Call for Papers

The 4^th International Conference on Business (ICB) 2021

4-5 November 2021

Ho Chi Minh City Open University

97 Vo Van Tan, Dist. 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Dear Sir/Madam,

We would like to invite you to the 4^th International Conference on Business (ICB) 2021, organized by Ho Chi Minh City Open University (HCMC-OU), in conjunction with University of Economics Hochiminh City, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Berlin School of Economics and Law (Germany), University of Rouen (France), University of Paris 13 (France), International Association of Sustainable Tourism Management (AIMTD), Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management (Belgium), and University of International Studies of Rome (Italia).

ICB 2021 will bring together leading academic researchers, scholars and practitioners to an interesting knowledge sharing and exchange event which covers a wide spectrum of scholarships of Digital Transformation for Smart Business - Smart City in a Post-Pandemic World.

Authors are invited to submit their abstracts, extended abstracts or full papers (in English) in PDF formats via the conference website.

Due to the constantly evolving situation regarding the global pandemic, ICB2021 will be a hybrid event held both online and on campus.

Theme and Topics

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented upheaval around the world and ushered us to a ‘new normal’ way of conducting business to sustain ourselves through this global crisis. In several industries such as public services, healthcare, finance and retailing, businesses and organisations have had to transform how the engage with customers and clients through digital platforms. At the individual level, the way people live, work and consume has been changed and research has shown most changes would remain permanent (Kantrowitz, 2021). But there is an upside in the crisis – governments and businesses increasingly accelerate digital transformation, tapping into technologies and adopting innovative solutions specifically designed to help build smart businesses and smart cities in the post-Covid-19 world. Indeed, digital transformation has been a buzzword in the past few years, even ISI/Scopus-indexed, peer-reviewed journal Business Horizons has had a special issue about the topic (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2019). The Vietnamese government has prioritised digital transformation as a key strategy for Vietnam to fully exploit the opportunities offered by the technology revolution and attain sustainable socio-economic development. In the coming months and years, businesses that can capitalise on digital technologies and smart solutions will thrive in the new normal.

ICB 2021 welcomes papers in areas of Business, Management, Economics, Finance, Technology and Social Sciences, although we encourage submissions dealing with (but not limited to) the following themes and sub-themes:

List of topics and trach chairs

Digital Transformation and smart business	Smart Business for Smart City
Customer Experience Revisited – Kieu Anh Tai (HCMC Open University)	Multi-disciplinary and multi-level integration in developing Smart Business and Smart City – Trinh Tu Anh (University of Economics HCMC)
Operational Agility and Business Model Revisited – Nguyen Quynh Mai (Van Lang University)	Emerging Data-driven Smart Business and Smart City – Trinh Tu Anh (University of Economics HCMC)
Culture and Leadership in Digital Transformation – Trinh Thuy Anh (HCMC Open University)
Workforce Enablement – Nguyen The Khai (HCMC Open University)
Digital Technology Integration / Applications for Sustainable Development (AI, machine learning, blockchain, fintech…) – Pham Ha (HCMC Open University)
Service Resurgence – Nguyen Hoang Sinh (HCMC Open University)
Funding and financial resources – Pham Ha (HCMC Open University)
Business Opportunity: Technology as a tool –Le Nhat Hanh (Angelina) (University of Economics HCMC)
Entrepreneurship and Innovation – Trinh Viet Dung (International University, VNU HCM)
We also welcome topics related to proposed fields

• Kantrowitz, M. (2021, January 1). Permanent Changes Due to The Pandemic. Forbes, Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/markkantrowitz/2021/01/01/permanent-changes-due-to-the-pandemic/?sh=6fe38c6626aa  [accessed March 04, 2021]
• Kaplan, A., & Haenlein, M. (2019). Digital transformation and disruption: On big data, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and other things. Business Horizons, 62(6), 679-681

Keynote Speakers

Prof. Ngo Viet Liem, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Prof. Carsten Baumgarth, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Germany

Prof. Wim Vanhaverbeke, Surrey Business School, UK.

Prof. Ducku Seo, Handong Global University, Korea.

Publication Opportunities

All accepted full papers will be published in the ISBN-indexed conference’s proceedings.

A selection of full papers will be invited for publication in the following journals:

• Australasian Marketing Journal (Scopus, ESCI-indexed), the official journal of the Australia and New Zealand Marketing Academy.
• Special Issue of Journal of Science (Vietnam’s State Council for Professor Title list), HCMC-OU.

Important dates 

We actively encourage you to submit your one-page abstract for obtaining initial feedback for manuscript development. Full papers must follow submission guidelines and references must follow APA style. You will also have the opportunity, after your paper is reviewed, to improve and re-submit your nominated submission for the proceedings.

Full paper submission: 15th September 2021

Full paper acceptance: 5th October 2021

Conference: 4-5th November 2021

We actively encourage all students at any level to submit their paper to the poster session, in which you will have the opportunity to present ideas and obtain feedback to develop their research

Poster session submission: 1st October 2021

Poster session acceptance: 15th October 2021

Further information

Website: http://icb2021.ou.edu.vn

Email: icb@ou.edu.vn