CALL FOR PAPERS

Annual Conference
International Media Management Academic Association (IMMAA)
Porto, October 20-22, 2022 

Management, Trust, and Value for Media and Creative Work

Creative Work and Services
Consumers and the Public Interest
Roles for Media Businesses
Media Policymakers and Cultural Governance

 

 

IMMAA’s annual conferences promote and showcase high quality research on all aspects of media management. As with past conferences, for its 2021 conference IMMAA welcomes submissions relating to any of the panoply of topics encompassed by the term media management. IMMAA conferences are workshop-like in character and designed to encourage open interaction among junior and senior scholars, academics and industry practitioners.

 

For the 2022 conference, IMMAA especially encourages submissions related to the conference theme, Management, Trust, and Value for Media and Creative Work. The last decade has witnessed digital and social transformations that have accelerated both audience fragmentation and the consumption of audiovisual content in multiple formats via multiple platforms. An important consequence is that members of a significant fraction of the aggregate media audience have changed the way they consume media. The demand for personalized content has grown and the digital component of the audience, in particular, has become increasingly fragmented. Because digital users frequently employ multiple screens to view the same content, while basing their screen choices on their locations and circumstances at any given moment, content providers have found it increasingly difficult to retain viewers’ attention and maintain high levels of emotional connection and engagement. New media services and changing media consumption habits have also contributed to audience fragmentation and, many would argue, political polarization that makes society-level agreement on choices among policy options difficult to achieve. There is thus a need for new thinking on the roles of policymakers and media decision makers in ensuring that in their efforts to attract and retain audiences, media services also contribute to the general well-being of the societies they serve. Do we need to acknowledge tradeoffs in the pursuit of business and societal goals, and what role or roles does trust play in the pursuit of these goals?

 

The 2022 conference aspires to be a venue for sharing best practices that can help media companies evaluate levels of audience interaction and engagement at each stage in the value chain in this new environment. We would like to hear about cases of engagement with the audience in the phases of production, distribution, or commercialization, and how each relates to the value of a media brand. We also welcome research on the creation of content that leaves a “social footprint” in its audience by increasing audience members’ commitment to social needs, personal integrity and the common good: a matter of heightened importance during a global pandemic. Among other topics related to the conference theme, we highlight the following: 

​

1. How do media companies develop a true “architecture of listening” (MacNamara, 2016)? Could it allow them to produce content that is emotionally engaging for viewers reached through all devices and platforms? 
    

2. To what extent do media companies translate their social responsibilities into directions for production, commercialization, and distribution of content with a “social footprint”? 
    

3. During times of national or international crisis, as with the current Covid-19 pandemic, what actions are required for media companies’ to live up to their social responsibilities? How critical are brand trust and content engagement to their abilities to do so? Is the spreading of untruths to a receptive audience a situation where brand trust and social responsibilities conflict? Under what conditions does brand trust align with social responsibility? 
    

4. What are the prerequisites and framework conditions for building or fostering credible and trustworthy brands today? 
    

5. What can academia and industry learn from each other? And what does this mean for media management education, the translation of scientific knowledge into practice, and the media management research agenda? 
    

6. How should the media and creative industries respond to the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity that characterize today’s world? What are the appropriate roles for internal governance, public media and policy institutions in shaping that response?

 

The International Media Management Academic Association (IMMAA) is a globally distributed association of academics and academic institutions researching and teaching Media Management in its many facets. IMMAA was founded with the mission of bridging the gaps in this field between research, industry needs, and education. Through its yearly conferences, scientific publications, and other networking activities, IMMAA brings together researchers and media professionals with diverse backgrounds and perspectives to promote the discourse required to advance the knowledge base media executives and policy makers draw on to respond to the challenges posed by the dynamic and rapidly changing media sector. See also: https://immaa.org/....

Submission Requirements

 

Submissions will be judged on the basis of extended abstracts of no more than 1000 words, not including references. All submissions will be peer reviewed.

 

Main conference language: English
Special sessions languages : Portuguese and Spanish

Submissions are due:
 

• First Submission Stage: until July 31. Acceptance Confirmation by August 5. Qualifies for Early Bird Registration fee of 260 €.

• Second Submission Stage: until August 31. Acceptance Confirmation by September 5. Qualifies for Intermediate Registration fee of 300 €. 

•  Third  and Final Submission  Stage: until  October 3.  Acceptance Confirmation by October 5.  Standard (undiscounted) Registration fee of 350 €.

• Guest Ticket: 120 €.

• Online participation fee: 80 €. 

• PhD candidate registration fee: 200 €.

Online participation includes access to the documentation of the conference.

All other tickets include access to the conference, access to the documentation, and include four meals ( all lunches + two dinner parties) and coffee breaks

 
Conference dates: October 20-22, 2022 

Use this e-mail for any inquiry: immaa.porto.22@gmail.com