TheMarketForIdeas

“The Future of Europe” International Conference, organized by the Faculty of International Business and Economics, of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, on 24-25 October 2024 and marking this year its 15^th edition, aims to bring together academics and practitioners from all over the world to present research papers, share their knowledge and expertise, as well as to debate ideas in a wide range of thematic areas, including but not limited to:

- international business, innovation and competitiveness, digital transformation, supply chain resilience, and sustainability challenges;

- EU governance and enlargement, business cycles and economic crises, role of the state, mobility and infrastructure development, finance and banking in the EU, circular economy, climate change economics, green energy, and energy security;

- multiculturalism & diversity across the European Union, with particular emphasis on business communication and negotiation, leadership, organizational culture, migration issues.

To accommodate such a variety of topics, the conference is organized around thematic panels, described on the conference site (https://rei.ase.ro/cercetare/conferinte/foe/#). New section proposals can also be submitted to the organizing committee.

Ph.D. candidates are particularly welcome and strongly encouraged to submit papers in line with their research routes. Official language of the conference is English.

The submitted papers will undergo a double-blind peer review process. The accepted articles, subject to author registration, payment and presentation, will be published in the conference proceedings volume. The conference proceedings volume will be submitted for indexation in minimum three international databases and to Web of Science – Conference Proceedings Citation Index.

More on “The Future of Europe” fourthcoming conference: https://rei.ase.ro/cercetare/conferinte/foe/#.

Panels & Contacts

New approaches for the European Union governance and enlargement

Chairs:
Cristina Mihaela Drăgoi, Ph.D
[email protected]
Irina Mădălina Doroftei, Ph.D
[email protected]

The European Union (EU) stands at a crossroads, facing both internal and external challenges. Thus, this panel explores new approaches to EU governance and enlargement and invites research papers that tackle topics related to EU governance, including decision-making mechanisms, institutional reforms, and strategies to enhance democratic accountability. Additionally, contributors can delve into the complexities of EU enlargement, examining the accession process and candidate countries’ readiness. Candidate countries undergo rigorous accession negotiations, aligning their legal systems, economies, and institutions with EU standards. Researchers can assess the impact of past enlargements on existing member states, examining economic integration, cultural diversity, and social cohesion. Moreover, they can explore the prospects for future enlargement, considering geopolitical factors, public opinion, and the EU’s capacity to absorb new members, such as Moldova, Ukraine or Georgia.

Innovation and resilience in international business

Chairs:
Irina-Eugenia Iamandi-Munteanu, Ph.D
[email protected]
Laura Gabriela Constantin, Ph.D
[email protected]

The EU’s single market fosters economic dynamism and provides a unique platform for companies to operate across borders. Recent global disruptions – from natural disasters to the COVID-19 pandemic and wars – highlight the importance of building corporate resilience capacity while developing innovative business supports. Therefore, harmonizing innovation practices and performances and effective risk management become crucial for the sustainability of the companies that perform within the current international business environment. This panel welcomes papers that analyze the role of multinational corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in advancing innovation and economic growth within the EU, while also accounting for their efforts in building resilience models during turmoil times. The research can focus on a variety of international business operations, practices, and activities, like cross-border operations, trade and investments, international management etc. The papers can revolve around the following topics related to international business, but they are not limited to: innovation and resilience as a virtuous circle; digitalization and innovation; entrepreneurship; supply chain diversification and agility; corporate sustainability; corporate social responsibility policies; business ethics and stakeholder engagement; risk management etc.

Sustainable development and energy challenges in the European Union

Chairs:
Raluca-Georgiana Robu, Ph.D
[email protected]
Maria-Mirona Murea, Ph.D
[email protected]

As the EU strives for sustainable development, researchers can contribute by examining environmental protection, climate change adaptation, and social resilience. This panel encourages papers on circular economy practices, renewable energy transitions, and social inclusion. Contributors should address the balance between economic growth and ecological well-being within the EU context. The energy landscape in the EU is undergoing significant transformations. We encourage the proposal of topics that explore energy policy shifts, renewable energy adoption, grid modernization, and energy security. Whether analyzing the role of nuclear energy, offshore wind farms, or smart grids, contributors can shed light on the EU’s path toward a greener and more resilient energy future.

Finance and banking in the European Union

Chairs:
Radu Lupu, Ph.D
[email protected]
Alina Gabriela Drăghici, Ph.D
[email protected]

The finance and banking landscape within the EU encompasses critical issues influencing the industry’s present and future. This panel invites papers that delve into topics such as monetary policy’s impact on economic stability, inflation control, and financial growth; development and integration of capital markets across EU member states, including regulatory challenges and growth opportunities; and the current state and prospects of the EU banking sector and financial stability. The transformative role of artificial intelligence in finance and other technological innovations and advancements in risk management, fraud detection, customer service, and investment strategies are also encouraged topics for debate as they have the potential to significantly revolutionize the financial landscape.

The Three Seas Initiative’s contribution to the European Union and transatlantic relations: strengthening bridges and securing borders

Chairs:
Radu Cristian Mușetescu, Ph.D
[email protected]
Octavian-Dragomir Jora, Ph.D
[email protected]

Three decades ago, the countries in the Central and Eastern European region effected a “drang nach Westen” that nevertheless placed little emphasis on cooperation between them, other than each country’s relations to its immediate neighbours. In the meantime, regional cooperation revamped in scale in scope. In 2016, Romania became a founding member of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI), one of the most ambitious regional integration projects, alongside Poland and Croatia, following the Bucharest 9 (B9 Format) establishment, a year before. The three seas in question are the Baltic, the Black and the Adriatic, and this space might have produced more history than any other in the past two centuries, being also today the site of great economic, technological, cultural and, invariably, geopolitical ferment. North-South infrastructure interconnections in transport, energy and digital/cyber, piously intoning a purely economic agenda while winking at the obvious security implications, are at the forefront of 3SI strategic thinking. In this vein, we invite researchers from this region, as well as from beyond, to explore how governments and businesses, academia and civil society at large should reconcile, via regional initiatives such as 3SI, European Union’s twin needs: to strengthen its bridges and secure its borders.