A month of results: the SIMA assembly and the Sinergie-SIMA 2023

The Sinergie-SIMA 2023 conference Rediscovering Local Roots and Interactions in Managementco-organized by the LUM Giuseppe Degennaro University and the University of Bari "Aldo Moro", held in Bari was held on 29 and 30 June. It was a fundamental moment of reflection and discussion not only with colleagues of national and international standing, but also with the business world. The structure and processes underlying the conference were profoundly innovated and aimed to increase the quality of the feedback received by the authors of submitted papers. We aimed to enhance both the pre-conference review process and the constrictive discussion of papers during the parallel sessions. A central role in this deep renovation was played by the coordinators and co-coordinators of the Thematic Groups, guided by the careful and constant work of Beatrice Luceri and Angelo Bonfanti and supported by the personnel of Sinergie and SIMA. The numbers of this year’s conference are a confirmation the direction taken is a positive one: 436 participants, 37 parallel sessions, 215 short papers, 62 long papers, 331 active reviewers, 4 awards (Conference Best Paper, Sinergie Best Reviewer, Conference Short Papers' Mentions, Conference Outstanding Reviewers). The central themes of the conference, local roots and interactions, (radici locali e territoriali) e interactions acted as a guideline to highlight the opportunity and the need to put people and territories back at the center of management. These issues emerged since the opening of the conference, during the keynote discussion between Deloitte NextHub, main sponsor of the event, that presented its development project in Bari and in the south of Italy, and Prof. Uri Gneezy, from UC San Diego, expert in incentive systems. In the afternoon, the sponsor companies of the conference set up two roundtables to discuss the most current managerial best practices, but always with an eye to the past and history. A first round table, focused on the agri-food chain and the "roots" within the territory, saw the participation of Andriani, Fungo Puglia, Maiora, Gioiella, Treggi, Bocca di Lupo: companies from the Apulian territory, but not only, expression of the of the agri-food chain to put places and people at the center for the generation of social impact. A second roundtable allowed for discussion between AIOP, Exprivia, FederFarma, ICEA Certifica, Mangia's Aeroviaggi, Di Leo, on the topic of interactions and innovation in management in the light of the challenges related to environmental and social sustainability and digitalization.

The first day ended with the SIMA General Assembly, during which the financial statements were approved, and the 2022 Impact Report was presented. The second edition of the Impact Report was also developed with the aim of report, with transparency towards our stakeholders, the results achieved by our association. For SIMA, this document has above all a strategic relevance and is the basis of the new Strategic Plan that provides a comprehensive vision of the areas in which it is possible to intervene to maximize the impact that SIMA is able to generate. SIMA's Strategic Plan 2023-2025 was presented to the General Assembly, highlighting the choice made by SIMA’s board to place the value created for our members center stage for the period 2023-2025

Coherently, SIMA’s areas of intervention have been redefined to better capture the drivers of value for our members: research, teaching, impact and institutional activities. The plan includes 19 different projects, their aims, activities and KPIs. Finally, relevance is accorded to the transversal dimensions that permeate all of our board’s activities: ethics, diversity & inclusion and member wellbeing. The General Assembly celebrated two outstanding scholars who, in different ways, represent the “roots” of our discipline. The first was the appointment of Prof. Mario Scicutella as Honorary Member of SIMA. He was full Professor of the University of Bari and represented one of the founding professors of the community of scholars in management. The second was the celebration of Prof. Pietro Genco, Professor Emeritus of the University of Genoa, Honorary Member of the Italian Society of Management (SIMA) and since 2022 Proboviro of SIMA. The celebration was held through the presentation of the volume "Strategie e Governo delle Imprese: scritti in onore di Pietro Genco" edited by his direct “Alumni” Lara Penco and Giorgia Profumo.

The roundtable “Quality and evaluation in academic careers: the “Mestiere del docente” in face of todays’ challenges” hosted the voices of the Presidents of ANVUR, AIDEA, EURAM, IFSAM, and the representative of Area 13 in CUN. This panel of speakers shared the ongoing conversations taking place today in the principle national and international institutions regards the pros and cons of the rules that govern the evaluation of research and the access and progression in academic careers with our community, as well as the adjustments that must be made in order to place merit and ethics centerstage in these spheres. This theme is particularly important today both because the distortions that have significantly weakened the capacity of the current rules to evaluate research and scholars have become extremely evident and, in parallel, because there is a significant phase of redefinition of the “rules” of the game occurring in this period in the main institutions involved in this sphere in Italy.

The conclusion of the conference demonstrated the ability of the two organizing universities from Apulia to collaborate for the development of international initiatives.

Arabella Mocciaro Lì Destri, SIMA President

Lara Penco

Angeloantonio Russo, Co-chair Convegno Sinergie SIMA 2023

Savino Santovito, Co-chair Convegno Sinergie SIMA 2023