The conference was a great success
Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, has collaborated with Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi, in conducting their three-day International e conference on “Advances in Business and Management” (IECBM), on 4th -6th March 2021. This is the first conference in the history of University of Delhi (Shaheed Bhagat Singh College) which was completely conducted on digital platform due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The conference was conducted by the Shaheed Bhagat Singh College in collaboration with the Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Faculty of Entrepreneurship Studies, University of Tehran, Iran, and Emerald Publishing.
Like every year, the conference theme keeps changing and aims to cover every aspect of management. This conference had a theme which is relevant to what is happening to the world.
The theme advances in business and management and basically focuses on how the world is moving towards changes. Technology has penetrated virtually all areas of operations of education and entwined with educational practices.
There was a lot to offer for a three-day event. IECBM provided a platform for the researchers to showcase their path-breaking research in various disciplines of management. The conference also offered a platform for researchers to put forth their ideas, share their experiences, and network with their counterparts. The conference provided a novel forum to the researchers and academicians to present papers in finance & accounting, law & business ethics, organizational behaviour & HR, marketing, and strategy & entrepreneurship.
This conference was not just another “talk shop”. By the end of the event, they intend to formulate a set of learning experiences and outcomes through the conference’s designed structure. The discussion forums, panel discussions, and workshops aim to allow researchers to understand the importance of research.
The conference started with the inaugural programme where Dr. Anil Sardana, Offg gave a welcome address. Principal, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi, Delhi, India. Dr. Aarti Saini, Organising Secretary, IECBM-2021, had given valuable insights on the conference theme. She emphasised that this conference should leave researchers community fulfilled with the knowledge. She aimed the conference to deliver value to the participants. Address by the Guest of Honour, Shri. Feroz Khan, Hon’ble Chairman, Governing Body, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi, Delhi, India. Address by the Chief Guest Dr. Bhimaraya Metri, Director, IIM Nagpur, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India emphasized the importance of the conference theme. The academic partners, Prof. Athula Gnanapala, Dean, Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka, Dr. Jayantha Dewasiri, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Prof. Kambeiz Talebi, Professor, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran and Ms Sangeeta Menon, Publishing Relationship Manager, Emerald Publishing, India delivered their welcome address as academic partners. They congratulated Shaheed Bhagat Singh College for organizing a well-planned conference that comprises eminent speakers worldwide. Vote of Thanks was delivered by Dr. Anil Kumar, Conference Director, IECBM-2021, Head, Department of Commerce, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi, Delhi, India.
The technical sessions were started with the Keynote address by Prof Jay Kandampully, Professor, The Ohio State University, USA (Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Service Management, JOSM) on “Advancing Research Productivity Through Collaborations” with the session moderator Prof. Kavita Sharma, Former Head & Dean, Department of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, Delhi, India followed by Workshop on Publishing Impactful Articles by Ms. Sangeeta Menon, Publishing Relationship Manager, Emerald Publishing, India which focused on essential aspects on current research publishing scenario. The last Discussion Forum of day 01 was on “Publishing Challenges in Bilingual Research Context” with Prof. Ramayah Thurasamy, Professor of Technology Management, University of Science, Malaysia, Dr. Aviral Kumar Tiwari Associate Professor, Rajagiri Business School (RBS), Kerala, India, Prof. Yogesh Dwivedi Co-Director, Research School of Management, Swansea University, UK and Prof. (Dr.) Varsha Jain Marketing Professor, Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA), India as the session moderator, emphasised the journey of them as researchers and how they overcome the challenges of bilingual research. They shared the importance of reading and writing on building a strong research foundation.
Day 02 began with the Discussion Forum on “Theorizing in Business & Management,” by Prof. A. Parasuraman, Professor Emeritus, Marketing, Miami Herbert Business School, USA, and Muhammad Kashif, Assistant Professor, Gujranwala Institute of Future Technologies (GIFT) University, Pakistan, as the session moderator. Prof. J.P. Sharma delivered industry Insights on “Impact of Digitalization on Indian Economy” by Varun Shridhar CEO, Paytm Money and valedictory address, Chairman, Global Research Foundation for Corporate Governance (GRFCG), New Delhi, India.
In his keynote, Prof. Athula Gnanapala, Dean of the Faculty of Management Studies, stated that “In today’s fast-paced world, we need beneficial partnerships to encourage creativity, leverage experience, and maximise resources that can help to solve a business solution as quickly as possible. By also looking for partnerships and collaborating externally, organisations are able to innovate much more quickly and even create solutions to problems that may not yet be prevalent or salient issues”.
There were around 97 paper presentations done in two days where 20 researchers from Sri Lanka presented their research outcome. The sessions in the main conference tracks included 18-20 papers across six sub-disciplines, with the motive of giving the presenter enough time to present their work.
Dr. Jayantha N. Dewasiri, Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, co-chaired the Finance Track of the conference with Prof. Aviral Tiwari. Prof. Chamaru De Alwis (University of Kelaniya) chaired the Human Resource Management Track of the conference. Dr. (Mrs.) Sandamlai Galdolage’s (University of Sri Jayewardenepura) paper titled “Interplay between Customer Value, Co-Creation Intention, Practices, Co-Destruction and Experience in Self-Service Technologies” grabbed the first position in marketing track, and the best papers of the other tracks were assured by the international researchers.
The conference was a great success not only as a chance to share knowledge and experience in higher education but also as the beginning of a long and fruitful cooperation and friendship among fellow educators devoted to the most meaningful and worthwhile task of teaching and training our youths, who will shape our future.