Only one in 12 strategic business plans runs according to plan. Decision-makers sometimes fail to realize the speed of events and many incorrectly assess inherent uncertainties when designing their organizations. This trend hampers the detection of the most adequate routes for the required medium to long-term scenarios.

In line with the first edition, the second International Conference of the School of Business and Social Sciences of the European University of Lisbon aims to contribute towards the enlightenment of the future by bringing Management changes, mutations and pathways to the fore. However, in this edition the digital revolution, the turbulence that hangs over geopolitics and international relations, the climate and environmental changes and their consecutive impact on the business world all play a major role.

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The international conference "Navigating the future of Management" consequently calls for papers highlighting core issues consisting of 4 major themes:

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Theme 1: The impact of geopolitics, international relations and the environment on business strategies.

The authors are invited to look at the new international realities that condition trade and investment on a global scale. The European crisis in its multiple facets – e.g. Brexit – the protectionist measures imposed by the US Administration, the Sino-American tension, the Iranian crisis and its associated energy risks, the Russian and Turkish roles, the instability in Latin America, the Middle East, the Southern Mediterranean and the sub-Saharan Africa and climate change:  all these issues contribute towards the great uncertainty that increasingly hangs over the international economy and forces business players to adopt new approaches.

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Theme 2: Digital revolution, law and taxation: convergence and lag

Many observers underline the way laws and taxation lag behind the fast-paced scientific, technological and technical developments. We therefore should try to understand the extent to which this lag is an obstacle to the dynamics of innovation. In turn, the convergence of tax laws, and the role of digital technologies in combating tax fraud and evasion should be discussed.

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Theme 3: The Financial and Banking System

This is one of the areas where digital transformation is most notorious. What financial and banking system will there be in the future? Will there be sustainable banks? What freedom for moving capital? What impact will crypto-currencies have? Will regulation and auditing be able to contain the toxicity of financial products and ensure the veracity and transparency of reports? What cybersecurity is to be expected? 

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Theme 4: Strategic Management Trends

It is important to understand whether strategies based on low costs, differentiation or innovation will maintain the same relevance when it comes to competitiveness.

Regarding corporations, it is relevant to understand whether the classical strategies focused on diversification, alliances, mergers and acquisitions, sustainable development, outsourcing or vertical integration have found alternatives, or whether these strategies will continue to predominate, and if not, one needs to understand their new configurations.

Operationally speaking, human resources are deemed to be a highly sensitive area. There will probably be a new framework for talent attraction and retention models. Therefore, it is appropriate to outline tomorrow's jobs, to understand the transformation of the Man-Machine relationship and the new ways of adjusting the formative, pedagogical and academic models to competence-based profiles. It is equally important to assess the existing segmented production which is facing the growing and unavoidable 4.0 Industrial Revolution. The new frontiers of digital influence on marketing and the prospects for traditional trade also require our attention.

Finally, it is crucial to reflect on the role of the management models and the expected roles of the micro small and medium-sized companies, and also on the management models and expected roles of the future start-ups.  

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