Dr. Francesca Ciulli (Tilburg University) and Dr. Leona Henry (UW/H) will present current research on the use of digital technologies in multi-stakeholder partnerships devoted to grand challenges.

There is increasing recognition that our societies’ “grand challenges”, such as climate change, poverty, or the transition to a circular economy, can only be addressed collaboratively. Consequently, we have seen the rise of several multi-stakeholder partnerships, in which organizational actors from different sectors bundle their expertise and resources to address such complex societal issues. Recently, multi-stakeholder partnerships have started to experiment with digital technologies to achieve their mission. In this research seminar, the authors discuss the interplay between digital technologies and multi-stakeholder partnerships that try to tackle complex societal issues.

Dr. Francesca Ciulli is Assistant Professor of Organization Studies/Global Management of Social Issues at Tilburg University, the Netherlands. Her research focuses on organizations and novel digital technologies, in relation to grand challenges, sustainability and sustainable development. Her research has been published in journals such as Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Management Studies and Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions.

Dr. Leona Henry is a research associate at the Reinhard Mohn Institute (UW/H). In her research she focuses on collaborative forms of organizing for sustainability and sustainable development, such as multi-stakeholder initiatives and cross-sector partnerships. Her work has been published in journals such as Business & Society, Business, Strategy & the Environment and Management Revue- Socio economic studies.

RMI Research Seminars provide a forum for discussing latest findings in research areas matching or complementing those of the Reinhard Mohn Institute of Management at Witten/Herdecke University. Speakers are usually international, early-career and/or interdisciplinary-minded researchers. This hybrid event is open to anyone interested. Please register, indicating if you intend to participate in person on Campus or via Zoom (link will be sent), by email: rmi@uni-wh.de