Welcome to MESD'26

Dear conference participants,

We are pleased to welcome you to MESD'26, a particularly significant edition of the International Conference on the Sustainable Development of Multinational Enterprises. Twenty years after the first MESD conference in 2006, we will gather in Berlin to celebrate two decades of international research, dialogue and collaboration around the role of multinational enterprises in sustainable development.

Twenty years of MESD: reflecting and looking forward

The 20th anniversary is both an opportunity to reflect on how the field has evolved and an invitation to look ahead. Since 2006, multinational enterprises have faced major transformations in the global economy, technology, climate and environmental governance, international institutions, global value chains and societal expectations of corporate responsibility.

MESD'26 celebrates the breadth of the research community that has developed around these questions while opening a new chapter for the conference series.

2026 special focus

Multinational Enterprises, Sustainability and Responsibility in Times of Crisis

The contemporary world is characterized by multiple, overlapping crises, including geopolitical tensions, armed conflicts, climate change, biodiversity loss, pandemics, energy shocks and rising social inequalities. These crises reshape the environment in which multinational enterprises operate and intensify expectations regarding their responsibility, accountability and contribution to sustainable development.

Within this special focus, MESD'26 aims to advance scholarly understanding of how multinational enterprises respond to crises, how sustainability and responsibility commitments evolve under pressure, and whether crises act as barriers or catalysts for genuine organizational and systemic transformation.

An open and inclusive scientific scope

The crisis theme is a special focus rather than an eligibility condition. Alongside the Special Focus tracks, MESD'26 welcomes research across the full MESD field through its General MESD tracks. Contributions do not need to address crisis situations to be considered for the conference.

The conference will bring together scholars, practitioners and policymakers. It will be hosted by ICN Business School at its Berlin Campus and jointly organized with Université de Lorraine – CEREFIGE and international academic partners.

We look forward to welcoming researchers, doctoral students, policy makers, business leaders, sustainability professionals, representatives of NGOs and other stakeholders working on any aspect of the sustainable development of multinational enterprises.

Conference Chairs
To be announced