The international scientific conference Chambers of Commerce – 3rd International Conference was organized at the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences on November 14-15, 2024 with the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education obtained under the Excellent Science II program – Support for scientific conferences (KONF/SP/0314/2024/02).
The third edition of the event created a space for joint discussions between scientists and practitioners. It was attended by both researchers of business environment organizations representing a wide cross-section of social sciences (including law, economics, sociology, political science, history and geography), as well as representatives of several national chambers of commerce and their federations from eleven countries. The main theme of the twenty-four presentations and six panel discussions was the analysis of the activities and possible directions of evolution of chambers of commerce from the perspective of interdisciplinary social sciences (Theme: Looking to the future from an interdisciplinary social sciences perspective). The participants confirmed the existence of a serious research gap. The advisability of continuing research work at an international level in cooperation with academic centers, chambers and public institutions was emphasized.
The direct consequence of the conference is the establishment of the Chambers of Commerce International Research Group, initiated by Dr. Piotr Marciniak from INP PAN and Prof. Tomasz Dorożyński from EkSoc UŁ. European centres are represented in it by leading chamber researchers, including Prof. Robert Bennett from Cambridge and Prof. Detlef Sack from Bergische University Wuppertal. The group is open, and its current, growing membership is available at: https://chambers.pl/group/.
The first joint post-conference projects started with the library of thematic publications published so far by team members, which is being expanded at: https://chambers.pl/resources/research/. Work has been undertaken on several new interdisciplinary publications covering model, system and bibliographic issues. Several new presentations on chambers of commerce at foreign conferences are also being prepared – the nearest ones will be held in Osaka and Timisoara in the spring.
The conference created a space for the exchange of opinions between researchers and practitioners on the current state, mission, challenges and future of chambers of commerce in rapidly changing socio-economic conditions. Analyses will allow for the assessment of the effectiveness of the current framework of institutional dialogue between entrepreneurs and public administration and parliament. Thanks to the established contacts, it will be possible to undertake in-depth research as part of foreign research trips and international grants.
The course and effects of the conference mean that work has already begun on its fourth edition, planned as in previous years, also for November (2025).
