Academia as an Engine of a Non-Linear and Interconnected World

A joint event by the Reimagining Supply Chains Initiative and the Accounting, Organizations and Decision-Making Initiative of the Department of Operations Management, Copenhagen Business School

The world seems more complex than ever before – economically, politically, socially, culturally, technologically, ecologically. What our world clearly needs in such strange times is new narratives that do not just present facts, data, and figures, but embed them in new contexts of meaning. Not so long ago, academic thinkers had the natural authority over such narratives. Today, it often seems to be consultants who adopt novel ideas much faster and AI tools that can generate them with a mouse click.

Why has academia often failed to convince the rest of the world of the urgency of ongoing and interconnected crises? The aim of this half-day seminar is to exchange academic narratives about the world in order to offer new perspectives on our peculiar world. They include metaphors, visions, provocation, and utopias. They won’t solve problems, but they might allow us to reframe problems and challenge what we believe were truths. They won’t simplify the world, but rather embrace complexity. What is the role of a business school in reclaiming the power to shape narratives?

9:00-9:30 Arrival and coffee

9:30-9:40 Welcome to CBS, Morten Frederiksen, Dean of Research, Innovation and Societal Impact, CBS

9:40-9:50 Leon Iden, CBS, “The political-economic landscape”

9:50-10:00 Julia Brune, CBS, “The social-ecological landscape”

10:00-10:20 Andreas Wieland, CBS, “Reimagining supply chains”

10:20-10:50 Robert Habeck, DIIS, “Petrol States vs Electric States – energy policy between climate and war”

10:50-11:10 Susanne Arvidsson, Lund University, “New narratives on resilience, security, and the need of capacity building”

11:10-11:30 Kristian Steensen Nielsen, CBS

11:30-11:50 Christian Huber, CBS, “The performativity of calculative narratives”

11:50-12:10 Hagen Schulz-Forberg, AU, “For people and planet – formations of new progressive narratives”

12:10-12:15 Closing remarks

12:15-12:45 Light lunch, coffee, and networking

Please pay attention that the event is in person only.

The participation is free but the registration is required.