Call for papers

The Continuous Innovation Network (CINet) is a global network set up to bring together researchers and practitioners working in the field of Continuous Innovation and related areas of research and practice. The mission of CINet is to progressively become a school of thought on Continuous Innovation. Consistent with this mission, CINet organizes an annual conference. This announcement concerns the 22nd CINet conference, which will take place virtually, co-organized with the Department of Technology Management and Economics of Chalmers University of Technology on 13-15 September 2021.

• Theme
• Session tracks
• The format
• Paper development workshop
• Best paper award
• Special issues

Theme

The conference will focus on challenges and opportunities in Organizing innovation for a sustainable future.

There is a constantly increasing need for developing new product and service innovations with less negative impact on the environment, but also to organize and managing in a way that enable utilization of our limited natural resources in a more efficient way (environmental sustainability). This can be facilitated by, for example, a circular economy approach, but also by adopting and utilizing emerging technologies such as digitalization.

The focus will also be on the development of sustainable organizations. Today there is a huge number of emergent societal issues in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. It is therefore important that we create resilient organizations that will continue to efficiently develop innovative products and services also in times of large uncertainties caused by external threats and societal transformations (economic and social sustainability). A related challenge is the development of business models that pave the way for a sustainable future. Finally, the development of sustainable innovation also calls for even more intense collaboration between universities, companies and public organizations in networks and eco-systems.

These challenges and opportunities form the basis of the 22nd International CINet Conference.

Session tracks

Central topics to discuss are:

• How to organize for fostering the development of sustainable product and service innovations?
• How to manage innovation for achieving organizational sustainability?
• What are the challenges and the effects of leading innovation under uncertainty?
• How to organize and govern innovation eco-systems for sustainability?
• How can business models and business model innovation pave the road towards sustainability?
• How can a circular economy approach foster sustainable innovations?
• How can emerging technologies, such as digitalization, enable sustainable organizations?
• What is the role of universities in innovation for a sustainable future?
• Which performance dimensions can be used to measure organizational sustainability?
• What are the contradictions in achieving simultaneous social, economic and environmental sustainability?

In addition, papers addressing a broader set of themes within continuous innovation are welcome. These themes include:

• Performance management and management control in innovation and innovation networks.
• Design thinking and continuous innovation.
• Continuous innovation strategies, practices and performance.
• Continuous innovation in products, services and operations.
• Knowledge, learning, and continuous innovation.
• Organizing for continuous and/or discontinuous innovation.
• Ambidexterity and tensions in innovation processes.
• Innovation with external partners.
• Management of ideas and creativity.
• Continuous innovation in public settings.

Special track

Besides the theme and tracks mentioned above, there will also be a special track that you can submit your paper for (please indicate when submitting the abstract that you would like your abstract to be considered for the special track: 

• Transition to a more circular society: innovating for a better future, organized by Allesandra De Chiara and Angela Caridà, co-organized with SIMA (Italian Society of Management).

The format

CINet accepts:

• “Full papers” of up to 5,000 words – to report research that has been completed.
• “Research notes” of up to 2,000 words – to propose a research idea, seek research collaboration, present a literature review, describe a research design, or report work-in-progress.
• Practitioner presentations – primarily focused on sharing and discussing (continuous) innovation practice and experience. 

Ever more journals only accept conference-based articles if they are substantially different and/or a substantial extension from the conference paper they are based on. By accepting shorter full papers, we facilitate the development of your work into journal articles. Furthermore, CINet wants to be a place where not only completed research but also ideas for research or collaboration and different stages of work-in-progress are presented and discussed. The “research notes” support the latter purpose. 

Paper development workshop

While most papers presented at the conference are not ready for publication, many provide a good starting point but require additional work before they are publishable. So, true to its nature, CINet selects a number of papers for possible development into a special issue paper, based on their potential and, then, organizes one or more paper development workshops, in the form of a Teams or Zoom event. In these workshops, which will take place late October or early November 2021, the special issue editors will work together with experienced reviewers, to help the invited authors to develop their paper to publishable standard.

Best paper awards

Every year, CINet selects two award-winning papers: the John Bessant Best Paper Award and the Mariano Corso Best Practical Implications Award, the paper must meet the following criteria.

Special issues

The best papers presented at the conference will be considered for publication in special issues of Creativity and Innovation Management (CIM) and the International Journal of Technology Management (IJTM).