ICMLG'15: Conference wrap-up

The annual International Conference on Management, Leadership and Governance is over for another year. The third edition of the conference, in Auckland New Zealand, built on the earlier editions. The two keynote speakers, Phil O'Reilly and Andrea Thompson, were well received. They set the scene for each day nicely. Three strong themes emerged during the conference, as follows:

• While business researchers are making a contribution, progress is painfully slow—akin to plodding. The gap (probably best described as a chasm) between the academic research community and the business community is far wider than it should be or needs to be. While researchers need to stand somewhat apart from praxis in order to conceptualise new understandings, they need to avoid standing so far away that their work lacks relevance. Pace and relevance appear to be crucial—if research outputs are to be appreciated by the business community.
• The research emphasis needs to change, from standing outside the subject of interest (the board, the leader, the management situation) and counting things (typically secondary attributes based on pubic data or interview/survey responses), to getting close to the subject in action. This change demands more qualitative research, in search of deep understanding and meaning. While the theme has become increasingly apparent at conferences in the last year, several delegates voiced opinions that a tipping point might be tantalisingly close.
  
• Building on this last comment, researchers need to open the black box (of the board, the management team, the organisational situation) and learn what is actually going on. However, this introduces a new challenge, of discernment. Perhaps business researchers need to take the lead shown by the medical and engineering communities (amongst others). Research-capable doctors do medical research and engineers do engineering research. Has the time come for business research to be performed by researchers with real-world business experience as opposed to researchers who have never been inside a boardroom or managed a commercial entity? Many at the conference thought so.

Some further reflections:

• The organiser (Academic Conferences and Publishing, based in the UK) and hosts (AUT and Massey) did a wonderful job. Thank you to Louise, Pat, Coral and James, in particular.
  
• The quality of the papers presented, and the author presentations seemed to be higher than the two previous conferences. Perhaps the review process worked better, or researchers are self-selecting such that only those with meaningful research submit papers. 
• The dinner cruise, on Auckland Harbour, was the social highlight of the conference. Delegates from the Middle East and Europe (especially) were effusive in their comments. That Auckland turned on a wonderful evening sealed the deal!
• In future, ACP may want to consider organising a programme for partners. Around 20 percent of the delegates brought their spouses with them to New Zealand and there was nothing organised for them.

So, there you have it. The 3rd International Conference on Management Leadership and Governance is over. I look forward to the 4th edition in twelve months' time. The venue should be announced in the next month or two.