Cornell Hospitality Research Summit 2014 Aims for On-the-Spot Knowledge Creation

Registration has opened for the 2014 Cornell Hospitality Research Summit (CHRS), scheduled for October 12–14, at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration (SHA). With the theme of "The Future of Service Innovation: The New Science of People, Organizations, Data, and Technology," CHRS 2014 will focus directly on creating new knowledge on the spot, as participants and presenters work together to share research-based information that will assist the industry and inform future research.

"We have designed an interactive conference that features four active session types," said co-chair Cathy Enz, the Lewis G. Schaeneman, Jr. Professor of Innovation and Dynamic Management and a professor in strategy at the School of Hotel Administration. "The CHRS has always been about sharing new knowledge, but we are structuring this conference as a crucible that will allow participants to take that knowledge in new and useful directions."

"Our four sessions are called The Big Question, Show and Tell, Presentation-Plus, and Point- Counterpoint," added Rohit Verma, a SHA professor of services operations management. "In the Big Question, for example, our session leaders will kick things off by proposing a question for all participants to investigate. Show and Tell is just what it sounds like, presenters and participants will bring in a process, program, or application to demonstrate and share."

Enz explained that Presentation-Plus is closest to the traditional conference format: "We will have presentations, but they will be short, and we are not interested in death by Powerpoint. Instead, we ask presenters to add a creative "plus" to the session and to involve participants. Finally, Point- Counterpoint will involve direct discussions of a topic that invites multiple opinions."

Added Verma: "These original sessions will be enriched by such techniques as flipping, face off, and 'do something, people.' Flipping reverses the information flow when participants have watched a presentation before they come to the session—and then they offer their feedback. Face off is a two- podium discussion of any particular topic, and 'do something, people' includes activities in the session, such as group discussions or polls."

With all these innovations, the CHRS still has the overall goal of bringing industry practitioners and academic researchers together to ignite and exchange research-based ideas, with a core strategy of balancing attendance by industry and academe.

Although submissions are accepted through the end of March, the process is highly selective and presentation slots will fill rapidly. Enz and Verma are particularly seeking presentations that focus on the CHRS service innovation theme, and priority will be given to research based on real-world innovation initiatives, new ideas, tools, techniques, technologies, processes, or structures from hospitality firms or high-quality academic research.