The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) has launched the inaugural edition of the India Management Research Conference (IMRC 2024) on Saturday, marking the start of a three-day mega event from December 7-9, 2024.
The event, aimed at shaping the future of management research, is being jointly organised by the 10 Research Centres of IIMA under the theme “Confluence of Growth, Sustainability and Resilience”.
The conference was officially opened by Professor Bharat Bhasker, IIMA Director; Professor Satish Deodhar, Dean (Faculty); Professor Diptesh Ghosh, Dean (Programmes); Professor Abhiman Das, Professor-in-charge (Administration) and members of the organising committee, who welcomed participants and launched the event for PhD scholars.
Professor Bharat Bhasker explained the significance behind IMRC, stating, “India is at a cusp of transition with remarkable economic growth. But economic growth cannot be sustained without intellectual output or intellectual strength in terms of human resources. Although the number of higher education institutions, faculty members, PhD students and no. of research papers from India has grown significantly in the last 10-15 years, we need to address the challenges like the availability of good teachers and the quality of research papers from the country.”
Bhasker further underlined that “the gap is even wider in the management field because out of millions of research papers published in the global arena, the India-centric research papers are only in the hundreds. As we are aiming to become the third largest economy in the world, India also needs to focus on research in order to have its strength felt across the world. We require a lot more people who are doing India-centric management research to find and solve problems that are unique to our country. And that’s why we took this initiative to organise IMRC, where we intend to celebrate India-centric management research.”
The conference features 11 parallel tracks designed for a dynamic exchange of ideas, which are expected to shape the future of management research in India. These tracks include keynote sessions, panel discussions, workshops, oral presentations and poster presentations held at various locations across the campus.
The tracks include themes like ‘Entrepreneurship: Facilitators & Hurdles Related to Scaling Up of Startups’, ‘Management in Health Services’, ‘Finance, Accounting, and Economics’ and ‘Corporate Governance, Corporate Sustainability, & Responsible Capital’, among others.
In addition, the conference offers a unique opportunity for participants to explore diverse research themes and collaborate across academic and professional boundaries. More than 800 research scholars, academicians and industry practitioners from India and abroad are attending IMRC 2024, which received 592 research abstracts from PhD students and is seeing participation from about 250 doctoral students.
Day One of Conference
The first day of the conference featured a stimulating panel discussion on “India-centric Management Research,” with Professors Ankur Sarin, Jayanth Varma, Ernesto Noronha, Premilla D’Cruz, Neharika Vohra and moderator Professor Ellapulli Vasudevan.
The panel highlighted the need for India to overcome its research lag in comparison to countries like China and the USA. They discussed the importance of addressing India’s unique challenges and moving beyond Western-centric research methodologies.
A key part of the day’s activities was the Networking Forum for PhD Scholars, where 10 business schools participated, offering doctoral students a chance to discuss research opportunities and faculty recruitment prospects.
Track-specific sessions on the first day delved into a range of topics. For instance, the ‘Entrepreneurship’ track focused on challenges faced by startups and entrepreneurs, particularly around early-stage funding, while the ‘Gold & Precious Metals’ track featured a keynote titled “Gold – Mindset Change to Unlock Wealth” by Somasundaram PR.
The ‘Behavioral Science in Management’ track included a workshop on “EEG Essentials: Bridging Neuroscience and Behavioral Management,” while the ‘Corporate Governance’ track featured workshops on sustainability challenges and the role of AI in addressing them.
As IMRC 2024 progresses over the next two days, participants can look forward to a formal inaugural session and keynote addresses by Dr V Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor of the Government of India and Professor Noshir Contractor, Jane S & William J White Professor of Behavioural Sciences at Northwestern University, Illinois.
Additionally, a Director’s Panel Discussion featuring the directors of nine leading management institutes from across India will add to the event’s rich academic offerings.
Also Read: 1997 Custodial Torture Case: Gujarat Court Acquits Ex-IPS Officer Sanjiv Bhatt
