Exploring the Dynamic Intersection of Emerging Technologies and Social Entrepreneurship
Hammamet, Tunisia, will host a major international scientific event on May 30-31, 2025. The RIGUEUR Laboratory at the University of Manouba (Tunisia) and the BEST Chair (Business and Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Transition) at Montpellier Business School (France) are joining forces to host the International Conference on Digital Transformation & Management (ICDTM'25). The goal is to explore the dynamic intersection of emerging technologies and social entrepreneurship**
In an era where digital transformation is becoming a strategic imperative for businesses, ICDTM'25 seeks to provide a platform for exchange between researchers, practitioners, entrepreneurs, and public policymakers. The ambition is clear - to understand how technological innovation can serve social objectives and contribute to a more equitable and sustainable future.
The Social Impact at the Heart of Digital Transformation
Research on digitalization has multiplied over the past decade, highlighting its increasing role in managerial, economic, and entrepreneurial practices. However, most of these studies focus on large classical enterprises, relegating the specificities of entrepreneurial initiatives and social enterprises to the background.
"Today, it is urgent to revisit these analytical frameworks, integrating the social dimension of digital transformation," explains Samiha Gharbi, Director of the RIGUEUR Laboratory and Chair of the ICDTM'25 Scientific Committee. For social enterprises, NGOs, cooperatives, and foundations play a crucial role in social balance, particularly by innovating through new technologies: blockchain-based microfinance, health applications for rural areas, and inclusive educational platforms.
"It's no longer sufficient to think of innovation in terms of performance; we must also measure its social and ethical scope," she emphasizes, stressing the need to reposition the goals of digital development within a logic of human and inclusive development, and sustainable development.
A Rich and Ambitious Program
For this 2025 edition, a dense and stimulating program awaits participants. Renowned international keynote speakers will open the debates. Six parallel sessions will feature over thirty scientific papers. A workshop with editors of leading journals specializing in entrepreneurship and management will offer researchers a valuable opportunity to promote their research work.
Among the highlights, a "Science-Industry Debate: Towards Collaborative Research in a Context of Transition" workshop will facilitate direct and constructive dialogue between researchers and socio-economic actors, aiming to better align scientific production with the needs of transitioning societies. In the same intellectual innovation dynamic, a "Disruptive Idea Talk" on "The Inevitable Paradigm Shifting in Management Science" will encourage thinking outside established paradigms to better understand the complexity of the current entrepreneurial landscape.
The climax of the event, a grand roundtable "Bringing together researchers, entrepreneurs, experts, and policymakers to rethink the synergies between technological innovation and social inclusion" will allow for a cross-pollination of views and construction of concrete proposals. The reflections from this roundtable will be the object of a white paper, a genuine roadmap designed to inspire research and innovation initiatives serving technological and social progress.
Thematic Focus at the Intersection of Technological and Social Issues
ICDTM'25 will pay particular attention to digital entrepreneurship, innovative economic models, impact financing mechanisms, the ethical use of artificial intelligence, and the integration of technologies in sustainable development strategies. Among the thematic axes to be explored are: digital skills development and leadership, applications and impacts of emerging technologies, digital ecosystems, their levers and challenges, social innovation in the service of Sustainable Development Goals, and the transformations of entrepreneurial ecosystems.
A Conference between Academic Rigor and Professional Openness
Anchored in a resolutely interdisciplinary, ICDTM'25 on the latest scientific works to propose an unprecedented dialogue between theory and practice. From the analysis of digital transformation in three stages (digitization, digitalization, transformation) to the exploration of specific dynamics of social enterprises, the conference promises to nourish reflection and foster new collaboration paths between academic, entrepreneurial, and institutional worlds.
By relying on high-quality contributions and creating bridges between disciplines, the 2025 edition aims to become an unmissable rendezvous for those who believe in technology serving social progress.
