Mini-Tracks

Mini Track Chair:

  • Mihai GHEORGHE, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania
  • Adriana DAVIDESCU, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

  • Dumitru ROMAN, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

The explosion of Big Data and the rapid advancements in AI have revolutionized how businesses process information and make decisions. Making swift conclusions based on observed patterns is tempting in such a data-rich environment. Still, the age-old challenge of differentiating between causation and correlation becomes even more critical. Without a clear understanding of causality, organizations might misinterpret data, leading to misinformed strategies and missed opportunities in innovation management. Conversely, by accurately identifying causal relationships within vast datasets, companies can anticipate market shifts, tailor their products or services more effectively, and drive transformative innovations. In the intricate dance of data-driven decision-making, grasping the nuances of causality ensures that organizations are not merely reacting to data but strategically harnessing it to spearhead meaningful and sustainable change. 

The next wave of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) will focus on extracting deep structure from observed systems. Built upon the rapid development of existing data and AI technologies, topics such as multi-level evolving knowledge graphs, causal reasoning, and explanation-based modelling will result in solutions far more efficient than those currently possible. 

The main topics covered by the hereby call for papers are related to:

  • Establishing causality vs. Correlation in Big Data

  • Machine Learning for Causal Inference: Techniques and Challenges

  • Counterfactual Reasoning in AI: Predicting Outcomes in Innovation Scenarios

  • The Role of Causality in Predictive Analytics: Enhancing Innovation Strategy Formulation

  • Instrumental Variables in Big Data: A Tool for Causal Insights in Market Innovations

  • AI-driven Causal Modeling for Decision-making in R&D Investments

  • Temporal Causality Analysis in Time-Series Data: Predicting Technological Trends and Innovations

  • Granger Causality in the Age of AI: Analyzing Lagging Innovations in Markets

  • Structural Causal Models in AI: Building Transparent and Reliable Innovation Forecasts

  • Causality in Complex Systems: Network Effects and Innovations in the Digital Era

  • Big Data Causality Challenges: From Confounding Variables to Missing Data in Innovation Research

  • Scalable Probabilistic Reasoning: Causal Inferences in Big Data-Driven Innovation Ecosystems

  • Causality in the Construction of Evolving Knowledge Graphs: Implications for Predictive Innovation Strategies

  • New perspectives in the lifecycle management of the innovation ecosystem

Adriana AnaMaria Davidescu is a Full Professor at the Department of Statistics and Econometrics, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania. She is the Head of the Data Science Research Lab, specialising in applications for business and economics, and a senior researcher at the Department of Labour Market Policies of the National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection. With over 17 years of experience in socio-economic research, she has been deeply involved in various analytical pursuits.For over 17 years, she has delved into informality issues at both national and international levels. She has led various national research projects and served as a senior expert for the European Commission, specifically for the European Platform that addresses Undeclared Work. Prof. Davidescu possesses extensive expertise in the evaluation of public projects and programs. Her prowess in project team management is evident, having coordinated more than 14 national projects and played a pivotal role as a senior expert in over 50 national and international endeavours. She has showcased her expertise in counterfactual methods during the assessment process, especially in empirically testing causal chains in interventions related to the Operational Program Competitiveness 2014-2020 Evaluation Plan, the Human Capital Operational Program 2014-2020 Evaluation, and the Partnership Agreement Evaluation Plan. She held the esteemed position of a modelling key expert. She served as the team leader for the Operational Program Competitiveness 2014-2020 Evaluation Plan, focusing on evaluating POC interventions in research, development, and innovation. Additionally, she was a senior modelling expert, instrumental in assessing the impact of interventions for both the Human Capital Operational Program 2014-2020 Evaluation Plan and the Partnership Agreement Evaluation Plan, with an emphasis on economic, social, and territorial cohesion.

Results-driven IT professional with 18 years of experience as an entrepreneur and IT manager, having a proven track record of delivering successful projects for global clients. He holds a Ph.D. in Economic Informatics from the Bucharest University of Economic Studies and an Engineering degree in Computer Science from the POLITEHNICA University of Bucharest and possesses strong leadership, technical, and strategic skills. He is also skilled in talent development, financial management, and compliance.

Currently, he serves as a Teaching Assistant at the Cybernetics, Statistics, and Economic Informatics Faculty at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies. Additionally, he conducts research in Big Data and Artificial Intelligence with a focus on NLP, LLMs, RAG systems, and Autonomous AI Agents.

Publication Opportunities:

The conference is organized by Society for Business Excellence and Faculty of Business Administration in Foreign Languages on the 20-22 of March 2025 at The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Faculty of Business Administration in Foreign Languages (FABIZ) in partnership with the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Economics (EAM), the Faculty of International Economic Relations (REI), the Faculty of Economic Cybernetics, Statistics and Informatics (CSIE), the Faculty of Finance and Banking (FABBV), the Faculty of Theoretical and Applied Economics (ETA), the Faculty of Accounting and Management Information Systems (CIG).

The papers accepted at ICBE 2025 will be published in the conference proceedings, subject to author registration, payment, and presentation. The papers will be published in the Conference Proceedings volume under the German Publishing House De Gruyter and they will be indexed in EBSCO, Proquest, ExLibris, OCLC, Google Scholar, Microsoft Academic, CELDES, CNPIE, Naviga, and will be submitted to Thomson Reuters ISI Web of Science (WOS) Conference Proceedings Citation Index (https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/picbe/picbe-overview.xml)

The last 8 editions of the Proceedings of the ICBE volumes have been indexed in ISI Web of Science.

Submitted papers will be also considered for publishing under Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, series indexed by Scopus and ISI. Here you can access the edition published following ICBE2023: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-50208-8 

In addition, the best three Papers (Best paper Award Management&Marketing) will be published in the international journal Management & Marketing. Challenges for the Knowledge Society by De Gruyter Open, indexed in Web of Science- Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, Proquest, Cabell’s Directory and more than 20 other international databases (www.degruyter.com/view/j/mmcks).

Submitted papers will also be considered for publication in the Journal of Risk and Financial Management (ISSN 1911-8074). JRFM is ranked B in the 2022 ABDC Journal Quality List and indexed by a number of databases, including Scopus (CiteScore 4.5; CiteScore category rank Q1), EconBiz/ECONIS, EconLit, EconPapers (RePEc), etc. JRFM is now #8 on the list based on the citation index (H5) for finance. In addition, two best paper awards (200 CHF each) will be published in the conference’s special issue “Leading Change in Disruptive Financial Times“. (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/jrfm/special_issues/YWP8Z55UKH)

Selected papers will be considered for publication in the Journal of Financial Studies (ISSN: 2559-1347). JFS has been published by the Institute of Financial Studies since 2016. In its pages, works by professional practitioners, but also by authors from the scientific and university world in the country and abroad, as well as young researchers, will be published, concerning issues in the financial field such as: insurance-reinsurance, capital market, private pensions but also in other fields such as the academic field, the business field etc. The journal is indexed in DOAJ, RePEc, CEEOL, ERIHPLUS and Google Scholar (https://revista.isfin.ro/en/).

Submission Details

Submission of full paper due for review February 20th 2025
Notification of paper acceptance (incl. requests for changes) March 1st 2025
Final paper due (with changes implemented) March 10th 2025
Final Author registration date March 10th 2025

Registration and payment*

EARLY BIRD – by December 1st 2024
Academics 250 euro 1250 lei
Student (Ph.D. or Post-doc) 200 euro 1000 lei
REGULAR – by February 1st 2025
Academics 350 euro 1750 lei
Student (Ph.D. or Post-doc) 250 euro 1250 lei
LATE – by March 5th 2025
Academics 450 euro 2250 lei
Student (Ph.D. or Post-doc) 350 euro 1750 lei
  • SUPPLEMENTARY PAPER = 200 euro / 1000 lei
  • The conference fee includes one conference attendance, publication, conference folder and acces to the online events during the conference.

Please be aware that a late payment involves the possibility not to be present in the printed version of the materials (agenda, booklet).

Do you have any questions?