Conference Papers
The 12th Annual Conference of the International Corporate Governance Society will take place from Friday 2 to Sunday 4 October 2026 at HEC Montreal (Quebec, Canada). The conference is intended to provide a forum for international academics and policymakers to showcase and discuss the latest corporate governance research issues and practices.
In today’s turbulent global economy, corporate governance cannot be separated from the forces that transform firms, markets, and societies. The evolving purpose of the corporation, the use of artificial intelligence, and heightened geopolitical tensions call for renewed attention to how corporate governance adapts to sustain long-term value creation and societal well-being, a shift toward more purposeful governance.
Each year, the ICGS conference provides a forum for international academics and policymakers to showcase and discuss the latest corporate governance research issues and practices. Bringing together academics from management, finance, accounting, international business, and law, the 2026 conference seeks to promote cross-disciplinary dialogue on how boards, executives, investors, states, and regulators can shape purposeful governance in a rapidly changing and globally interconnected business environment.
The topics include (but are not limited to):
- Behavioral perspectives on executives, boards, investors, and other governance actors, and their roles in shaping the purpose of corporations.
- Institutional and political approaches that examine how legal systems, societal expectations, and geopolitical shifts influence governance practices.
- Implications of AI adoption for internal and external corporate governance mechanisms.
- Evolving forms of activism/engagement from investors and other stakeholders and their impact on corporate governance outcomes.
- Reconfiguration of governance systems under geopolitical crises.
- Governance mechanisms for managing state-firm relations.
We welcome plurality in methods, whether theory-driven, data-driven, case-based, or large-scale empirical across all conference tracks.
Submitting a full paper or research proposal to the ICGS conference
Since the overarching mission of the ICGS is to bring together international governance scholars from multiple disciplines, original research in all areas of corporate governance is appreciated. Submissions must be unpublished work that has not been presented at an ICGS conference before. You may submit either a full paper or a research proposal to the conference. In both cases, we are looking for research that will advance the field of corporate governance.
- A full paper should include an abstract, a clearly articulated theoretical or conceptual framework, a description of the data and methods, a presentation of the results, and a discussion of the contributions and implications. No maximum number of pages or words is imposed.
- A research proposal is intended for projects at an earlier stage of development. A proposal should include an abstract summarizing the research question(s), theoretical grounding, and expected contributions, followed by a clear description of the research design and/or empirical strategy. Relevant supporting materials, such as references and, where appropriate, preliminary tables or figures may be included. Research proposals must be at least 3,000 words in length and provide sufficient detail to allow for a thorough scholarly assessment.
On the title page, the author(s) should indicate whether the submission should be considered a full paper or research proposal, and which of the conference tracks best fits the submission. The Track Chairs may shift papers and proposals if they fit better with another track.
Full papers or research proposals can be submitted starting on February 1, 2026, and must be submitted by 12 midnight (EST) on May 31, 2026, to be considered for conference presentation. All submissions must be made through our online conference management system https://www.conftool.org/icgs2026/, which can be accessed through the ‘Conferences’ tab of the ICGS website (www.icgsociety.org).
Decisions regarding the acceptance of submissions in the conference program will be communicated to the authors by June 30, 2026. The most outstanding papers and proposals will be considered for the Best Conference Paper Award. The author(s) who win(s) this award will be recognized at the conference.
Conference tracks
TRACK A
Purposeful Governance in a Changing World
As the purpose of the corporation evolves, artificial intelligence transforms business practices, and geopolitical tensions escalate, corporate governance becomes a critical force influencing how firms respond to these changes and safeguard long-term value creation and societal well-being. Therefore, this track seeks studies that explore how corporate governance shapes and/or adapts to these shifts to sustain long-term value creation and societal well-being.
Co-chairs: Ari Van Assche (HEC Montréal), Vikash Sinha ( Aalto University School of Business), Gilbert Kofi Adarkwah (HEC Montréal)
TRACK B
Board Dynamics and Strategic Leadership
This track explores the roles of boards of directors, concentrating in particular on diversity and group dynamics in boards. Studies focusing on the role of women and internationals on boards are particularly welcome. The track will also feature behavioral studies on board members and their interfaces with CEOs and the executive team.
Co-chairs: Alessandro Zattoni (Luiss Business School), Seppo Ikäheimo (Aalto Business School), Jana Oehmichen (Johannes Gutenberg University)
TRACK C
Ownership
This track explores the antecedents and outcomes of different types of ownership. The track also encourages papers on non-traditional means of raising capital that give rise to ownership changes, such as equity crowdfunding and other forms of alternative investment, and their implications for corporate governance.
Co-chairs: Kurt Achiel Desender (Universidad Carlos III), Jackie Di Vito (HEC Montréal), Bartolomé Pascual-Fuster (University of the Balears)
TRACK D
External Corporate Governance Mechanisms
This track seeks to understand how firms’ strategic objectives and outcomes are influenced by external governance mechanisms, including (but not limited to) the role of external auditors, cultural norms, and the media. It also welcomes studies that investigate how these external factors are related to firms’ nexus of contracts and incentive structures.
Co-chairs: Zvi Singer (HEC Montréal), Peter Oh (McGill University), Saori Sugeno (Surrey Business School)
TRACK E
Corporate Governance and Stakeholders
This track focuses on the role of various stakeholders in corporate governance. Topics may include (but are not restricted to) activist shareholders, institutional investors, blockholders, minority shareholders, interest groups, governments and regulators, suppliers, customers, employees, competitors, and the media, and their interactions with corporate governance.
Co-chairs: Till Talaulicar (Universität Erfurt), Margaret Fong (HEC Montréal), Josep A. Tribό (Stevens Institute of Technology)
TRACK F
Comparative Corporate Governance
This track explores corporate governance in a (de)globalizing economy and discusses how transnational nongovernmental institutions shape corporate governance across nations. Furthermore, it is interesting and useful to compare governance practices across national economies. Multi-level governance interactions between multiple governance environments are also considered.
Co-chairs: Rafel Crespi (University of the Balears), Cuili Qian (The University of Texas at Dallas), Trond Randoy (Copenhagen Business School)
Conference program co-chairs
The conference is organized by Professor Eduardo Schiehll (eduardo.schiehll@hec.ca), Professor Zvi Singer (zvi.singer@hec.ca) and Professor Ari Van Assche (ari.van-assche@hec.ca).
You may contact any of the co-chairs for your inquiries.