The conference commenced with opening remarks by the Convener, Prof. Poornima Mohapatra, who welcomed the distinguished guests and participants. She highlighted how rapid technological advancements are transforming management practices and emphasized the need to revisit classical theories to address contemporary organizational challenges.  In his welcome address, Prof. (Dr.) Kumar Mohanty, Director-KIIT School of Management, emphasized that organizations must move beyond traditional notions of efficiency and focus on deployability, resilience, and adaptability to remain competitive in such uncertain conditions. The inaugural session also featured insightful perspectives from Mr. Joydeep Roy, Managing Director–HR, PwC India, who highlighted the importance of effective organizational design and leadership in fostering employee engagement and creating productive workplaces.  Prof. (Dr.) Saranjit Singh, Vice Chancellor, KIIT Deemed to be University, emphasized the continued relevance of classical management principles such as division of labour, efficiency, and standardization of work in modern organizations.

The keynote address was delivered by Prof. (Dr.) Neharika Vohra, Professor at the IIM Ahmedabad and Founding Vice Chancellor of Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University. She discussed the increasing complexity of the BUNI world (Brittle, Uncertain, Non-linear, and Incomprehensible), which characterizes today’s business environment.  In her address, she highlighted major paradigm shifts shaping contemporary organizations, including exponential technological change, the rise of Generative AI, evolving workplace expectations such as remote work and quiet quitting, and the transformation of leadership roles. She emphasized the importance of recognizing cognitive limitations, redesigning work structures, and building organizational cultures that support innovation, adaptability, and continuous learning.

A major highlight of the conference was the panel discussion titled “The Relevance of Management Classics in an AI-Native World: What Should MBA Curricula Keep, Drop, and Reinvent?” The panel brought together distinguished academic leaders including Dr. Saji K. Mathew (Head, Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras), Dr. Supriti Mishra (Dean–Academics, IMI Bhubaneswar), Dr. Ranjeet Nambudiri (Dean, IIM Indore), Dr. Sanjay Patro (Dean, XLRI), Dr. Jack S. Kahn (President, Shoreline College, Washington, USA), and Dr. Kajri Misra (Dean, School of Human Settlements, XIM University). The panelists discussed how management education must evolve in response to the rapid rise of artificial intelligence and technological disruption. While AI is capable of efficiently performing analytical tasks such as financial modelling, benchmarking, and data analysis, the panelists emphasized that MBA programs must continue to focus on foundational management concepts along with human-centric capabilities such as critical thinking, ethical judgment, decision-making, and adaptive leadership. The discussion concluded that classical management theories remain highly relevant, but management curricula must be redesigned to integrate technological awareness, interdisciplinary learning, and innovative thinking, enabling future managers to navigate the complexities of an AI-driven business environment. The Vote of Thanks was given by Prof. Arvind Tripathy, Dean – KIIT School of Management

Following the inaugural session and panel discussion, the conference moved into the technical paper presentation sessions, where scholars from various institutions presented their research across six parallel tracks. The conference will continue with additional research paper presentations tomorrow morning, followed by the valedictory session, where outstanding contributions will be recognized, and best paper awards will be announced.

ICMR 2026 thus provides an important platform for scholarly dialogue, knowledge exchange, and reflection on the evolving relevance of management thought in a rapidly transforming global landscape.

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