Past ABSRC Ljubljana 2020

Advances in Business – Related Scientific research Conference (20th ABSRC conference) is an important international gathering of business and business-related sciences scholars and educators.

In addition to scientific papers, the focus is on various best practices and solutions, which are important for business-related policies and activities at the individual, organizational, group, network, local, regional, national, international, and global level.

ABSRC is a global conference. Researchers and practitioners from 50 different countries participated at the past ABSRCs.

IMPORTANT: The ABSRC 2020 will be implemented ONLINE. 

Alexander Christian Bauer 
Senior Lecturer (Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences)

The background of Alexander Bauer is more than a decade of international sales and management experience. Before he joined academia in 2014, he worked as an International Sales Manager – leading international sales teams, negotiations with customers and suppliers on a global level with customers and suppliers in North and South America, Europe and Asia. He studied Business Management with a major in Marketing and Sales in Germany and Estonia and holds a PhD degree in International Business Management and – since Alexander believes strongly in the concept of lifelong learning – he studies European Law besides his full-time job.

Originally from Germany, Alexander settled down in Vienna / Austria, but spent many years abroad – US, Belgium, Estonia, UK, Malaysia, Sweden, Mexico, The Netherlands.  After a career as an International Sales Manager, Alexander joined academia and brought his practical sales and management experience into the classroom – first in The Netherlands and later back in Austria. Besides being a lecturer and researcher in Austria, he is also a Visiting Lecturer in The Netherlands and a Trainer for Presentation Skills, Rhetoric and Sales Trainings. His current research focuses on the utilization of sales competitions in sales trainings / sales education and the use of sales labs in sales trainings.

Impact of Sales Competitions on Students´ Sales Competences

Sales is a key element in every company – and its importance has increased globally. An intense worldwide competitive business environment makes it necessary to have not only managers who “just sell”: The challenge for companies – and their sales managers – is to understand their customers more than ever before and to offer them tailor made solutions and added value – faster and better than other companies in the market. Therefore, all companies worldwide look for well-trained students from the sales field with excellent sales skills.

Among students, sales itself still has a relatively negative touch – since sales is often not seen as an academic discipline or a particular management skill. Other “buzz words” such as business development have a much better image among graduates. To get students in touch with sales, sales competition role plays are an instrument to train students for a future career in sales.

As an additional side effect, participation in sales competitions changes a possible negative perspective into a positive attitude towards sales. Sales competitions are a didactical training method which can be incorporated into a business management curriculum. Through sales competitions, competences such as communication skills, cultural sensitivity and the strategic understanding of sales are further developed and form a solid foundation for a successful career in sales.

In the key note it is addressed what impact sales competitions have on the student´s skill set and how sales competitions can be incorporated into a business management curriculum.

Key words: Sales, Sales Competition, Sales Education, Sales Competences

Sotiris Karagiannis 
Graduate Business Programs Director (University of New York in Prague)

Sotiris Karagiannis holds a Master’s degree in Adult Education, with emphasis on the development of human potential (Lesley University, Boston). He also holds a MBA degree (University of Strathclyde, Glasgow). Currently, he is doing his Doctorate research in Educational Leadership with the University of Bolton, UK. He has more than twenty-five years of experience as a corporate trainer and coach, applying the principles of positive psychology and strengths based leadership in his work. He is now living permanently in Prague, where he manages the Graduate Business Programs and the Corporate Training division of the University of New York in Prague.

Sotiris Karagiannis managed the Greek franchise of Dale Carnegie Training and trains people in Leadership, Sales, Customer Service and Presentation Skills. His client portfolio includes companies like Bayer, Boehringer-Ingelheim, 3M, TUI, Danone, Johnson&Johnson, Janssen, Ericsson, Mondelez, Quest Group, Oracle, Apple, New Frontier Group and many more, with which he designs and develops training programs aiming at inspiring people to acquire a positive attitude towards change for personal and organizational development.

Sotiris Karagiannis has also worked in the shipping (4 years) and packaging (5 years) industries, combining market knowledge with coaching and training practices to help people set a hands-on personal development plan, through the use of  tools and techniques they can apply instantly.

His area of interest is employee engagement and has been working with Daniel Pink ‘s Drive program to increase the levels of engagement of people, by fostering a culture at work that builds upon the principles of “autonomy-mastery-purpose”.

Investigating the impact of basic psychological needs satisfaction on engagement and performance among MBA students

The satisfaction of basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness positively affects student engagement and performance. The current research was carried out to investigate the mediating effect of perceived teacher autonomy support on students’ basic psychological needs satisfaction.

A case study was conducted on 25 MBA students attending a single class in an English-speaking university in the Czech Republic. Data were collected by a valid questionnaire and semi-structured interview of the lecturer and were compared with student feedback on their learning experiences from the course.

In total, more than 70% percent of the students perceive the lecturer as being highly supportive of autonomy, which results in positive learning experiences that satisfy their basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness. It was also found that the lecturer’s positive experience of satisfaction of the need for autonomy strongly associates with the provision of an engaging learning environment for students that supports their performance and sense of competence.

The findings confirm earlier studies showing that when lecturers satisfy their need for autonomy, they positively affect engagement and performance of students. The implication for educational leaders is to design and implement appropriate coaching interventions to help lecturers offer autonomy supportive experiences to their students.

Key words: autonomy, competence, relatedness, student engagement, student performance

Conference dates: 12 – 13 NOVEMBER 2020

Deadline for submissions of abstracts: October 1, 2020.

Final decision about abstract submission: October 10, 2020.

Deadline for submissions of papers (non-obligatory): October 15, 2020.

Final registration ends: October 15, 2020.

The conference will be held online. 

Call for Papers > avaliable here.

REGISTER

Conference fees can be paid also via Bank Wire Transfer Details:
Bank: UniCredit banka Slovenija d.d., Šmartinska cesta 141, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Recipient: GEA College – Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Dunajska cesta 156, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Account no.: 2900 0005 2423 798
IBAN: SI56 02900 0005 2423 798
BIC / SWIFT: BACXSI22
Subject: ABSRC Ljubljana 2020 – the first name and the last name of the registered person

Important Note: Bank wire transfer fees are not covered by conference organizers.

At least one author per paper should register. Registration is completed when the conference fee payment is received. 

Conference fees cover ABSRC Ljubljana 2020 Proceedings, registrations and the conference program preparation. Authors and other conference participants will receive the ABSRC 2020 Proceedings and the proof of participation.  Drinks and snacks during session breaks and the awards prize giving will be prepared and sponsored by conference organizers and sponsors. All other expenses of the conference paper authors and other participants are not covered by conference fees and conference organizers and sponsors. Conference fees are non-refundable. Travel and lodging arrangements are done by conference participants on their own account. 

Conference Invitation Letter can be issued after the conference fee payment is received.

ABSRC 2020 SESSIONS SCHEDULE

Download the ABSRC_2020_Schedule

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020

Central European Time (CET) is applied. Please be aware of time zone difference in your respective country.

8:45 – 9:00  Welcome SPEECH

                   Ajda Fošner, GEA College – Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Slovenia

                   Conference Chair

9:00 – 9:30  KEYNOTE TALK 1

                    Alexander Christian Bauer, Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences

                    Impact of Sales Competitions on Students´ Sales Competences

9:30 – 12:00  SESSION 1

12:00 – 13:00  LUNCH BREAK

13:00 – 13:30  KEYNOTE TALK 2

                        Sotiris Karagiannis, University of New York in Prague, Czech Republic

                        Investigating the impact of basic psychological needs satisfaction on engagement and performance among MBA students

13:30 – 16:00  SESSION 2

16:00 – 17:00  SESSION 3

17:00 – 17:15  CLOSING REMARKS

            Ajda Fošner, GEA College – Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Slovenia

            Conference Chair