10th Reading IB Conference 2026

The Reading conference series offered by The Dunning centre for International Business that take place biennially. These distinctive conferences have become something of a tradition in the IB community, not only because we seek, as is the tradition at Henley Business School, to look at things from a conceptual, 'big picture' level, but also because we emphasise a critical (and we believe, healthy) balance between disciplines.

Our biennial conferences are intended to bring together notable scholars, mid- and early- career researchers, doctoral students and members of the wider international business community for stimulating discussions and networking in our friendly and supportive environment.

Please click here to see our past conferences.

Debate 1: Reimagining International Business: Is there still a link between theories and impact?

The landscape of international business has exploded with complexity over the past 60 years. Our IB frameworks made sense to international managers, when IB was once a relatively straightforward endeavour, focused on optimising outcomes for a largely home-centric MNE. Today's managers face a barrage of considerations that would leave their 1960s counterparts bewildered: ESG, global value chains, intricate supply networks, and a multitude of stakeholders in multiple locations with conflicting demands.

The 10^th Reading IB conference challenges us to step back and ask a critical question: In our pursuit of scholarly research, have we lost sight of the fundamental business of international business? Are our theories keeping pace with the real-world complexities faced by 21st-century managers?

Chair: Rajneesh Narula (University of Reading)

Speakers:

- Alain Verbeke (University of Calgary and University of Reading)

- Anthony Goerzen (Queen’s University - 2025-26 Alan Rugman Visiting Fellow)

Debate 2: So many stakeholders, so little democracy: How do you run a complex MNE hierarchy and give everyone a voice?

In this panel, we will explore how strategic leaders make decisions on stakeholder voice and enfranchisement in a global business context. Whilst there are many benefits of leading MNEs ‘democratically’, there are also costs associated with stakeholder engagement. We will ask to what extent an MNE can be democratic, whilst operating as a hierarchy, and whether there is an optimal degree of stakeholder voice/enfranchisement that will also give CEOs enough agency to implement strategy. How do MNEs find an optimal degree of stakeholder engagement?

Chair: Peder Greve (University of Reading)

Speakers:

- Sarosh Asad (University of Groningen)

- Anna Grosman (Loughborough University London)

- Emre Yildiz (Mälardalen University) (TBC)

- Ricardo Butriago (Egade Business School Tecnòlogico de Monterrey - 2025-26 Inaugural Dunning Latin America Fellow) (TBC)

Debate 3: The Role of Time in Multinational Organisations – Flexibility, Control, and Asymmetry

Across the world, organizations are reimagining the role of time in work. From remote and hybrid models to flexible schedules and work time reduction initiatives, multinational enterprises (MNEs) are experimenting with new ways to structure and manage labour. Yet, these practices do not unfold evenly across global operations.

How can flexibility be meaningfully implemented within the complex architecture of the multinational organization, where headquarters and subsidiaries often operate under very different economic, cultural, and institutional conditions? What asymmetries emerge when flexible working practices are extended, or restricted, across borders?

This panel explores how MNEs negotiate the balance between global HR strategies and local realities, addressing the tensions between autonomy and control, equity and efficiency, and the strategic management of time as a key resource in contemporary organizations.

Chair: Rita Fontinha (University of Reading)

Speakers:

- Pedro Gomes (Birkbeck, University of London)

- Esther Tippmann (University of Galway)

- Luisa Helena Pinto (University of Porto)

- Kieran Conroy (Queen's University Belfast) (TBC)

PhD students and Post-docs, want to broaden your knowledge base, and become wiser on all fronts? Consider our pre-conference activities which include the Henley International Business Masterclasses which run during the week prior to the conference and cover the following topics:

• International Business, Development and Policy, by Rajneesh Narula (and guest speakers) – 13-14 April 2026.
• International Business Innovation and Economic Geography, by Davide Castellani (and guest speakers, including Anthony Goerzen and others TBC) – 15-16 April 2026.

The submission window for full papers and extended abstracts will be open from 1 December 2025 to 16 January 2026.

We welcome submission of extended abstracts or papers in all areas of international business for the conference competitive paper sessions.

Please, send your extended abstracts and papers to Dunning.Submission@henley.ac.uk.

There are no specific requirements for extended abstracts or papers length and layout. Please, do include authors names and affiliations within your extended abstract or paper. Our goal is to give the possibility to conference participants to discuss their ideas at different stage of development.

We will communicate the outcome of the submission by the 23 January 2026. Upon acceptance, conference registration must be finalised by the 13 February 2026.

Conference registration opens on 1 December 2025!

Registration

Early-bird delegate registration fee (up to and including 1 March 2026)

• Full 2 days conference package (includes gala dinner)
  • Standard delegate (inc. part-time PhD students) − £ 350
  • PhD students − £ 250

Regular delegate registration fee (From 2 March 2026 until 17 March 2026)

• Full 2 days conference package (includes gala dinner)
  • Standard delegate (inc. part-time PhD students) − £ 400
  • PhD students − £ 300

Late delegate - registration fee (From 18 March 2026)

• Standard delegate (inc. part-time PhD students) and PhD students − £ 400 - Gala dinner is not guaranteed

The Conference registration fee includes the welcome reception, conference participation, lunches, tea/coffee, conference gala dinner.
The conference registration fee does NOT include accommodation, travel or transfers.
Fees are payable by credit card and debit cards, as well as Paypal Express (international cards will be charged in pounds sterling).

Refund Policy

Until 17 March 2026, registration fees are fully refundable, but a £50 processing charge will be deducted. After this date, no refunds will be possible.

Conference submission of papers from 1 December 2025 until 16 January 2026

Conference registration opens 1 December 2026

Confirmation of paper acceptances 23 January 2026

Registration deadline for presenters 13 February 2026

Early-bird delegate registration ends 1 March 2026

Regular delegate registration closing date 17 March 2026

Conference Venue
The conference will be hosted at the Henley Business School at our Whiteknights Campus. Delegates should note the venue is located in Reading, and NOT in Henley-upon-Thames. The conference venue is located 2 kilometres from the Reading town centre. It is easily accessible by car and public transport.

Address
Henley Business School,
University of Reading,
Whiteknights Campus
Reading Berkshire RG6 6UD
Click here to download the Whiteknights Campus map.

The conference venue is located within a 2 kilometres walk from the Reading railway station and the hotels situated in the heart of the town centre. The venue is easily accessible by car and public transport.

Gala Dinner Venue
The Gala Dinner will take place on the 17^th April in the Greenlands Campus of the Henley Business School in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 3AU.

Transport by bus will be arranged from the conference venue (Henley Business School, Whiteknights Campus) to the Greenland Campus.

Address
Greenlands, Henley-on-Thames RG9 3AU

Travelling to/from Reading

By air

London Heathrow

Heathrow is the closest airport. If coming from Heathrow, the RailAir buses both arrive and depart from Reading Station and take about 45 minutes to Reading. RailAir buses are the most efficient and cost-effective way to get from Heathrow to Reading, and run about every 20 minutes throughout the day. It is cheaper to buy a return trip then two singles. For details see www.railair.com.

Alternatively, you can take the Heathrow express to Paddington in Central London, and then take the train to Reading.

Do not take a black cab from the airport, it will cost you more than £130!

If you want to travel by taxi from Heathrow to Reading, we recommend pre-booking an airport transfer for about £45. The University of Reading recommends the following taxi services:

Loddon Cars+44 (0) 118 932 1321, https://www.loddoncars.com/ser...

Yellow Cars+44 (0) 118 966 0660, https://yellcars.com/airport-t...

Gatwick Airport

From the airport you can transfer for free to the train station. Trains to Reading are direct and takes approximately one hour.

Please be aware that there are NO direct connections from Stansted or Luton Airport to Reading. It takes more than 2 hours to get to Reading. You will need to take a bus or train to London (one hour), then need to take another train to Reading. In between you will have to navigate London public transport.

A pre-booked airport transfer from Stansted/Luton costs approximately £120/£80.

By train

Reading is a mainline train station and is easily accessible from most other places in the UK. There are direct rail links from many major cities, including Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff, Bristol, and Exeter, as well as a number of routes through London.

If you are travelling from or via London, the quickest route to take is from London Paddington station. Trains from London Paddington to Reading run approximately every 15-20 minutes throughout the day and the average journey time is around 30 minutes. Trains from Waterloo Station take about an hour. A return ticket during rush hour (peak times) costs about £50. After 09:30 am, a return ticket costs less than £25 (off-peak tickets). Peak times from Reading are 06:00-9:30 am. Peak times from London are 06:00-09:30, and 16:00-18:00.

If you travel by Eurostar, you will arrive at St Pancras International, which is across town. We recommend you take a taxi to Paddington station, but the two are also connected by the Tube (you will need to buy a ticket or oyster card).

Find out more on the National Rail website.

By car
The Whiteknights campus of the University of Reading is approximately 1.5 miles from the M4 motorway. Sat Nav users are recommended to use the postcode: RG6 6UR

If you are driving to the Conference Venue, please be aware that parking campus on campus is limited. Monday to Friday between 8am and 5pm a Pay & Display car park is available to use by visitors (Car Park 1A). The cost will be £1.50 per hour, or £10 for all day parking. The machines accept credit/debit cards for payment. A visitor's parking permit can be pre-arranged by contacting the admin team

Parking
All visitors to our campuses on Monday to Friday between 8am and 5pm should be aware that parking needs to be pre-arranged and that a parking permit must be displayed. Please contact the Conference Administrator - Jana Oslejova to arrange your car park permit.

Travel by taxi within Reading

There is a taxi rank outside the Reading railway station. A taxi will cost approximately £9.

There is no taxi rank on the campus. Taxis must be pre-booked by phone. The University of Reading recommends the following taxi services:

Loddon Cars +44 (0) 118 932 1321

Yellow Cars +44 (0) 118 966 0660

How to get to the University by bus from Reading town?

Bus numbers 20, 21a and 21 start from the station (right next to the Railair buses) and travel to the Whiteknights campus every 10-15 minutes till 7pm (less frequently afterwards). Journey time is 15 minutes, £2.00 (return £3.50). You will need exact change, if paying cash, or you may pay with a contactless card. The station is the starting and ending point of the buses, so you cannot go in the wrong direction!

Reading buses website: https://www.reading-buses.co.uk/fares-and-tickets

These buses take you directly onto the university campus. This map will show you how to walk to HBS from the bus stop: https://goo.gl/maps/gCB1LKsNjhq

ABOUT READING TOWN

Welcome to Reading, a place of business and innovation, a spot with cultural attractions and a town with potential.

Located in the South-East of England, Reading is a dynamic town, known for its University, over 800 listed buildings and monuments, two national trails and the rivers of Kennet and Thames. Thanks to its pivotal location in the Thames Valley, one of the fastest growing economic regions, Reading is a home to some of the world’s most famous businesses including information technology and financial services such as Microsoft, Prudential, Ericsson and others.

Reading can offer its visitors a diverse and welcoming atmosphere, a great time to unwind, appealing attractions including high-quality shopping experience, tourist places of interest, great nightlife spots and an array of choices of both fine dining as well as less formal restaurants. In Reading one can enjoy a variety of cuisines for avid foodies. And all of it at a walking distance. Visit your Reading guide to find out your night out choices, a list of restaurants of different eating styles from around the world and other attractions the town can proffer.

Reading town is served by regular rail services from locations throughout the UK. London Paddington is only 30 min by train. The railway station underwent a major transformation and redevelopment which opened a new way of investments. Reading is one of the best-connected towns in the UK. By 2019, thanks to the extension of the cross rail line, it will have a direct line into London employment and business centres such as the West End, The City and Canary Wharf in under an hour. It is an ambitious town, striving to be a smart and sustainable city by 2050. For more information on the Reading UK 2050 project please visit the website.

For a useful pocket map of Reading town, please click here.

Contact us

If you have any questions, please contact our staff supporting the event.

Email: dunning@henley.ac.uk

The list of accommodations below includes hotels with a rating from 5* to 2*. The majority of the hotels are located in the town centre of Reading, up to 2 miles from the conference venue and within a walking distance to the railway station. Please also see provided some discount codes for Hotels.

Questions about the conference? Email dunning@henley.ac.uk

Want to suggest a brilliant idea, volunteer your services, or donate generously to The Dunning Centre for International Business? Email r.narula@henley.ac.uk or c.luise@henley.ac.uk