas and collaborations that focus on real-world challenges and problems at the intersection of sustainability and digitalization.

Bridging the Practitioner and Researcher Gap
To effectively bridge the gap between practitioners implementing these transformations and researchers analyzing them, it is crucial to establish robust communication channels. Practitioners shall articulate their experiences, constraints, and challenges, while researchers should focus on identifying success factors through empirical analysis. This dialogue will facilitate a better understanding of how digitalization can support sustainability objectives, ultimately leading to actionable insights that can be applied in practice.

Why attending the workshop?

Relevance and Thematic Focus
The workshop addresses critical practical and scientific challenges associated with digitalization and sustainability, particularly as organizations navigate the complexities of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) transformations. The integration of digital technologies, such as AI, into sustainable practices presents both opportunities for innovation and risks that must be managed effectively. Understanding these challenges is essential for stakeholders aiming to achieve transformation goals that are not only economically viable but also socially responsible and environmentally sustainable.

An overview of possible, non-exclusive topics and research questions can be found here.

Practitioners (Friday)
… benefit from key notes, the reflection and discussion of their current challenges and possible cooperation with strategy, management and organizational researchers.

Junior Researchers (Friday and Saturday)
… benefit from suggestions from the key note speakers, from insights into practical problems, from constructive suggestions for improving their own research ideas and from possible collaborations with practitioners and other researchers.

Euregio Tirol – Südtirol – Trentino
… benefits from intensified cooperation not only between management researchers at the three universities, but also from the involvement of important interest groups and the development of additional ideas for joint doctoral training.

Target audience and participation options

We seek to engage a diverse group of participants:

• Practitioners (Friday, only): We invite representatives from companies (including start-ups and cooperatives), public institutions and policy makers to share their experiences with digital transformation and sustainability challenges. Practitioners will benefit from participating in the workshop by (a.) receiving first-hand feedback from scholars on their individual challenges, (b.) getting food for thought from the keynote speakers and (c.) expanding their network for possible future collaborations.    
• Scholars (both days): We invite particularly early-career researchers such as senior PhDs and Post-Docs especially in management who are interested in and / or working on innovative research ideas related to the research focus and theme of the workshop.  There are three options: (1.) active role and submission of an early-stage manuscript (e.g. working paper; extended abstract; sketch for a research idea), which is briefly presented and then discussed; (2.) active role as discussant of the submitted and selected contributions; and (3.) active role as team member for the development of ideas for innovative teaching modules in this practice-relevant research field. For options (2.) and (3.), participants are asked to share their status as scholar at the time of subscription, with no need to upload any manuscript. 

As interdisciplinary research is repeatedly called for, we explicitly invite researchers from different (sub)disciplines such as organizational behavior, human resource management, entrepreneur­ship, marketing, innovation management, sociology, psychology, economics as well as accounting to share their approaches and insights with other participants.   

How to register and -optionally- submit your work?

Interested practitioners who want to register shall contact: Loris Vigna (loris.vigna@unibz.it) or one of the organizers (see below).

We especially invite management scholars from the Euregio Tirol – Südtirol – Trentino, yet in general international scholars, including senior doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows, who are interested in the research focus and theme of this workshop to participate and submit their related research work particularly if interested in supporting feedback from experts and senior scholars.

Interested scholars find detailed information regarding the options mentioned above, how to
submit their extended abstract, and how to register here.

Information on the participation fees

The Euregio Research Workshop – 2025 is financially supported by the Euregio Mobility Fund.
Depending on the number of participants, participants from the Euregio in particular will be able to have their proven travel and accommodation costs reimbursed in full or in part in accordance with the travel expense regulations of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano.

Please note that it may be necessary for participants to cover part of the costs incurred (e.g., voluntary workshop dinner on Friday evening).

There is no entitlement to reimbursement of individual costs, especially in the event of non-attendance. Please contact the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano administration (loris.vigna@unibz.it) if you have any questions.

---

Workshop Organizers

---

Conference Program

It is a two-day conference that starts on Friday at 12 noon and ends on Saturday at 1 pm.

The preliminary program will be published here in mid April.

---

Important Dates (updated version)