Interorganisational - Supply Chain Management

Why do we organise and attend academic conferences? Yes, here it comes, it’s the debate that matters. Discussing ideas, refining our arguments, getting feedback, input, maybe even co-operation partners. Unfortunately, this seems to be lost at some conferences. More and more academics only attend with papers of their “honours students”, reluctant to share their ideas, not wanting to even hint what they are actually working on. One may suspect they have no own ideas

It’s funny how people think one may steal their brilliant idea. Sure, it happens, but such unethical behaviour always comes right back at those who do this. But usually the one who came up with an idea has a first mover advantage in any case (or does s/he?); having developed it much further than any copy-cat could follow up.

But well, it is a competitive environment, and I was just confronted with what a difference it can make to live in a publish-or-perish climate. If you don’t steal the other’s idea you’ll at least attempt to shoot it down at a conference… Where did the common goal of advancing science disappear? Publish or (and?) perish has been argued to kill the spirit of higher education, it seems to now kill the spirit of academic conferences. I have started to understand the EU’s stance of having to combine efforts for grant applications; it forces you to collaborate and to discuss your research throughout the process. It’s just sad we need to be forced to do so…

Gyöngyi