The second Peradeniya University International Management Research Sessions (iPUMSE) – 2021 organized by the Faculty of Management, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka was held on 26th November, 2021 via hybrid format following all health guidelines. Considering the impact of the pandemic on businesses, theme of the conference was set as “Value Co-Creation in Crisis”. The ultimate aim was to build an awareness among the academia and the industry on how businesses could survive and thrive during crisis situations.

The inauguration ceremony of the conference was held at the auditorium of the Faculty of Management. Senior Professor Sampath Amarathunge, Chairman of the University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka was the Chief Guest, while Professor M.D. Lamawansa, the Vice Chancellor, University of Peradeniya attended the conference as the Guest of Honour. The Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor W.M.T. Madhujith, Professor E.M.A.S.B. Ekanayake, the Dean of the Faculty of Management and all other Deans of other Faculties, Directors of Postgraduate Institutes and administrative officers also took part in the event.

The Keynote speech of the conference was delivered online by Professor Andrei Yu. Panibratov, Department of Strategic and International Management, Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg University, Russia on ‘Russian Multinationals in the Era of Economic Sanctions’. Technical sessions were also conducted virtually under four tracks in eight parallel sessions, where 50 research papers were presented. Moreover, a Business Forum was held in the afternoon session on ‘Value Co-creation during Crisis: Crafting and Executing Strategies to Build Organizational Resilience towards Sustainable Growth’ via Zoom platform. Five panelists, representing the academia and the industry participated at this session to explore the appropriate strategies that could be used by businesses during the times of crisis. Mr. N. Agilan, Senior Lecturer, Department of Human Resources Management, Faculty of Management, University of Peradeniya moderated this session.

The organizing committee of the conference consisted of Prof. R.H. Kuruppuge (Chairperson), Ms. S. Yamuna (Secretary), and various other subcommittee chairs and members, representing both academic and nonacademic staff members of the Faculty of Management.