Academic Conference Call for Papers

Third Annual Academic Conference on Social Responsibilty
"Sustainability: Issues and Strategies"

The Center for Leadership and Social Responsibility at the Milgard School of Business, University of Washington Tacoma is pleased to announce its third annual research conference to be held July 12-13, 2012 in Tacoma, Washington, USA.  This conference has attracted leading academics from more than ten countries.

The growing body of research on sustainability raises new questions for scholars that span across disciplines. Much has been learned, yet our knowledge is fragmented by an array of definitions, theories, approaches and conclusions that remain unconnected. This conference aims to broaden and advance the discourse on sustainability connecting scholars with diverse backgrounds and approaches.

• How do businesses recognize and respond to sustainability issues? What happens when they fail to recognize sustainability issues?
• How do they influence or partner with stakeholders such as customers, employees, suppliers, activists, governments, etc. around sustainability?
• What results have businesses achieved and how are they measured and communicated?
• What effects do sustainability efforts have on businesses and on their relationships with investors, regulators, customers, business partners and employees?

We invite submissions of full papers and research briefs that address these and related questions. Scholars from disciplines including accounting, finance, economics, management, marketing and related fields are invited to share their research perspectives and results. We also encourage doctoral students to submit their research for this conference.

The deadline for submissions is February 21, 2012.

Conference Overview

The aim of the conference is to showcase the most current research within the disciplines and allow participants to identify points of intersection across disciplines. To encourage discussion and cross-fertilization of ideas, the size of the conference is deliberately kept small.   Highlights include:

Call for Papers

Scholars from multiple disciplines are invited to submit research papers or proposals to the conference. Both theoretical and empirical research is welcomed. Submissions are invited for two types of sessions:

• Research Paper Presentations: This format supports formal presentation of a fully developed manuscript based on original theoretical or empirical research. Research papers should be approximately 25 pages in length. Research paper presentations will be grouped into sessions of 3-4 paper presentations followed by guided discussion with the audience.
• Research Briefs: This format supports abbreviated presentation of research that is in development. Research briefs should be submitted in the form of a 2000 word (approximately 8-page) abstract that frames the inquiry and outlines the theory or methods used to investigate it. Research briefs will be presented orally in a roundtable format and accompanied by small group discussion.

 Information for Contributors

• Papers submitted should not have been accepted for publication in a journal or at another conference.
• All papers submitted will be double-blind reviewed by at least two reviewers.  
• For each paper submitted, the author(s) agree to provide blind peer reviews for two papers submitted to the conference.  
• By submitting a paper, the author(s) certify their intent for at least one author to attend the conference and present the paper if it is accepted.
• Authors will be notified of their paper’s status by April 2, 2012
• Authors of accepted research papers and briefs will be invited to submit updated manuscripts by July 2, 2012.
• Electronic proceedings of the conference will be published. Authors may elect to opt out of the proceedings if inclusion would create a conflict with publishing in another outlet. 
• Questions should be directed to Dr. Jill Purdy, jpurdy@uw.edu, or +1 253-692-5635. 

 Submission Guidelines

• Follow the length guidelines above for each submission type. Please use standard 1 inch (2.5 cm) margins and 11- or 12-point font.
• Please number all pages of the manuscript beginning with the title page.
• Include all authors’ names, affiliations and contact information on the title page (page 1).
• On the second page of the manuscript include an abstract of no more than 250 words. Provide a list of up to five keywords that describe the main themes and topics of your paper. 
• Papers should be submitted in MS Word format to the Center at clsr@uw.edu by February 21, 2012.

 Documents

• 2-page printer-friendly Call for Papers (PDF)
• 2012 important dates (PDF)