16th Workshop on Top Management Teams and
Business Strategy Research
Hasselt, Belgium — 22–23 April 2027
Co-organised by the Research Center for Entrepreneurship and Family Firms (RCEF) of Hasselt University and EURAM
Workshop Announcement
The 16th Workshop on Top Management Teams and Business Strategy Research will be held in Hasselt (Belgium) on 22 and 23 April 2027, co-organised by the Research Center for Entrepreneurship and Family Firms (RCEF) of Hasselt University and EURAM.
The workshop continues the series of Workshops on Top Management Teams and Business Strategy Research, previously co-organised by EIASM and, from this edition onwards, organised in collaboration with EURAM. The series remains a focused forum for
strategic leadership research and international research collaboration.
For its 16th edition, the workshop focuses on the theme “Diversity and Dynamics at the
Top” : how differences among senior leaders (executives, top management teams, boards, and broader strategic leadership systems) shape interaction, strategic decision-making, and organisational outcomes. Going beyond questions of composition, the workshop asks when diversity becomes a source of insight and strategic capacity, and when it generates faultlines, conflict, or fragmentation.
Keynote Speakers:
• Professor David A. Harrison, McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
• Professor Randall S. Peterson, London Business School, UK
Scientific Committee:
• Professor Tine Buyl, Tilburg University, the Netherlands
• Professor Alejandro Escribá Esteve, University of Valencia, Spain
• Professor Marko Reimer, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, Germany
Organising Committee: Laura Hoekx, Sofie Meerten, Kelsey Schepers, Kris Thys, Pieter Vandekerkhof (RCEF, Hasselt University)
Call for Papers
We particularly encourage contributions that connect strategic leadership composition to interaction and strategic outcomes: who resides at the helm of the organisation, how do they interact, and what do they achieve? We welcome longitudinal, qualitative, experimental, and mixed-method approaches, new measures, and replications of influential findings.
Submissions may address, but are not limited to, the following themes and questions:
Conceptualising and measuring diversity at the top
•
How do demographic, functional, experiential,
cognitive, and personality differences shape strategic leadership?
•
When do different diversity constructs activate
different mechanisms?
•
How do visible characteristics relate to deeper
differences in values, knowledge, and perspectives?
•
How can we distinguish composition effects from
selection and contextual influences?
Interaction, power, and decision-making
•
When do differences encourage knowledge integration and
constructive disagreement, and when do they generate polarisation or exclusion?
•
How do trust, psychological safety, and behavioural
integration shape these processes?
•
How do CEO personality, formal authority, and informal
status influence whose perspectives are heard?
•
How do leaders prevent potential faultlines from
becoming persistent divisions?
Board–TMT interaction and strategic leadership systems
•
How do differences within boards and TMTs affect
interaction across the two groups?
•
When do shared backgrounds facilitate coordination, and
when might they limit challenge or independent oversight?
•
Research on CEO–board and board–TMT interfaces, as well
as other actors involved in strategic leadership.
Time, context, and strategic outcomes
•
How do recruitment, succession, turnover, and shared
experience alter diversity and team dynamics?
•
How do ownership, institutional settings, or
environmental uncertainty shape these relationships?
•
Outcomes of interest include strategic change,
innovation, internationalisation, resilience, sustainability, and
organisational performance.
Beyond the central theme
We also welcome
research on individual top executives, TMTs, boards, and strategic leadership
more broadly. Conceptual and empirical contributions connecting strategic
management with organisational behaviour, psychology, entrepreneurship, or
related fields are encouraged, across family firms, entrepreneurial ventures,
and established corporations. Topics of interest include:
•
Executive cognition
•
Executive compensation
•
CEO succession
•
Strategic decision-making
•
Governance
•
Family firms
The call for papers is also available in a pdf format.
Submission
To present a
paper at the workshop, authors should submit a 2-page extended abstract by 22
January 2027. All submissions must be made in English and only through the
official submission platform below. Abstracts should clearly state the research
gap, theory, method, and expected contribution. Authors will be notified of
acceptance by 12 February 2027, and accepted authors are asked to submit their
full paper by 2 April 2027.
Participants in the
2027 TMT Workshop must be EURAM members in good standing. If your application
is accepted and you are not yet a EURAM member for the year 2027, you will be
able to do so on the registration platform. For any questions about the status
of your EURAM membership, check the membership portal here; otherwise, you can
contact info@euram.academy.
➜ Submit your abstract here
Host: Hasselt University
The 16th EURAM
TMT Workshop will be hosted by the Research Center for Entrepreneurship and
Family Firms (RCEF) of Hasselt University.
Discover Hasselt
Hasselt is the
capital of the province of Limburg, in the Flemish region of Belgium, and is
easily reached by train from Brussels. A lively, walkable city with a compact
historic centre, it is known as the Belgian capital of jenever, celebrated in
its National Jenever Museum, and for its Japanese Garden, one of the largest in
Europe. With its shopping streets, terraces and green surroundings, Hasselt
offers a welcoming setting for three days of focused exchange.
More information on hotels and how to get to Hasselt will be available soon.
Practical Information
Dates: 22–23
April 2027
Venue: Hasselt
University, Koning Boudewijnlaan, 3500 Hasselt, Belgium
Abstract
submission deadline: 22 January 2027
Notification
of acceptance: 12 February 2027
Registration
deadline: 12 March 2027
Full paper
submission: 2 April 2027
Language: English
Registration
fees: 440 EUR (VAT included) + EURAM membership (see here)
Detailed programme and accommodation details will be published
on this page as they are confirmed.
Contact
For any
questions regarding the workshop, please contact:
Local Organiser: kris.thys@uhasselt.be (overall
organisation, workshop content, local logistics)
EURAM Head Office: info@euram.academy (abstract
submission, EURAM membership)
