Prof. Dr. Bernd Skiera holds the first chair for electronic commerce in Germany at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main since 1999. He serves on the board of efl - The Data Science Institute and the Schmalenbach Society, while representing Germany at the European Marketing Community (EMAC). Chair of Marketing, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main Board member, efl - The Data Science Institute National representative, European Marketing Community (EMAC) His research focuses on MarTech/SalesTech integration, customer value management, online advertising analytics, data-driven pricing models, and the economic implications of internet privacy regulations. He leads the ERC Advanced Grant project on cookie usage restrictions' economic consequences. Recent publications examine dynamic pricing in digital markets, competition visualization using big data, and AI applications in marketing analytics. The ERC Advanced Grant research has produced empirical analyses of GDPR impacts on advertising ecosystems. 2015 Journal of Marketing Best Paper Award 2013 International Journal of Research in Marketing Best Paper Award Multiple MSI/H. Paul Root Award recognitions He has mentored 17 doctoral students who became professors globally, including at London Business School and LMU Munich. His work bridges marketing analytics with financial valuation through customer equity modeling.
Cees B.M. van Riel is a visiting professor in the Department of Business-Society Management at Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University. He previously served as a professor of corporate communication and is a globally recognized expert in reputation management, employee alignment, and corporate branding. His research focuses on corporate communication , organizational identity , employee alignment , and industry reputation . He investigates how organizations build and maintain strong reputations through strategic internal and external communication, particularly during periods of change or crisis. His work bridges academic theory and practical application, influencing both scholarly discourse and corporate practice. His recent publications, including a 2023 article on museum-corporate sponsorships, demonstrate a sustained engagement with themes of mutual value creation, stakeholder management, and reputation dynamics. His body of work consistently addresses reputation management , organizational change , impression management , and corporate branding across diverse sectors. Editor-in-Chief of Corporate Reputation Review Founder of the Reputation Forum The Netherlands (RfN) Founding Director of RSM's International Executive Master Programme in Corporate Communication Co-founder of the Reputation Institute Professor van Riel has supervised numerous academic works and has led major educational initiatives. He has been actively involved in global reputation rankings, including the Forbes-published Annual Reputation Institute Study. His consultancy work with multinational corporations such as ING, Philips, and Shell underscores his impact beyond academia. He has also held editorial and speaking roles, contributing significantly to the dissemination of management knowledge. He is central to a research network focused on corporate communication and reputation, with collaborations spanning multiple countries and institutions. His leadership in founding academic programs and professional forums highlights his role in shaping the field.
Lilly Irani is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of California, San Diego. She holds multiple interdisciplinary affiliations including Science Studies, the Design Lab, the Institute for Practical Ethics, and Critical Gender Studies. As Faculty Director of the UC San Diego Labor Center and co-director of the Just Transitions Initiative, she plays a significant role in shaping labor and technology policy discussions at the university and beyond. Dr. Irani's educational background includes a Ph.D. in Informatics (with Feminist Emphasis) from UC Irvine, and both an M.S. and B.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University, with a focus on Human-Computer Interaction. Her unique combination of technical training and social science expertise informs her research approach, bridging practical design work with critical analysis of technology systems. Her research investigates the cultural politics of high-tech work practices with a focus on how actors produce "innovation" cultures. She specializes in the cultural politics of high-tech work in the context of South Asian development and global AI economies. As an ethnographer of work, she analyzes interactional, organizational, and cultural dynamics as mediated by technology. Her work draws on and contributes to Science and Technology Studies, Human-Computer Interaction, and South Asia studies, with particular attention to how technological systems create and reinforce hierarchies of value, gender, race, and cultural positioning. Dr. Irani's publications reveal consistent engagement with issues of digital labor, platform economies, and the politics of innovation. Her work shows a trajectory from examining specific platforms like Amazon Mechanical Turk to broader critiques of innovation culture and entrepreneurial citizenship, with recurring themes of worker power, surveillance, and democratic control of technology. 2020 International Communication Association Outstanding Book Award 2019 Diana Forsythe Prize Honorable mention at CHI 2019 Dr. Irani has received research funding from prestigious organizations including the Ford Foundation, Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Fellowship, Open Society Foundation, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, and NSF Virtual Organizations as Sociotechnical Systems Program. She serves on the editorial advisory boards of Design and Culture, New Technology, Work, and Employment, and Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Technoscience, and is part of the editorial collective of Public Culture. Collaboratively, she has designed software tools like Turkopticon and Dynamo that intervene in and demonstrate alternatives to existing platforms, with Turkopticon evolving into a worker-run advocacy organization. Her research group and collaborations span multiple disciplines, working closely with scholars in Science and Technology Studies, Human-Computer Interaction, and labor studies. The Just Transitions Initiative she co-directs represents a significant ongoing project focused on democratic control of technology and worker power in the digital economy.
Sunder Kekre is the Vasantrao Dempo Professor of Operations Management at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business , where he has held academic appointments since 1984. His research focuses on manufacturing systems, global supply chains, and healthcare operations management. Research Expertise : New product development structures, strategic costing, lean innovation, knowledge sharing in enterprise networks, and business analytics for coordinated supply chains. Key Publications : Contributions to journals like Management Science , Operations Research , and Production and Operations Management , with work on LNG storage valuation, RFID logistics, and healthcare disparities. Scientific Recognition : Dempo Chair Professorship Bosch Chair Professorship Best Paper Award (1995) Teaching : Courses in Operations Management, Strategic Management of the Enterprise, and Information Systems Project. Non-Academic Experience : Prior engineering roles at Tata Steel (1974-1980) and consulting engagements with Fortune 500 firms like Bosch, Caterpillar, and IBM.
J. Daniel Kim is an Assistant Professor of Management at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches MBA and PhD courses on entrepreneurship and innovation. His research focuses on high-growth entrepreneurship, venture scaling, strategic human capital, mergers and acquisitions, innovation, and labor markets. PhD - MIT Sloan School of Management BA - Dartmouth College His research explores: Startup hiring challenges and firm-driven search strategies Timing and risks of venture scaling Post-acquisition employee retention patterns Founder impact on organizational change Immigrant founder contributions to entrepreneurship Key article trends show: Focus on talent dynamics in high-growth firms Analysis of organizational antecedents in acquisitions Quantitative approaches using population-level data Interdisciplinary connections between entrepreneurship, strategy, and economics Debunking myths about founder demographics Linkage between labor market mechanisms and startup performance Scientific recognition includes: Multiple Teaching Excellence Awards at Wharton (2024-2020) Best Paper Prize from Strategic Management Society (2020) Kauffman Dissertation Fellowship (2017) MIT Sloan Doctoral Thesis Prize (2019) Prof. Kim serves as an economist with the United States Census Bureau and has published in top journals including Strategic Management Journal , Organization Science , and American Economic Review: Insights . His work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal , New York Times , and Financial Times .
Professor Raghavendra Rau is the Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. He is the Founder and Academic Director of the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) and serves on editorial boards of journals like the Journal of Corporate Finance and Journal of Banking and Finance. He will be President of the Financial Management Association in 2025 and has held visiting roles at Gresham College, Universiti Malaya, and University of Jordan. Education: MBA (IIM Bangalore), MSc, PhD (INSEAD) Previous Roles: Principal at Barclays Global Investors, Ambank Chair, Gresham Professorship His research focuses on how investors and firms process information, with key areas including corporate governance, behavioral finance, fintech, digital finance, CEO decision-making, and ESG. He explores links between prenatal environmental exposure and executive risk-taking, gender diversity in finance, and regulatory impacts on crowdfunding and digital lending. Recent publications analyze serial acquirers' behavior, CSR impacts on firm value, superstitious fund managers, and digital financing regulations. His work bridges behavioral biases, environmental factors, and financial innovation. Awards include the 2015 Ig Nobel Prize in Management.
Dr Denitsa Dineva is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Strategy at Cardiff Business School , specializing in digital marketing , consumer behavior , and brand strategy . With a PhD in Digital Marketing from Aberystwyth University, she brings both academic expertise and practical experience from commercial and non-profit sector marketing roles. Her research focuses on the complexities of digital and social media , particularly examining uncivil consumer interactions , brand content moderation , and digital brand engagement . Denitsa employs mixed methods , social media text analysis , and experimental research to understand brand-consumer dynamics in digital spaces. 2025: Brand-to-brand social media engagement analysis 2025: Communication accommodation in brand communities 2025: Schadenfreude in service recovery 2024: Brand engagement typology 2023: Platform moderation strategies 2023: Brand advertising withdrawal cases She has received multiple accolades including the IAA Impact Award (2025) and SIM Conference Best Paper (2024), while also securing £133,878 in research funding across projects on digital marketing and public value initiatives. Denitsa teaches Digital Marketing modules at BSc, MSc, and executive education levels, and currently supervises PhD research related to online brand communities , social media content moderation , and consumer engagement dynamics . She serves as Senior Personal Tutor and External Examiner at multiple universities.
Sharon Clarke is Professor of Organisational Psychology at the University of Manchester, researching safety culture and occupational well-being. As Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, she advances research on work-related health. Research examines safety leadership, regulatory culture, and flexible work arrangements. Clarke's work identifies how organizational practices influence safety compliance and employee well-being. Recent publications analyze pandemic safety compliance determinants, flexible work equity issues, and optimal safety leadership profiles. Her research informs organizational risk management through evidence-based interventions. Lifetime Fellowship (European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology) Leads research on regulator-regulatee relationships and advises government agencies on workplace safety. Developed meta-analytic models of safety climate and transformational leadership.
Sarah Bankins is an Associate Professor at Macquarie University's Department of Management. Her research focuses on AI's impact on work, organizational ethics, and human resource management. She holds editorial roles at The Australian Journal of Management and Group and Organization Management . Before academia, she worked in public sector HR and management consulting. Education: PhD from Queensland University of Technology, B. Business/B. Economics from University of Queensland, and a Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching from University of Newcastle. Research Interests: AI ethics, future of work, workplace technology, and interdisciplinary collaboration with fields like computer science and philosophy. Recent articles explore AI's role in decision-making, workplace trust, and educational ethics. Key projects include studies on mining sector mental health and ethical AI applications. Awards include teaching excellence (2013) and research supervision (2017).
Stephen Leider is the Dale L. Dykema Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Technology and Operations at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. His research focuses on behavioral economics and operations, exploring contracts, bargaining in supply chains, dynamic decision-making, and technology’s role in productivity. He holds a BA from Case Western Reserve University, and MA and PhD from Harvard University. Leider’s research spans behavioral operations management, including studies on symbolic awards in buyer-supplier relations, innovation sharing in product development, and the impact of decision rights. His work integrates experimental, theoretical, and empirical methods to address operational challenges influenced by human behavior. His recent articles highlight trends in algorithmic decision-making, replication studies in operations research, and the design of enterprise social media platforms. Education: BA in Economics, Case Western Reserve University (2003) MA and PhD in Business Economics, Harvard University (2006, 2009) Leider’s research has been published in top journals like Management Science and Manufacturing & Service Operations Management . He co-authored The Handbook of Behavioral Operations (2018), emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to operational challenges. His work often bridges theory and practice, offering insights into how behavioral factors shape organizational and supply chain dynamics. Leider’s advising and grants focus on behavioral operations and entrepreneurship. He has collaborated on studies involving field experiments in the Philippines, exploring vote-selling and its implications for institutional trust. His lab focuses on behavioral analysis of strategic interactions and dynamic resource allocation, with ongoing projects on algorithm reliance and human decision-making under uncertainty.
Professor David Sarpong is a leading academic in Strategy and Organisation at Aston Business School, part of Aston University's College of Business and Social Sciences. He currently serves as Head of the Marketing and Entrepreneurship Department and Director of Research for the Marketing and Strategy Subject Group. His research focuses on strategy-as-practice, relationalism, innovation management, and temporality in organizational processes. He holds adjunct roles at KNUST Business School and Bristol Business School, and is actively involved in professional organizations like EURAM and CABS. His work employs qualitative methods including ethnographic interviews and microstoria approaches. Professional Activities: He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Strategy and Leadership, and on editorial boards for Technology Analysis & Strategic Management and European Management Journal. His external roles include UK Country Representative for EURAM and Board Membership at The Milestones Trust. He has held prior academic leadership positions at Brunel University London and visiting roles at HSE Moscow and University of KwaZulu-Natal. Research Interests: Prioritizes cross-level management problems using Heideggerian-Wittgensteinian frameworks. Key themes include second-order technology management, business tournament rituals, strategic foresight, and discursive practices in European cosmopolitan marketplaces. Methodologically innovative in combining narratives, digital datasets, and performative routines analysis. Collaborations: Active in global research networks with scholars across Africa, Europe, and Asia. Recent work addresses mining-industry partnerships, gender dynamics in extractive economies, and ethical dimensions of corporate governance. His research outputs number over 110 publications in top journals like Technovation and Journal of Business Research. Awards/Affiliations: Recognized through editorial leadership roles and visiting professorships. His research has policy implications for sustainable development, innovation ecosystems, and organizational resilience in global contexts.
Michael D. Smith is a Professor of Information Technology and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, with joint appointments at Heinz College and Tepper School of Business. His research employs economic and statistical methods to analyze digital markets, focusing on firm and consumer behavior in online environments. Education: B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering (Summa Cum Laude), University of Maryland M.Sc. in Telecommunications Science, University of Maryland Ph.D. in Management Science and Information Technology, MIT Research Interests: Professor Smith investigates the economics of digital information markets, consumer behavior in online platforms, and policy implications of technological disruption. His work spans copyright enforcement, digital advertising, and the impact of piracy on legal media consumption. Publications: His recent studies examine AI’s role in copyright policy, effectiveness of anti-piracy measures, and market dynamics in digital streaming. Articles often bridge economics, computer science, and public policy. Awards: National Science Foundation CAREER Award Multiple Best Teacher Awards at CMU Recognized as a Top 100 Emerging Engineering Leader (NAE, 2020) Best Paper Runner-Up (Information Systems Research, 2006) Editorial and Industry Roles: Served as Senior Editor at Information Systems Research and Associate Editor at Management Science . Prior to academia, he worked in telecommunications at GTE and Booz Allen Hamilton, earning a patent for AI applications in network design. Contact: mds@cmu.edu | Office: 4800 Forbes Avenue, Hamburg Hall 2204, Pittsburgh PA 15213
Katia Meggiorin is Assistant Professor of Information Systems at Stevens Institute of Technology's School of Business. Her research investigates regulatory challenges in digital platform markets, particularly the sharing economy's societal trade-offs. Recent work examines Airbnb's impact on housing markets, platform responses to regulatory uncertainty, and certification systems in multisided markets. Meggiorin's findings inform platform governance and regulatory design for emerging digital economies. She holds a PhD from New York University and MS degrees from NYU and IE Business School.
L. Paige Fields is a Professor of Finance at the University of Kansas School of Business, where she joined in 2017 as Dean and Henry D. Price Professor of Business. Her academic career spans institutions including Trinity University (Dean, 2012-2015), Texas A&M University (1994-2012), University of Arizona (1991-1994), and University of Kentucky. Education : Ph.D. in Business Administration (Finance) from University of South Carolina, M.S. and B.S. in Finance from Louisiana State University. Her research focuses on corporate governance, banking, insurance, and capital structure. She has published extensively in top journals like the Journal of Finance and Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking , with recent work on earnings management, bank loan dynamics, and governance mechanisms. Fields has served as Associate Editor at the Journal of Financial Research and received over 20 teaching and academic awards, including national recognition from the Academy of Finance (2010). She has held leadership roles such as Department Chair at Trinity University and multiple teaching innovation grants at Texas A&M’s Mays Business School.
Susan Scott is a Professor of Management and Artificial Intelligence at Imperial College London, holding a joint appointment with the Imperial College Business School and IX, the university’s AI initiative. She previously held academic roles at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), including Professor of Information Systems and Innovation and Faculty Group Lead in the Department of Management. Her research spans Information Systems, Organization Theory, and Technology Management, with a focus on sociomateriality, digital transformation, and ethical innovation. Scott earned a PhD in Management (Information Systems) from the University of Cambridge, an MSc in Information Systems from LSE, and a BA in History and Politics from SOAS, University of London. Her work bridges theoretical and applied domains, addressing challenges in digital accountability, institutional displacement, and the societal impacts of emerging technologies. She has contributed to major initiatives like the SWIFT financial network analysis and explored ethical dimensions of AI and big tech. Her articles critically examine topics such as crowd-based accountability, digital undertows in industry standards, and the material-discursive practices shaping organizational practices. Though no awards are listed, her extensive publications reflect a commitment to rigorous qualitative and mixed-methods research, emphasizing phenomenon-focused theorizing in Information Systems. Scott’s research agenda integrates academic and practical insights, addressing future challenges like AI governance, digital responsibility, and the sociotechnical reconfigurations reshaping institutions and industries.
