The eighth edition of the international conference “Rethinking Clusters 2025 in New Geopolitical and Sustainability Dynamics: Exploring Emerging Markets” will be held in-person in Itajaí, SC, Brazil.

Conference themes include, but are not limited to:

The sustainability of places: industrial districts, clusters, regions, and ecosystems
The transformative power of artificial intelligence, big data, block-chain, and Industry 4.0
Culture, creativity, and tourism and their effects on sustainable development of places
Innovation ecosystems and networks: agents’ positions, structure and dynamics
Smart cities, urban development, peripheries and marginal areas
Inequality mitigation, social innovation, and wellbeing: organizations, individuals, and communities
Exploring the dark side of innovation: the unexpected outcomes of the socio-technological progress
The rise of hostility: how do populism, nationalism, conflicts, and terrorism change economies and places
Global value chain and sustainable local development
International Entrepreneurship and innovation in places
Competitiveness and innovation in industrial districts, clusters, regions, and ecosystems
Exploring Geopolitical Shifts: Strategies for Enhancing Cluster Resilience and Sustainability
Special Session: What’s behind the Ecological Transition? Investigating Individual and Community Engagement in Firms, Clusters, and Regional Ecosystems

Update – PDW Opportunity for Special Issue in European Management Review

SUBMISSION DEADLINE EXTENDED: September 16

SUBMIT YOUR PAPER HERE!

Paper Development Workshop: Local inter-organizational networks, entrepreneurship and innovation between openness and closure

We are pleased to announce a Paper Development Workshop (PDW) as part of the upcoming conference. This PDW aims to foster open dialogue and scholarly exchange on the interplay between local firm agglomerations, inter-organizational networks, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The workshop will be held in a blended format, allowing for both in-person and online participation.

The PDW is designed to provide authors with guidance and expertise in the development of their manuscript for potential submission to the Call for Papers – Special Issue in the European Management Review. Full details on the CfP are available here:

–>> DOWNLOAD THE PDW CALL FOR PAPERS HERE <<–

Please note that papers must be submitted via the platform, under the track “PDW for Special Issue in European Management Review”

Important dates:
Submission deadline: 16 September 2025 (1000 words)
Notification of acceptance: 30 September 2025
Full (draft) paper submission (in case of acceptance): 7 November 2025
Special Issue submission period in EMR: 1 February 2026 – 1 April 2026

Attendance at the PDW is not required to submit to the Special Issue

Organizers:

Cristina Boari is Full professor of Strategy, Department of Management, University of Bologna, Italy

Francesco Capone is Associate professor of Strategy, Department of Economics and Management, University of Florence, Italy.

Luciana Castro Gonçalves is Associate professor in Management, Laboratory IRG, ESIEE Paris / Gustave Eiffel University, France.

Luis Martínez-Cháfer is Associate professor in Management, Department of Business Administration and Marketing, Universitat Jaume I de Castelló, Spain.

Liliana Mitkova is Full professor of Management, Laboratory Litem, University Evry Paris-Saclay, France.

Special Sessions

Update – What’s behind the Ecological Transition? Investigating Individual and Community Engagement in Firms, Clusters, and Regional Ecosystems

Session Organizers:

Silvia Rita Sedita, Ph.D. Economics and Management of Small Firms and Local Development (2001-2004), since 2022 she has been Full Professor in Management at the University of Padova, where she teaches Sustainable Business Models, Sustainable Marketing and Innovation, Economics and Management of Innovation. Her research agenda includes issues in the management of innovation in inter-organizational networks, with a special focus on sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems. She is the author or co-author of more than 70 Scopus publications. Her research has been published in journals such as Research Policy, Journal of Cleaner Production, International Journal of Project Management, Industry and Innovation, European Planning Studies, Regional Studies, Journal of Economic Geography.

Email: silvia.sedita@unipd.it

Amir Maghssudipour, Dept. of Economics and Management “Marco Fanno”, University of Padua, Italy
Assistant Professor of Management at the Department of Economics and Management, University of Padova. His research focuses on the social and environmental sustainability of firms and local production systems, exploring how internal dynamics and external conditions shape responsible and inclusive business practices. He also investigates innovation and development processes in industrial districts, business clusters, and renewable energy communities, with an emphasis on collective action for sustainable transitions. He teaches Business Strategy, and Economics and Management of Innovation. His work has been published in national and international journals, as well as in book chapters with international publishers.
Email: amir.maghssudipour@unipd.it

–>> DOWNLOAD THE SPECIAL SESSION CALL FOR PAPERS HERE <<–

Please note that papers must be submitted via the platform, under the track “Special Session: What’s Behind the Ecological Transition?”

PhD candidates and young scholars session:

On the first day of the conference (Nov 24th), we reserved a special program exclusively for master’s and PhD candidates and Young Scholars. The Paper Development Workshop (PDW) was designed to support young researchers by providing them with the necessary skills and insights for scientific research. Its main aim is to guide these scholars through the intricate process of writing, submitting, and revising papers for prestigious international journals. The PDW intends to assist young researchers in aligning their work with the latest trends and challenges across various management fields.

This dedicated day offers too, a unique opportunity to participate in a specialized workshop on research methods on cluster analysis. Attendees will engage in discussions about potential advancements in their ongoing projects, exploring cutting-edge methodologies such as experimental research design, social network analysis, natural language processing, and geographical information systems in an informal and interactive setting.

Don’t miss this chance to enhance your research skills and connect with fellow PhD candidates and Young Scholars.

Update – Online PDW Opportunity for PhD Students

We are pleased to announce that the conference will include a dedicated online Paper Development Workshop (PDW) session, exclusively for PhD students. This additional session aims to enable the participation of a small number of students who are unable to travel to Brazil, ensuring broader accessibility while maintaining the in-person character of the event. Selection will be based on the quality of the submitted work and a well-justified need for remote presentation. Interested candidates must select this option at the time of submission, which will be available starting June 15th.

Special Issue in Competitiveness Review: Clusters and Industrial Districts – Transition to Environmental Sustainability

We are pleased to share the call for papers for a new Special Issue of the Competitiveness Review, aligned with the core theme of the Rethinking Clusters 2025 conference — a great post-conference opportunity for our community.

About the Special Issue

Aim: To explore the sustainable transition in clusters and industrial districts as spatially embedded innovation processes, examining when, how, and why environmental practices emerge in cluster contexts and their firms.

Key Dates

Submission opens: September 1, 2025
Submission deadline: January 31, 2026 (Emerald Publishing)

Guest Editors

José‑Luis Hervas‑Oliver (Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain)

Marco Bettiol (Università di Padova, Italy)

Eleonora Di Maria (Università di Padova, Italy)

We invite the Rethinking Clusters community to submit their work and help spread the word:

Access all the official details on the Competitiveness Review website: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/calls-for-papers/clusters-and-industrial-districts-transition-environmental-sustainability

Organizational matters

The conference is scheduled to be held at the Postgraduate Program in Administration at the University of Vale do Itajaí on November 23rd-26th, 2025.

Prospective contributors are encouraged to submit their extended abstracts or full papers to the https://www.rethinkingclusters.org/ starting from June 15th until July 31st, 2025. Extended abstracts should have a minimum of 500 words and a maximum of 2,500 words, allowing for the inclusion of figures, tables, and/or images that do not count towards the word limit. Full papers should not exceed 10,000 words, inclusive of the abstract (150 words), tables, references, figure captions, and endnotes. Notification of acceptance for extended abstracts/full papers will be communicated by August 31st, 2025.

Participants interested in organizing special sessions within the conference are invited to contact the local organizers by July 1st, providing a session description and a list of participants. Notification of acceptance for special session proposals will be communicated by July 31st.

Participation fees:

Participation fee: early registration €150 (before October 10th, 2025) and €200 (from October 11th onwards).
Reduced fee for PhD students and young scholars (within 5 years from the PhD degree): €100
Reduced fee for participants from low and middle-income countries (non-OECD1 and non-OECD2 countries as defined by the World Bank): €70
Reduced fee for students from low and middle-income countries (non-OECD1 and non-OECD2 countries as defined by the World Bank): €35

The participation fee covers the reception (Nov 23rd), as well as coffee breaks.

Registration starts on August 15th, and all pertinent information will be available on the conference website. We look forward to your participation in this intellectually stimulating event.

–>> DOWNLOAD THE CALL FOR PAPERS HERE <<–

–>> DOWNLOAD THE EVENT POSTER HERE <<–

Call for Papers and Tracks