The Ljubljana School of Economics and Business is hosting the leadership of the Academy of Management, the world's largest association of management academics and practitioners, for a meeting aimed at enhancing cooperation in research and networking in the field of management in Western Balkan countries.

A leading global association for business management, the Academy of Management (AOM) brings together almost 20,000 members from more than 120 countries. The Slovenian Academy of Management is an associate member.

Their mission is to build a supportive community of scholars by expanding opportunities to connect and explore ideas with the aim of improving management in organisations through scholarship and teaching.

The global association cooperates with both experienced academics and researchers at an early stage of their career, Marko Vukosavović, a member of the AOM leadership, told the Slovenian Press Agency on the sidelines of the meeting on 12 May.

They work closely with the University of Ljubljana School of Economics and Business because it is recognised as a regional leading school in the business and management and its professors and academics are widely published in leading international journals, he explained.

Mateja Drnovšek, the school's vice dean for development, sees many opportunities for cooperation between the school and the AOM, in particular in research and involvement of PhD students in the global academic space.

An important aspect of the meeting is the inclusion of the Dynamic Relationships Management Journal, published by the Slovenian Academy of Management for more than 14 years, in the AOM journal collection. The journal's editor Matej Černe says this brings many opportunities for the journal's progress.

"Joining the AOM set of journals will make an important contribution to the professionalisation and visibility of our journal, and will broaden its reach and the accessibility of its articles. It will also give authors greater access to global networks and the opportunity to present their research to a wider international audience," he said.

The meeting is also discussing co-organisation of the 2026 conference and ways to strengthen cooperation between research institutions and researchers from the Western Balkans, which was also highlighted by Metka Tekavčič, president of the Slovenian Academy of Management.

"This meeting is an important step in further internationalisation of Slovenian management research and strengthening cooperation with researchers from the Western Balkan region," she said.

The School of Economics and Business, in cooperation with the AOM and the Slovenian association organised a research incubator last December, aimed primarily at researchers from the Western Balkans.

The participants were able to present and improve on their research papers with the help of experts and mentors, with the aim of preparing them for submission to the 85th AOM Annual Meeting, which will take place from 25 to 29 July in Copenhagen.

The AOM will support the participation of young researchers in the conference with scholarships to encourage their research development and networking within the international academic community.