Collectivity and dialogue at the heart of IABS Conference 2025 (9.5.2025)

The theme “Redesigning Business for the Common Good” brought together over 280 scholars from more than 40 countries at the 36th International Association for Business & Society (IABS) Conference, held from April 3 to 6, 2025. With a focus on details and a friendly atmosphere, the conference was organized and hosted by IABS team and a wonderful group of people from the School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University. Maastricht, as a city, provided us with an inspiring and beautiful location to share and discuss our recent research in hopes of a better and more sustainable future.

If we needed to characterize the annual IABS conference with only one word, we would use the word 'collectivity.' Collectivity refers to community spirit and cooperation among people, and it manifests in the collective actions and identity of its members, as well as in how people work together to achieve common goals and share responsibilities. This spirit and willingness to strive for the common good were present in the general atmosphere of the conference, as well as in all individual encounters. Seeing the founders of the conference and colleagues from all over the world gather to reflect and boldly envision the role of business in addressing complex economic, ecological, and social sustainability issues was something that we believe both responsible business researchers and practitioners needed at this moment. As this year’s conference chair, Abel Diaz Gonzales, beautifully put it, 'Maastricht invites us to think big and act boldly: across borders, across sectors, and across disciplines.'

Altogether, 137 paper presentations, 90 discussion sessions, symposia, and workshops enabled discussions about timely and urgent issues around climate change and biodiversity, AI, human rights, social entrepreneurship, ethics, CSR, and sustainable business models. Additionally, the Donna J. Wood IABS Writing Camp and Doctoral Consortium were organized as pre-conference activities, allowing us to focus on our ongoing projects and receive feedback on our work and careers in academia. Through inspirational and constructive cooperation and dialogue, we believe that the conference was fruitful for each participant and for advancing the overall aim of reshaping the role of business in society at least a few steps forward.

The social activities included a dinner at Château Neercanne, beautifully situated in a scenic and historic setting near the Belgian border, as well as a walking tour and a boat tour through Maastricht. These events provided a wonderful opportunity to explore the local culture and history, while also engaging in conversations with both old and new friends. The weather in Maastricht was also on our side, welcoming conference participants with warm and sunny spring days.

Towards the end of the conference, we received exciting news about the new Business & Society editorial team for 2026–2028, which will be led by Punit Arora, Naomi Gardberg, Céline Louche, and Colin Higgins. The conference also provided a moment to recognize outstanding scholarly contributions. The Outstanding Submission Award was presented to Simon Oldham and Helen Wadham for their paper “Retooling Business Schools for the Common Good? Moral Identity Work as Means of Performative (Re)Constituting the ‘Successful Academic."

The Outstanding Published Article of the Year Award went to Jay Joseph, François Maon, Maria Teresa Uribe Jaramillo, John E. Katsos, and Adam Lindgreen for their impactful work. And yes — beyond the lovely silver plaque, we were thrilled to receive recognition for our “Business, Peace, and Conflict” paper published in the Journal of Management Studies.

All in all, IABS 2025 was a wonderful mix of meaningful scholarship, inspiring connections, and shared celebration – a true reminder of the value of our academic community.

The next IABS conference will be organised in Providence, Rhode Island, June 4–7, 2026.

See you there!