Fourth Conference on Relational Economics and Organizational Governance in Vilnius
What changes when relations become the starting point of economic thinking? This question shaped the fourth Conference on Relational Economics and Organizational Governance, held from 10 to 11 September 2026 at ISM University of Management and Economics in Vilnius. Under the theme “Relational Pathways to a Global Economy”, LEIZ hosted the conference together with ISM University.
Prof. Dr. Johannes Glückler opened the conference by examining the dark sides of innovation. Prof. Dr. Josef Wieland followed with a relational view of the global space economy, describing the world economy as a network of networks in which firms act as nodes of power within global geometries.
The space economy also occupied Jonas Stark and Dr. Jessica Schwengber, who presented relational approaches to this young field. Dr. Sabine Wiesmüller, Prof. Dr. Matthias Weiß and further speakers examined how artificial intelligence and digital transformation reshape governance.
Contributions on new authoritarianism, democracy and global governance came from Prof. Dr. Kenneth Gergen, Prof. Dr. Jacob Dahl Rendtorff and Dr. Matthias Niedenführ, among others. A further strand addressed global value creation from South Africa to Bhutan.
The conference closed with a visit to the “I Am Plural” exhibition, guided by Ieva Martinaitytė and introduced by the artist, who connected the works to the themes of the conference.
