The European Scaleup Institute (ESI; Home - European Scaleup Institute) is proud to organize its inaugural Research & Education Conference on scaling and high-growth firms at the Nova School of Business and Economics, Lisbon, Portugal. Conference sessions will be held on Thursday, June 1 and Friday, June 2, 2023.
GOAL OF THE CONFERENCE
High-growth and scaling firms have gained significant attention in recent years as they have shown to drive economic growth and transitions, as well as to create jobs. However, scaling and high-growth firms also face a number of pertinent challenges as they grow. These include the need to lead transitions and to manage rapid growth while maintaining profitability, the ability to attract and retain resources such as funding and talent, and the need to adapt to changing market conditions. Additionally, scaling businesses or initiatives may also lead to increased competition and regulatory scrutiny. Despite some emergent insights about underlying drivers and challenges, there is still much to learn about how high-growth and scaling firms evolve as they transition from starting up, to growing up, to scaling up, and try to persist high growth over time. The ESI Conference serves as a platform for discussing original research and insights about the determinants and consequences of high growth and scaling up as a process. Moreover, it intends to exchange impactful insights about how entrepreneurs and students may be supported and trained in scaling businesses or initiatives as an effective way in building inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems over time.
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
The conference consists of keynotes, academic paper sessions as well as roundtables about educational programs. For the academic paper sessions, we invite scholars to submit cutting-edge proposals - rather than finished, complete papers - showcasing and explaining their research and findings associated with high-growth and scaling firms. We welcome submissions from a variety of fields, including but not limited to entrepreneurship, strategy, organizational behavior, psychology, management, economics, and finance, that address any of the following topics:
· -The drivers of high growth and scaling over time. How do startups transform into scaleups? What alternative pathways or journeys can be identified? How do firms deal with potential trade-offs in the process of scaling?
· -The key dimensions of scalability. What differentiates it from other constructs such as growth, productivity and profitability.
· -The role of management practices and leadership capabilities in scaling up. What are the roles played by CEOs, TMTs, boards and investors?
· - The role of networks and ecosystems in high growth and scaling up. What role do cluster organizations, localized competences and resources, incubators and policy initiatives play? To what extent do informal networks matter?
· - The role of government policy in fostering high-growth firms and scaleups. What policies matter most under what circumstances? What differentiates effective support programs from less effective ones?
· -The impact of high-growth firms and scaleups on the economy and society at large. What positive outcomes may be identified? What are mitigating mechanisms to reduce potential negative socio-environmental consequences?
Proposals can be theoretical, empirical or conceptual in nature, but should be based on rigorous research. Proposals should not exceed a total of 4000 words including charts, graphs, diagrams, etc. and up to 2 pages of references.
SUBMISSION
Authors interested in presenting their proposal at the conference should send the proposal
with complete author information to Justin Jansen, academic chair, through jjansen@rsm.nl,
no later than March 15, 2023. Proposals will be reviewed and authors will be notified of the
decision by April 1, 2023. All presenting authors are expected to discuss another proposal
within their session. There is no conference submission fee. Early bird conference registration
fee (before April 1, 2023) is €310; the fee for registration between April 15 and June 1
is €375. The registration fee covers the opening reception, meals, coffee breaks, and conference
dinner. We look forward to receiving your submissions and welcoming you at the
conference.
CONFERENCE ORGANISERS AND SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
The conference is organised by Euclides Major (Nova School of Business and Economics),
Veroniek Collewaert (Vlerick Business School/KU Leuven), Dimo Ringov (ESADE Business
School), Dries Faems (WHU Business School), David Sluss (ESSEC Business School), Justin
Jansen (Rotterdam School of Management/Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship), Miguel
Meuleman (Vlerick Business School), Anna-Maija Sunnanmark (Nordic Innovation), and
Leonardo Fuligni (Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship).