The SMS 45th Annual Conference was held on October 11–14, 2025, bringing together 1,260 registrants in San Francisco, California— the conference’s first visit to the North American west coast in nearly 20 years. A global hub of innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology, attendees experienced the city’s vibrant blend of historic landmarks, cutting-edge business ecosystems, and dynamic cultural diversity—the perfect setting for this year’s theme, “Strategy in a World of Trillion-Dollar Companies: Implications for Startups, High-Growth Firms, and Established Corporations.”
Developed by Program Co-Chairs Naga Lakshmi Damaraju, Gina Dokko, and Martin Reeves, the theme and call for proposals drew a healthy 1,466 submissions. The resulting Competitive Program featured 116 Paper Sessions, 48 Common Ground Sessions, and 19 Parallel Panel Sessions. In addition, the conference offered 17 Saturday Workshops and 37 IG&C Panel Sessions.
Five Plenary Sessions anchored the academic program, offering diverse perspectives on strategy, entrepreneurship, and innovation in an era defined by trillion-dollar firms. On Sunday, October 12, “Strategy and Entrepreneurship in a World of Unbounded Rationality?” brought together experts to explore whether traditional assumptions about bounded rationality still hold in today’s strategic and entrepreneurial decisions. Monday, October 13, featured two sessions: “Are There Limits to Firm Scale? Let’s Debate!”, a spirited exchange among leading scholars, and a special session honoring Steve Blank, recipient of the 2025 Strategy Leadership Impact Award, who shared insights from his pioneering work in innovation and entrepreneurship during a fireside chat with Martin Reeves. On Tuesday, October 14, “Startup Strategy of a Fintech: A Conversation with Zach Perret” offered an insider’s look at Plaid’s growth journey, followed by “Unleash the Doppelgängers: Accessing Top Talent Without Experiencing Sticker Shock”, where David J. Teece and Steve Outtrim unveiled SudoSelf, and Teece’s AI “digital twin” that showcased the future of strategic decision-making and talent access.
This year’s conference also featured a rich array of practitioner-focused activities designed to bridge research and real-world impact. The Big Six Business Insights Collection returned for its third year, curating sessions hand-picked by the SMS Practitioner Strategy Committee for their practical relevance and alignment with the Six Big Questions of Strategic Management. The Untamed Issues of Strategy Workshop, a new initiative jointly presented by the San Francisco Program Co-Chairs and the Practitioner Strategy Committee, brought together scholars and practitioners in an experimental forum to identify and address emerging strategic challenges, followed by a dedicated networking lunch. Additionally, the Strategy Imagination Forum (SIF) live session, “When Weak Signals Meet Strong Paradigms”, featured Julian Birkinshaw, recipient of the 2025 CK Prahalad Award, and inspired attendees to rethink how strategy research and practice can jointly respond to uncertainty and transformation.
Beyond the academic program, attendees enjoyed a full schedule of networking and social events. The conference featured four evening receptions, beginning with the Welcome Reception on Saturday night, followed by IG&C Socials sponsored by the University of Bath on Sunday. Also on Sunday evening, attendees set sail for a Boat Cruise on the San Francisco Bay, sponsored by Marketplace Simulations in collaboration with multiple Interest Groups and Communities. The Monday Night Event took attendees offsite to The Exploratorium on Pier 15—offering hands-on exhibits, breathtaking views, and a vibrant atmosphere—before concluding with a Closing Reception on Tuesday evening.
Several hosted networking luncheons were held during the conference lunch hour. These included the 7th Annual Women’s Networking Event, New Members/First-Time Attendees Meet-and-Greet, “Meet the Fellows” Lunch, and PhD Student Circle LIVE Discussion Tables.
Awards and Honors were announced and celebrated throughout the event. The conference opened with a toast to SMS Award and journal prize winners during the Welcome Reception, and Conference Paper Prize recipients were recognized by the Program Chairs at the first Plenary Session on Sunday. This year’s SMS Annual Conference Best Paper Prize was awarded to “Arbitrage or Decoupling: Firms’ Opportunistic Responses to Regulation” by Lingling Xie, Heli Wang, Jiayi Hou, and Xuan Wang. Learn more about this year’s honorees on the Awards & Honors page.
The 45th Annual Conference in San Francisco reflected the spirit of innovation, collaboration, and strategic exploration that defines SMS—uniting scholars, practitioners, and students to advance the frontiers of strategic management in a rapidly evolving world.
