Dear all, Lancaster University Management School (UK) and the Economics and Management School of Wuhan University (China) are jointly organising the Inaugural International Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship-Theory and Practice Relevant to China. The main conference will be held in Wuhan, China during 9-10 July, 2012, and followed by an optional seminar-workshop during 11-13 July, 2012 on International Collaboration for Business Research and Publication in Top Journals on a thrilling Yangtze River Cruise Ship through the scenic Three Gorges. Wuhan, situated in the heart of China, is the capital of the Hubei province with a population of about 9.1 million (per 2006 census). It is a modern and energetic metropolis with unlimited possibilities,and a commercial centre of finance, industry, trade and science, with many international companies located here. Having scientific, technological and educational institutions such as Laser City and the Wuhan University, the city is also known as an intellectual and innovation Centre. Situated at the crossroads of central China, Wuhan is also a transportation hub for air, railway as well as ferry traffic. The distance from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou is more or less equal. And the giant Yangtse River (Chang Jiang), the world's third longest river, and the Han River pass through the city, and devides the cities into 3 towns: Hankou, Hanyang, and Wuchang. For more details, please check from the following and/or the attached CfP, or the following conference website for details: Lancaster University Management School: http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/research/centres/ChinaCentre/ OR,The Economics and Management School, Wuhan University: http://ems.whu.edu.cn/eic/ If you have any further queries please feel free to contact me by email: [log in to unmask], or [log in to unmask] Thank you very much for your attention and I look forward to meeting with some of you there this summer in Wuhan and the Yangtze River Cruise, China. All the best, Xueyuan (Adrian) Liu Associate Professor of International and Operations Management Director, Centre for Business Excellence Economics and Management School Wuhan University Wuhan, 430072, China Phone: +86 27 68753083 email: [log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask] ======================================================== Inaugural International Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice Relevant to China Monday-Tuesday 9-10 July 2012 (main conference) Wuhan University, Wuhan, China & Wednesday-Friday 11-13 July 2012 (optional subsidiary seminars & workshops) On a Yangtze River Cruise Ship Call for Papers Jointly organised by: Lancaster University Management School (UK) The Economics and Management School of Wuhan University (China) Significance of the Topic China is already the second largest economy in the world. Entrepreneurship and innovation is increasingly important to the Chinese economy, particularly in times of economic turbulence and slowdown in the world and a new phase in growth of Chinese economy, as signified in the 12th five year plan where innovation is one key target (China Daily, 27 October 2010). But entrepreneurship and innovation research in China is still in its infancy. For example, in a review of the literature from 11 leading English language journals spanning 26 years of research, Yang and Li (2008) found only 68 articles that focused on entrepreneurship in China. China is often perceived as "world factory" but for the economy, and particularly the manufacturing sectors, to remain vibrant, innovation in processes, products and services is crucial. The Chinese government recognizes this fact and emphasizes the critical role of public policy in fostering innovation, particularly indigenous innovation. Despite China’s remarkable modernization, the legacy of centralized planning and ownership, culture, authoritarian political system and monopolistic business environment may hamper this goal of innovation (Wall Street Journal, 8 October 2011). It appears that China has still some distance to travel before becoming a global innovation power (Wall Street Journal, 28 July 2011). Challenges remain and questions for researchers, practitioners and policy makers who are interested in China and its capacity to innovate and generate new enterprise are formidable. Scope This conference is jointly organized by Lancaster China Management Centre/Institute of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development of Lancaster University Management School and the China National Research Centre for Industry-University-Research Collaboration/Economics and Management School of Wuhan University. It is focused and seeks to enhance our understanding of theory, practice and policy on innovation and entrepreneurship relevant to China. It offers the opportunity to access recent research into the processes of innovation and entrepreneurship in different organizations which are relevant to China in its new development phase. Uniquely, the conference aims to provide a common forum within which two strands of research can come together. The first is critical and reflective research embedded directly in the China experience covering culture, education and training, policy, policy implementation, technology transfer and inter and intra firm arrangements. The second is the research outside of China which has the potential to inform the theory and practice of innovation and entrepreneurship in China. This is a rich repository of relevant experience from both advanced and developing economies. The conference is designed to bring these two strands together and to generate insights for theory, including new research areas, policy and practice. This inaugural conference welcomes and seeks to bring together not only academics but also policy makers and practitioner delegates from China, UK and other parts of the world. It will create a ‘theory-practitioner’ community with a shared interest in China and in the development of innovation and entrepreneurship. It will be a learning opportunity for all participants and will provide a sound basis for future conferences and collaboration. Keynote Speakers (Scholars, Industrialists and the Chinese Government Officials) Prof Alistair Anderson, Robert Gordon University, UK(confirmed) Prof Kenneth Boyer, Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University, USA (confirmed) Prof David Brown, Lancaster University Management School, UK (confirmed) Prof Li Cai, Vice President, Jilin University, China (confirmed) Prof Jian Li, Chair of University Committee, Wuhan University, China (confirmed) Prof Xinchun Li, Management School of Sun-Yat-Sen University, China (confirmed) Mr Wengeng Liang, President, Sany Group Co., Ltd, China (TBC) Prof Oded Shenkar, Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University, USA (TBC) Prof Yuli Zhang, Dean of Nankai University Business School, China (confirmed) Senior officials from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, and Wuhan Municipal Government (TBC) Details of the conference are as follows: 1. Conference Themes The conference will be organized into two broad themes – the institutional perspective and the organizational, including process and individual, perspective. Each theme will include direct and indirect China based papers, and theory and practitioner led papers. Plenary sessions will be held to reinforce the integration within and across the themes. We are interested in high quality international papers on relevant topics, including but not limited to the following topics: • Culture, networks and entrepreneurship/innovation • Opportunity development and the entrepreneurial process • International entrepreneurship • Technology transfer & absorption • Creation and management of family business • Science and technology entrepreneurship and innovation • Clustering, science parks and incubation • Open innovation • Strategic management and innovation in entrepreneurial organizations • Innovative and creative talents management • Public policy and entrepreneurship/innovation • Role of higher education in entrepreneurship and innovation 2. Date, Venue & Languages Wuhan is an attractive conference site in central China close to the Three Gorges. The conference will have two parts. The main conference will be held at Wuhan. The subsidiary conference is optional and aims to provide delegates with opportunities to network and develop themes emerging from the main conference. A series of seminars and workshops covering key themes, journal paper publication, future conferences and research collaboration will be held on a 5-star Yangtze River Cruise Ship (upstream from Yichang(Wuhan) to Chongqing). l Conference Dates: 8th-14th July, 2012 (Sunday-Saturday) u Sunday, 8th July: Registration(9:00-22:00);City Tour in Wuhan(13:00-18:00) u Monday-Tuesday, 9th (9:00-18:00)– 10th (8:30-12:00):Conference keynote speeches and parallel sessions u Tues. 10th July (14:00-17:00): Plant visit; u Tues. 10th July (17:00-22:00): Coach to Yichang and boarding onto the Cruise Ship u Wed.-Fri., 11th -13th July:Joint Research Seminars and Workshops and the Yangtze Cruise Tour including visit to the Three Gorges Dam (http://www.yangtzethreegorges.com ) u Sat., 14th July (08:00): Arriving at Chongqing, and conclusion of the conference. l Registration and conference hotel: o Hongyi Hotel (4*) (http://www.wdhy-hotel.com/en/online_reservation.html ) § Add:136, Donghu Road, Wuchang, Wuhan,China; § Phone:+86-27-67819888 l Conference Venues: A: Main conference (July 9th-10th, Monday-Tuesday): Economics and Management School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China; B: Joint Research Seminars and Workshops (July 11th -13th, Wednesday–Friday): On a Yangtze River Cruise Ship from Yichang(Wuhan) to Chongqing. l Conference Language: English 3. Publications of the Conference All papers submitted to this conference should be in English and all the accepted papers will be published as a conference proceeding in CD format. Selected papers will be recommended for submission to the review process of journals such as Entrepreneurship & Regional Development and International Small Business Journal, which are SSCI indexed. 4. Conference paper submission All papers should be submitted by email to the academic committee in the UK, with the attention to: Alison Currie at: [log in to unmask], or Emma Jaremko at: [log in to unmask] Papers should not exceed 30 pages, double spaced, including text, references, figures and tables. The first page of the manuscript should begin with the title only. The title page should include (1) The Title; (2) Author(s) Name(s); (3) Organizational Affiliation(s); (4) Postal and Email Address(es); and (5) Telephone numbers. Author names should not be included in any part of the paper except the title page. Please follow the author guidelines for preparation of manuscripts as the link below: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/authors/style/reference/tf_F.pdf 5. Important Dates: l Paper submission Deadline: 31st March, 2012 l Notification of Paper Acceptance: 1st – 30th April, 2012 l Final Paper (print-ready) Submission: 31st May, 2012 l Conference Dates: 9th – 10th July, 2012 l Seminar, Workshop & Yangtze Cruise Tour: 11th – 13th July, 2012 6. Conference Fees (The conference is divided into two parts) A: Conference Registration Fee: USD300/ RMB2000 (early registration before 31st May,2012 can have 20% discount: RMB1600/USD240), this covers conference materials, 5 conference lunches/ dinners, coffee and tea, refreshments, plant visit, and transports between the hotel and the conference site. Participants should be responsible for their international or domestic travel and accommodation expenses. B: Seminar & Workshop (Optional) Registration Fee: USD680/RMB4300 per delegate. This is to cover the fees for the seminars and workshops, the visit to the Three Gorges Dam, the Yangtze Cruise Tour, and the 4-nights room and board on the 5* cruise ship based on 2 people sharing one standard twin/double room. (Single occupancy or room upgrade to executive or suites are available on request depending on availability at your registration and payment time, and the price might be doubled or more. Delegate’s companion will be charged at the same rate, while children who is under 12 may have a special deal from the cruise operator. More details will be clarified on individual request). 7. Contact Information For Conference and workshop registrations and information, please contact: Economics and Management School, Wuhan University (Website: http://ems.whu.edu.cn) Address: Luojiashan, Wuhan, Hubei, P. R. China (Post Code: 430072) Attn: Prof Xueyuan Liu (Email: [log in to unmask]) Or: Dr Hao Lei (email: [log in to unmask]) For paper submissions and conference information overseas, please contact: Lancaster University Management School (Website: http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk) Attn: Prof David Brown(email:[log in to unmask]) Or Dr Qihai Huang (email:[log in to unmask]) 8. Conference website, news and updates: For any news or updates about the conference, please go to the following website for details: Lancaster University Management School: http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/research/centres/ChinaCentre/ OR The Economics and Management School, Wuhan University: http://ems.whu.edu.cn/eic/