Sharon presented a key note presentation on "wise proactivity" in Shanghai at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE) last week. Drawing on her paper with Lena Wang (RMIT) and Jenny Liao (EY) argued that, when people are proactive, they need to be wise in their approach, which means considering the task and strategic context, considering the perspectives of others, and taking into account one's own interests and emotions.
More than 100 scholars and students from across China attended the SUFE symposium on proactivity. There is currently much interest in this topic in China given the country's strategic focus on enhancing innovation (e.g., the Made in China 2025 initiative).
Other key note speakers at the conference were Karoline Strauss (ESSEC, France), Mark Griffin (Curtin University, Australia), and Subra Tangirala (University of Maryland, USA).
One of the highlights of the conference was a "paper development session" in which small groups of students and scholars worked together to identify possible research questions and topics.