SKEMA Business School and its Centre for Sustainability Studies are thrilled to host the 2025 edition of the

Business & Society Research Seminar,

to be held at SKEMA Business School's Sophia Antipolis (Nice, France) campus on June 19^th and 20^th, 2025.

"How Can Organizations Create

Meaningful and Impactful Societal Progress?"

This seminar is specifically designed for PhD students and early-career scholars conducting research in areas such as Business and Society, Sustainable Business, Corporate Social Responsibility, the Sustainable Development Goals, Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and related fields. The goal of the two-day event is to provide participants with an opportunity to present their research papers and PhD projects while receiving constructive feedback from experts in a dynamic, supportive, and collegial academic setting.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Are you a PhD candidate or an emerging scholar conducting research in the fields of Business and Society, Sustainable Business, Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainable Development Goals, Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship, or a related topic?

• Do you wish to discuss one of your research papers or your PhD project with leading scholars in the field and enhance your ability to write compelling scholarly publications?
• Are you looking for some mentoring from leading experts or do you want to develop your academic network?

Then we encourage you to submit your work and join us in Sophia-Antipolis!

OBJECTIVES OF THE SEMINAR

The objective of this two-day seminar is to bring together PhD students, emerging scholars, and more experienced academics to give the opportunity to PhD students and emerging scholars to present and discuss their research projects and receive constructive feedback in a stimulating, developmental and friendly atmosphere.

We focus on identifying and appreciating both the common threads and the distinct aspects of each participant's research methodologies and themes in an inspiring, sociable, and convivial academic setting. This seminar consists of a mix of plenary sessions, full paper and research idea presentation sessions as well as several workshops around career development and publications strategy. All sessions will involve fellow PhD students, emerging scholars, and senior researchers including some journals' editorial members part of our scientific committee.  

GENERAL THEME OF THE 2025 EDITION

Theme: How can organizations create meaningful and impactful societal progress?

Background:
To generate lasting and scalable societal impact, businesses must move beyond symbolic or compliance-oriented Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices. This shift requires reorienting sustainability efforts to be deeply embedded in organizations’ strategy, culture, and operational processes. By adopting a more proactive and integrative approach to sustainability, companies can contribute to social value that aligns with global sustainability goals. Such an approach positions businesses as key contributors to a sustainable, fair model of development—one that addresses societal and environmental challenges with tangible, long-term impacts. This seminar’s theme proposes to explore how organizations can integrate sustainability across their functioning to not only reactively mitigate harm but also proactively contribute to societal progress by creating sustainable shared value.

We welcome contributions from various organization-related research fields (e.g., business ethics and philosophy, management and organization studies, strategy, marketing, accounting, finance, entrepreneurship, and sociology) and research methodologies (qualitative, quantitative, mixed, and conceptual) exploring how organizations can evolve their approach to CSR and sustainability to make a lasting, meaningful difference.

Potential topics may include, but are not limited to:

• How can businesses transition from symbolic CSR to a strategic framework that drives measurable societal outcomes?
• What frameworks or tools best capture the long-term social and environmental impact of organizations, beyond financial indicators?
• What business models and governance mechanisms enable organizations to balance economic success with social and environmental impact?
• What strategies and practices support the scalability of sustainability initiatives and help embed sustainability and fairness into products, services, and supply chains?
• How can organizations and their leaders encourage employee social intrapreneurship and engagement within and outside the organization?
• How can organizations and their leaders effectively engage external stakeholders—including competitors, customers, suppliers, communities, and NGOs—to co-create solutions and shared value addressing societal challenges?
• How can businesses and their leaders contribute to systemic social change through “political CSR” that influences broader social policies and regulations?
• What is the social impact of academic research in business and society, and how can we best translate these findings into organizational practices?

OPEN CALL FOR PAPERS: Business and Society 

Beyond this year’s seminar theme and reflecting the event’s interdisciplinary orientation, we also encourage submissions from scholars with a shared interest in topics related to business and society, sustainable business, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, societal innovation, and inclusiveness and social justice. We welcome submissions from various organization-related research fields including business ethics and philosophy, management and organization studies, strategy, marketing, accounting, finance, entrepreneurship, economics, and sociology. We also encourage submissions drawing on a diverse array of methodologies, including qualitative, quantitative, and conceptual work. 

KEYNOTES

We are thrilled to announce that three prestigious and renowned scholars in CSR will share their insights on the theme of the conference:

David A. Jones, Ph.D., John L. Beckley Professor of Management at the Grossman School of Business (GSB), University of Vermont. Professor Jones will address the theme of the seminar through a talk entitled:

“CSR research and shared value creation: A micro-level perspective”

Flore Bridoux, Ph.D., Professor of Stakeholder Management, Business-Society Management Department at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. Professor Bridoux will address the theme of the seminar through a talk entitled:

“A multi-stakeholder approach to value creation: What do we know and where do we go from here”

- Stuart Hart, Ph.D., Professor in Residence, Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, University of Michigan Distinguished Fellow, Grossman School of Business, University of Vermont S.C. Johnson Professor Emeritus, Johnson School of Management, Cornell University.

Professor Hart will address the theme of the seminar through an online talk entitled:

“Beyond Shareholder Primacy: Remaking Capitalism for a Sustainable Future”

And we hope to announce more …

APPLICATION AND DEADLINES

There are three possible formats for the conference: full papers, long abstracts or research idea papers.  

• Full research paper: max. 30 pages, double-spaced, Times New Roman 12
• Long abstract research paper: 4,000 to 5,000 words, double-spaced, Times New Roman 12 including positioning, research method and preliminary findings/conclusions.
• Research idea paper: submit a 2,000 to 4,000-word paper to present your research idea. 

Submission Deadline: February 17^th, 2025. Please submit your contribution using the corresponding section on this website: See section “Submission” in the Main Menu.

Submissions will undergo a double-blind review process. Notification of acceptance will be sent in early April 2025.  

Registration: Shortly after acceptance notifications in April 2025, authors can register for the conference on this website: See section “Registration” in the Main Menu.

Registration is free but compulsory. The conference program and other details will also be released on the conference website in April and May 2025. Participation is free of charge, but participants are expected to cover their own travel and accommodation expenses.  

Please note that the seminar is a physical event and that no online options will be made available.

There are limited possibilities to attend without presenting a paper. If you wish to participate without an accepted paper, please email us a separate motivation letter. Please acknowledge that due to space and budget constraints preference is given to those presenting a paper or a (long) abstract.  

INFO ON PREVIOUS EDITIONS

Information on previous editions of the Business and Society Research Seminar in France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands can be found online here.