In the 21^st century environment, university business research has been very effective in highlighting the issues that need to be addressed by management ranging from disruptive technologies; to potential environmental catastrophe; to social inclusion; to ethical business and ultimately to the stainability of free markets and their ability to deliver the social and economic goals that were assumed integral to the liberal capitalist system of the last Century.  Business researchers have a key role to play here as managers turn to them both for thought leadership and for the latest research findings to guide leaders to make timely decisions to overcome these challenges facing business and society.

To this end, we are in the ‘Business of Now’ responding to the immediacy required by business and society.  We need to help solve the managerial tension between the present and future.  Indeed, the Business of Now is a request from future generations to help guide the managers and leaders of today to: address climate change before it is too late; to be able to turn the futuristic visions of markets and new technologies into practical options for the business of today which will provide a platform for the future which best serves society; to make decisions today that will not just respond to market forces but shape them so that they serve business and society in a more inclusive and sustaining manner; and ultimately to provide the template for business serving intergenerational stakeholders where managers create, rather than plunder the wealth and opportunities of future generations.

So we are at a pivotal point in our history in terms of needing to make urgent decisions to safeguard the environment.  We also need to set a blueprint for business management that will enable society to benefit from technological progress and free markets.  In keeping with earlier conference themes concerned with the relevance of research for business, the EURAM 2020 conference seeks to propel, nurture and disseminate research which addresses the Business of Now!

It is timely that we are addressing an inter-generational research topic in 2020 when EURAM is celebrating its 20^th anniversary and so nearly embracing a full generation of management scholars.  So join us in Trinity Business School’s new state of the art building on Trinity College, Dublin’s 400 year old stunning campus, at the centre of the vibrant European City of Dublin.