United Seas Information Co-hosts IRSS 2024 International Academic Conference at Wuhan Technology and Business University

Wuhan, China – The “Inspired Research in Social Science 2024” (IRSS 2024) international academic conference, co-hosted by the United Seas Information (USI), IORI, and Wuhan Technology and Business University, was held successfully at the Wuhan Technology and Business University. This year’s conference, themed “Forty Years of Institutional Theory: Unleashing Potential for Innovation Research,” attracted esteemed experts and scholars from top global institutions. 

Dr. Alex Carter, Academic Director for Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Studies at University of Cambridge’s ICE, gave an insightful presentation from the perspective of organizational psychological safety. Dr. Carter discussed how to establish and maintain psychological safety in workplace organizational systems to foster employee creativity, engaging both faculty and students in a deep dialogue.

Dr. W. G. Zhao from the University of Waterloo gave an in-depth lecture tracing the development of Organizational Institutionalism Theory over the past four decades. He covered the origins of the theory, early research paradigms and methods, contemporary research literature, and the innovative applications of this theory in the current landscape. 

Dr. Gerardus Lucas, Assistant Professor in Strategy and Leadership at Nottingham University Business School, delivered an online lecture titled "ESG and sustainability goals: A Performance Feedback Perspective." He shared unique insights on how organizations can enhance their ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) performance through effective performance feedback mechanisms to support sustainable development.

Professor Liu Zhiqiang, Vice Dean of the School of Management at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, delivered an impactful lecture on “National Cultural Context and Breakthrough Innovation: How We Achieve Catching Up.” Professor Liu analyzed China’s performance in breakthrough innovation, its challenges, and the gap with developed countries. He emphasized the importance of leveraging national culture to drive higher-level breakthrough innovations, especially in the era of digitalization, offering valuable perspectives for China’s future role in global innovation.

The experts at the conference underscored the importance of interdisciplinary perspectives in providing new insights into organizational institutionalism theory. They highlighted how integrating disciplines such as engineering, arts, and literature could greatly enrich and expand the theoretical framework and application scope of new institutionalism.

The IRSS 2024 conference has been an outstanding platform for fostering deep academic exchange and generating innovative ideas for the future of organizational studies.