The shift to information technology, data, algorithms, and smart analytics across industries is changing how value and profit are created. For organisations, these changes mean the blurring of industry boundaries, modular business architectures, ‘just-in-time’ definitions of business performance, among others. Increasingly, every business needs to think of itself as a data-driven, digitally optimised software company, whose success will depend on digital mastery, generating vast amounts of data and analysing it intelligently.

Faced with these changes, managers must figure out what are likely to be the sources of their competitive edge in these new data-driven marketplaces. They need to reassess their core competencies and business strategies. They may also require a company-wide change management strategy, bringing in people with new skills and integrating them with existing staff, redesigning how the company engages with everyone from its supply-chain to customers.

To tackle these complex issues, we encourage participants to adopt a transdisciplinary approach by combining insights and approaches from originally distinct fields. Thus, we welcome contributions that transcends the boundaries between disciplines and combines academic work and professional practice. We expect that proposals will come from scholars from various backgrounds, including strategic management, marketing, organisational behaviour, human resources, entrepreneurship, ICT, education, and other related disciplines.

We invite you to join leading thinkers and practitioners in Winterthur / Zurich, Switzerland to explore the opportunities and challenges of making this transition. In addition to the rich conference programme addressing multiple aspects of digital transformation, we will offer a doctoral colloquium and a series of “labs” to showcase practical applications of digital transformation across a variety of industries.

ZHAW School of Management and Law

Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), with over 13,000 students and around 3,000 members of staff, is one of the largest multidisciplinary universities of applied sciences in Switzerland.

The ZHAW School of Management and Law (SML), based in Winterthur, is one of the eight university schools and has the largest number of students. With internationally recognized Bachelor’s and Master’s programs, cooperative PhD programs, a broad range of needs-oriented and well-established continuing education programs, as well as innovative research & development projects, it is one of the leading business schools in Switzerland.

Winterthur - City at the Heart of Europe

Winterthur is an exciting place set in beautiful natural surroundings, combining culture and industrial tradition with business and commerce. With 110,000 inhabitants, Winterthur is Switzerland’s sixth-largest city. Having undergone a rapid evolution in recent decades, it is principally known today as a hub for innovation and education.

While Winterthur is both small and safe enough to explore on foot, it has all the amenities of a big city, making it a popular place to live, work, and relax. The charming Old Town in the medieval heart of Winterthur bustles with life. Despite its industrial history, Winterthur is also a “garden city” with parks, trees, and open spaces inviting people to linger. Winterthur has enjoyed a long tradition as a center of the arts and boasts 17 museums, as well as being an important player in the thriving economy of the Greater Zurich Area. Visitors are constantly impressed and inspired by Switzerland’s imposing financial districts and its breathtaking landscape with lakes, castles, quaint villages, and, of course, the Swiss Alps.

We are certain you will be charmed by Winterthur and will have a rewarding experience at the SML while enjoying the natural beauty and cultural life Switzerland has to offer.