Preface of the 1st International Online Conference on Administrative Sciences (IOCAS 2026) ^†

1. Introduction

The 1st International Online Conference on Administrative Sciences (IOCAS 2026) was hosted online from 4 to 5 February 2026. This conference presented the latest studies in public management, leadership, strategic management and entrepreneurship. The goal was to examine, explore and critically engage with issues and advances in these areas.

The conference included four sessions:

S1. Public management;

S2. Leadership;

S3. Strategic Management;

S4. Entrepreneurship.

2. Event Speakers

2.1. Keynote Speakers

• Prof. Dr. Isabel María García Sánchez, Department of Economics and Economic History, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain, “CEOs and climate action”.
• Assoc. Prof. Mirko Perano, Department of Business Sciences—Management & Innovation Systems, University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy, “From Knowledge and Risk to Intelligence: Emerging Technologies as Drivers of Strategic Effectiveness”.
• Prof. Dr. Hans Van Kranenburg, Nijmegen School of Management, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands, “Market and Non-Market Strategies for Transitions”.

2.2. Invited Speakers

• Assoc. Prof. Manuela Lucchese, Department of Economics, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Caserta, Italy, “Digital Transformation and Public Administration: governance, sustainability policies and processes as drivers of change”.
• Prof. Dr. Ivo Hristov, Department of Industrial and Information Engineering and Economics, University of L’Aquila, Rome, Italy, “Integrating Conventional Management Control Systems and Sustainability Control Systems: Emerging Architectures and Dynamics”.
• Prof. Dr. Amalendu Bhunia, Department of Commerce, University of Kalyani, West Bengal, India, “Determinants of Public Sector Digital Readiness in ASEAN Economies”.
• Assoc. Prof. Eriona Shtembari, Department of Business Informatics and e-Business, University of New York Tirana, Tirana, Albania, “Digitalization and competitiveness of SME, evidence from Albania”.
• Assoc. Prof. Miha Marič, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Maribor, Kranj, Slovenia, “Interpersonal Intelligence as a Foundational Capability for High-Quality Leader-Member Exchange”.

3. Award-Winner Announcement

3.1. Best Oral Presentation Awards

• Title: The (Mis)alignment Between Strategic Priorities and Public Value Creation: Evidence from Italian Healthcare Organisations.
  Authors: Diana Ferullo, Gabriella Bosco.
• Title: Smart citizen participation for public management: transforming collective data into tangible actions through Artificial Intelligence (AI).
  Authors: Joan Simó Esteve, Elena de la Poza Plaza, Alberto Celani.
• Title: Decision making for corporate sustainability: Managerial Sensemaking of Competing Goals in UK B Corps.
  Authors: Dona Thamaraprabha Anuradhi Wahalathanthree.
• Title: Disruptive Technologies and Workforce Transformation: The Mediating Role of HR Strategy.
  Authors: Ioannis Zervas, Emmanouil Stiakakis.
• Title: Artificial Intelligence and Corporate ESG Performance.
  Authors: Wenlong Ren, Baocheng Zhao, Yuying Mu, Yuhuan Zhang.

3.2. Best Poster Awards

• Title: A Burgeoning approach towards a unified holistic framework of Leadership.
  Author: Ijeoma Ukeni.