Governing Knowledge and Imagination in the Digital Era

Today, we experience the dawning of an innovation renaissance determining new relations between humans and machines. Large platforms, ‘Big Data,’ Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning enabled by cloud computing are impacting our society and helping managers, entrepreneurs, and consultants address complex problems and capture new opportunities. Benefits are considerable, as are challenges, ethical responsibilities, and managerial implications. Thus, the emergence of new business models, organizational forms, and competitive landscapes has attracted increasing attention. And yet, the impact of modern information technologies on how managers and entrepreneurs actually assemble, govern, and marshal knowledge to spur imagination is one of the least understood dimensions of these modern technological breakthroughs. The conference aimed at developing a deeper understanding, from academics and practitioners alike, of how firm leadership and governance should evolve to keep pace with modern information technologies and shape it to the benefit of society.

The SMS Special Conference in Milan was designed with the goal of stimulating close and fruitful collaboration between an equal number of practitioners and academics in understanding and solving burning issues raised by the progress of the Digital Era. Multiple interactive formats engendered innovative insights and solution-oriented proposals on problems and opportunities advanced by participants.