Our Lecturer Took Part in the Fourth European University Network ENGAGE.EU Think Tank

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kiril Dimitrov from the UNWE Industrial Business Department, took part in the Fourth Think Tank on the Purpose: Advancing Research into Purpose, Organizations and Society organized by the European University Network ENGAGE.EU and held at Vienna University of Economics and Business Austria.

The series of events included in the Think Tank were dedicated to a wide range of issues such as adopting an interdisciplinary approach to clarifying important nuances in the meaning of the concept of purpose, outlining the relationship of purpose with corporate social responsibility, sustainable development /sustainability/, implemented business models, organizational identity and other cultural forms /e.g. mission, vision, values, etc./, its interaction with the inevitable and continuous change in and beyond organizational boundaries, usually oriented towards the implementation of innovations, the impact of the purpose on organizational performance, employee engagement and well-being, the possibilities of measuring the results of its pursuit both for the organization itself, for target stakeholders and for society as a whole, and others.

The research topics formulated by the team participants and mentors concern the ways of transmitting /disclosing/ the content of the purpose to the constituencies, including the possibilities of distorting the transmitted information; the alignment of the purpose performance at different cultural levels; the unsatisfactory quality of purpose management /the dark side/ and the influence on it exerted by the rapid progress of targeted new technologies.

During their joint work the international teams exchanged ideas, worked on common topics and at the same time presented and discussed their research and main issues surrounding their projects related to the chosen topic.

In addition to the team research work the participants in the Think Tank had the opportunity to hear and discuss important issues on the topic with selected guest speakers from the academia, business, politics and NGOs. Among them were leading professors from Vienna University of Economics and Business and other educational institutions, the CEO of ERSTE Bank, the Managing Director Urban Innovation, Wien Holding – City of Vienna, and a representative of the NGO sector.

The team participants included into useful training in creative thinking, organized by a representative of the Innovation Office of the Vienna University of Economics and Business, which they immediately applied in a working environment. Additionally, creative thinking among the participants of the fourth think tank in the area of purpose was stimulated by an organized visit to the museum of Viktor Frankl – an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, world-renowned as the founder of logotherapy.

Before their research stay in Vienna, the participants in the Fourth ENGAGE.EU Think Tank took part in two virtual preparatory meetings in autumn of 2024 and in February 2025. It is expected that the collaboration achieved, especially during the face-to-face sessions, will facilitate the creation of scientific publications, reflecting some shared conclusions of participants in the Think Tank.