Given the ever-changing global economic environment and the challenges raised by the legal process, strategic choices for technology and innovation have become key factors for success in implementing sustainable development policies. The economic growth and competitiveness as well as societal well-being of businesses can be predicated based on these choices and policies.

The Conference seeks to address the following major questions regarding sustainable development: why, when, and how will such strategic technological and innovatory choices be made and deployed? Can enterprises make technological choices that will be economically advantageous, ecologically sustainable and socially responsible? How do corporations balance and harmonize their choices considering the elements of technological innovation, economic growth, resource efficiency, and environmental protection? What are the decision-making criteria used to design new products, to develop appropriate production methods, and to reorganize distribution patterns in order to make these products sustainable? What are the underlying forces leading to such criteria and what decisions and implementation become of them? Do contextual, economic, ecological, or societal factors play a role in economic and financial profitability, competitiveness, market openness, policies, technical standards and regulations? Are there international differences that bear noting and have some explanatory power? Are current decisions an adequate response to anticipated future needs? What is the relationship between technological strategies employed by businesses and a country‘s or region's economic performance? How do enterprises conduct international cost-benefit analysis in order to compare the negative impacts of present-day technologies with the positive benefits of future innovations?

These Conference-specific framing research questions at the core of sustainable strategic management apply to management scholars, economists, lawyers, sociologists, and individuals in all the relevant engineering fields. It must be reiterated that while multinational corporations have been at the forefront of sustainable development, the role of small and medium-sized enterprises cannot be undermined as they respond to the broad trends set in motion by larger firms. Nor can the ethical dimension of such choices, strategies, and modes of implementation be ignored as they frame the debate. Technology sets the production frontier, and should be viewed as a neutral factor, often resulting from the political stakes of public and private decision makers. One of the key purposes of the MESD2009 International Conference is to provide guidance to enterprises of all sizes seeking sustainable development solutions. We also aim to answer questions regarding the use of natural resources, the extent and scope of technological solutions, shareholders and stakeholders' interests, and intergenerational equity, among others.