The Strategic Role of Business in Addressing Unsolved Grand Challenges. Firms, Platforms and Ecosystems: A Thematic Analysis and Appreciative Assessment

The overarching theme of the Strategic Management Society (SMS) Conference entitled “The Strategic Role of Business in Addressing Unsolved Grand Challenges: Firms, Platforms and Ecosystems” has focused on complex and multifaceted “societal grand challenges” – including climate change, refugees and migrants, political instability, social inequality, and resource scarcity – and explored the strategic roles that firms, platforms, and ecosystems can play in addressing these issues through stakeholder-responsive initiatives. The Conference held on May 21-23, 2025 at LUMSA Palermo has featured a compelling blend of rigorous scholarship, global collaboration, and cultural immersion. It emphasized the transformative potential of business-led ecosystems in solving grand challenges. Equally, it collectively showed commitment to contributing to the development of future generations of scholars through its doctoral and early-career initiatives. By challenging traditional models of value creation, the event has also marked a key milestone towards integrating strategic management into real-world solutions for global sustainability, justice, and innovation.