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At FIIB, our Centres of Excellence (COEs) serve as interdisciplinary hubs that bridge research, industry, and policy to address some of the most pressing challenges shaping business and society. Focused on Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Responsible Management, and Behavioural Insights, these centres foster collaborative research, thought leadership, case writing, and capacity building while creating opportunities for meaningful engagement between academia, industry, and policymakers.

FIIB Research Conference (FRC) 2026 is a natural extension of this vision. As artificial intelligence continues to reshape economies, organisations, and societies, the conference leverages the expertise of FIIB's Centres of Excellence to examine AI governance through three interconnected lenses—Behaviour, Business, and Moral Economy. Each conference track is anchored in the strengths of these centres, encouraging interdisciplinary dialogue and research that moves beyond academic inquiry to generate practical insights for business, policy, and society.

By bringing together scholars, practitioners, and policymakers, FRC 2026 reflects FIIB's commitment to advancing responsible, evidence-based approaches to AI and creating research that informs practice and drives meaningful impact.

Center For Behavioural Insights (CBI)

Overarching Theme: Intelligent Systems And Human Behaviour

Artificial intelligence is reshaping how individuals think, decide, and assign responsibility. A behavioural science lens enables a deeper understanding of how humans adapt to, trust, resist, and rely upon intelligent systems. Technology does not operate independently; human judgment, bias, emotion, and values remain central to its societal impact.

Track 1: Rethinking Organizations And Work In The Age Of AI

  • Wellbeing, stress, and emotional responses to AI monitoring
  • Bias, fairness, and inclusion in AI driven HR decisions
  • Human versus algorithmic decision making in strategy
  • Trust, transparency, and explainability in AI based performance systems

Track 2: The New Consumer Mind In An AI Driven World

  • Algorithmic nudging and consumer choice behaviour
  • Trust, privacy, and data sharing decisions
  • Emotional attachment and reliance on AI agents

Track 3: The Behavioural Finance Mindset In An AI-Driven Economy

  • Risk perception and uncertainty under AI forecasts
  • Behavioural biases amplified or reduced by AI tools
  • Trust and fairness in AI-led credit and lending systems
  • Reliance on robo-advisors and automated financial decisions

Center For Responsible Management (CRM)

Overarching Theme: Humanity In The Loop: Ethics, Equity, And Responsibility

The Center for Responsible Management advances scholarship that places ethics, social impact, and responsible leadership at the core of management. As AI reshapes institutions, CRM foregrounds the need to align innovation with empathy, equity, accountability, and long-term societal value.

Track 1: Responsible And Sustainable Futures

  • Sustainable business models and purpose-driven innovation
  • Circular economy, regenerative systems, and green transitions
  • ESG strategy, measurement, and impact accountability
  • Climate action, net-zero pathways, and responsible operations
  • Sustainable supply chains and ethical sourcing
  • Responsible finance, impact investing, and green capital
  • Corporate stewardship and long-term value creation
  • SDG integration in strategy, teaching, and practice
  • Responsible markets, consumers, and communication
  • Responsible organisations and people

Track 2: Inclusive Futures In The Age Of AI

  • AI, work, and the future of jobs
  • Digital divide, accessibility, and technology inclusion
  • AI and disability inclusion and assistive technologies
  • Gender, race, caste, and algorithmic inequality
  • Inclusive design and human-centered AI
  • AI for education, health, and social protection
  • Platform economies and precarious work
  • Finance, technology, and equitable value creation
  • Inclusive innovation, markets, and communities
  • AI in public services and welfare delivery

Track 3: Ethical AI And The Governance Of Future Systems

  • Bias, fairness, and discrimination in AI systems
  • AI regulation, standards, and policy frameworks
  • Responsible AI design and development
  • Corporate governance of AI
  • Ethics, work, and human agency in AI-enabled organisations
  • Ethical markets, consumers, and digital trust
  • Financial decision-making in the age of AI

Center For Innovation, Entrepreneurship, And Technology (CIET)

Overarching Theme: Aligning Technology, Policy, And Purpose

The rapid diffusion of AI across organisational decision-making has exposed gaps in regulatory coherence and institutional oversight. CIET advances research on policy translation, institutional environments, strategic transformation, and innovation governance necessary to operationalise trustworthy intelligence while sustaining competitiveness.

Track 1: Policy, Regulation, And Institutional Environments For AI

  • Regulatory translation from policy to practice
  • Institutional logics and implementation success
  • Comparative institutional environments
  • Interoperability of regulatory and certification systems
  • Accountability and liability in hybrid human–AI decision contexts

Track 2: AI Impact – Future Of Work In Technology-Enriched Environments

  • AI, automation, and job transformation
  • Workforce skills and organisational learning
  • Human–AI collaboration and value creation
  • Organisational adaptation to intelligent systems

Track 3: AI Transformation, Strategy, And Emerging Venture Models

  • Business model innovation and strategic renewal
  • Corporate–startup collaboration in AI innovation
  • Organisational structure, talent strategy, and leadership in AI-driven enterprises
  • Governance of AI-enabled entrepreneurial ecosystems

Social Marketing, Macromarketing & Public Policy

Overarching Theme: Marketing For A Better World: Innovations, Insights & Impact For India And Beyond

As intelligent systems reshape markets and public behaviour, marketing assumes a broader role in shaping trust, responsibility, and societal outcomes. In this context, the conference invites conversations at the intersection of social marketing, public policy, and social impact.

Track 1: Social Marketing And Behavioural Change For Social Good

  • Public health and preventive behaviour
  • Sustainability and pro-environmental behaviour
  • Financial, digital, and social inclusion
  • Community resilience and citizen engagement
  • Gender, youth, and vulnerable populations
  • Behaviour change communication and social campaigns

Track 2: Macromarketing, Markets, And Sustainable Societies

  • Marketing systems and societal well-being
  • Ethical consumption and responsible markets
  • Circular economy and sustainable consumption
  • Consumer culture and quality of life
  • ESG, CSR, and transformative business practices
  • Market inequalities and vulnerable consumers

Track 3: Public Policy, Systems Thinking, And Digital Transformation

  • Behavioural public policy and nudging
  • Systems thinking and wicked problems
  • Governance and policy innovation
  • AI, analytics, and social marketing technologies
  • Social media, misinformation, and trust
  • Translating research into policy and practice

The prospective authors are invited to contribute their high-quality, original papers, which have not been submitted earlier anywhere else. They are requested to submit their papers via the Microsoft Conference Management platform. We invite paper submissions from scholars and researchers around the globe in the following two categories –

Research Paper: We invite academic researchers and doctoral students to submit high-quality theoretical and empirical papers on contemporary management issues. Submissions in the form of full papers or extended abstracts are welcome. The submissions will be reviewed, and the selected papers will be invited for final presentation at the conference. Best Paper Awards will be given to the papers presented in each of the tracks of FRC 2026, based on the decision of the Conference Chairs, Session Chairs, and the Review Committee.