Nick Hajli

Loughborough University, UK

Professor Nick Hajli is a Professor and Chair in Strategy and Innovation at Loughborough Business School. He has a PhD in Management from Birkbeck, University of London, receiving the year's best PhD award. Before Loughborough University, Nick worked at Newcastle University and Swansea University. His research has appeared in the FT50 journals and ABS 4 journals. In addition, he has published in the British Journal of Management, Annual of Tourism Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, and Technological Forecasting and Social Change, among other journals.

Title: Responsible AI: Addressing Fake Reviews in Social Commerce Platforms with Digital Strategies

Abstract: In the dynamic state of social commerce, the credibility of user-generated content, particularly online reviews, profoundly shapes consumer trust and purchasing decisions. However, the pervasive issue of fake reviews undermines the integrity of these platforms, posing significant challenges for businesses and consumers alike. Addressing this phenomenon requires innovative strategies and robust frameworks to discern genuine feedback from deceptive content.
This keynote presentation delves into the intricacies of fake review management within social commerce platforms and proposes effective methodologies to combat their proliferation. Drawing upon advances in machine learning and behavioural analysis, I explain the complexities of identifying fraudulent reviews and highlight emerging trends in deception detection.

The discussion encompasses a comprehensive examination of current research paradigms, emphasising the need for scalable solutions that minimise reliance on manual intervention. Leveraging social network analysis and computational linguistics insights, I explore novel approaches to discerning authentic user sentiments amidst a sea of fabricated feedback.

Furthermore, this presentation underscores the importance of collaborative efforts between industry stakeholders, regulatory bodies, and technology developers in fostering a trustworthy digital ecosystem. By fostering transparency and accountability, we can mitigate the adverse effects of fake reviews while bolstering consumer confidence and brand credibility.

Ultimately, our keynote aims to inspire dialogue and collaboration towards developing robust strategies for managing fake reviews on social commerce platforms. Through interdisciplinary insights and innovative methodologies, we can forge a path towards a more transparent and resilient online marketplace where trust serves as the cornerstone of consumer engagement and brand loyalty.

 

Ihsan Zakri
Regional Head, Middle East and Africa, The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business(AACSB)

Ihsan Zakri is Regional Head, Middle East and Africa at AACSB International. At AACSB he works with both the Executive vice president/Chief Officer Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and the Chief Accreditation officer to develop and implement integrated accreditation and member service and engagement initiatives in the EMEA region. He serves as a staff liaison for over 160 schools in EMEA region. Ihsan has an international background in higher education, program and Institutional accreditation and course and program development. He gained extensive experience in accreditation and EU funded projects before joining AACSB. Ihsan has earned a Master’s degree in Social Sciences with a concentration on the Middle East from Lund University, Sweden.

Shaofeng Liu

University of Plymouth, UK

Shaofeng Liu is Professor of Operations Management and Decision Making. She is currently Deputy Director of Doctoral College at University of Plymouth, UK, and previously Associate Head of School (Research and Innovation) for Plymouth Business School. She sits on the Steering Committee for UK Digital Supply Chain Hub. Her main research interests and expertise are in business model innovation, e-business and business decision making in particular, the adoption and application of emerging digital technologies to improve business operations and value chain performance. She has undertaken a great number of influential, collaborative research projects funded by various UK research councils and European Commission with a total value of over 20 million Euros.

She is the President for the international professional society - Euro Working Group on Decision Support Systems, which is dedicated to decision making and decision support system technologies. She has been Senior Editor and Associate Edition for a number of international journals. She has published 2 books and over 200 peer-reviewed research papers.

She has supervised over 20 PhD students and has been an external examiner for almost 30 PhD viva across UK, Brazil, France, Spain, UAE and South Africa. She is an expert evaluator for a number of funding bodies, including European Commission (Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programmes), UK ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council), UK EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council), British Academy, UK Royal Academy of Engineering, Universities UK International (UKIERI), as well as for Serbian Science Foundation and Romanian Science Funding Council. She is a regular keynote speak at international conferences. More information about her work is available from her professional webpage: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/staff/shaofeng-liu 

Title: Transforming businesses via supply chain digitalisation: meeting challenges with solutions

Abstract: Business innovation and technologies such as digitalisation have shaped the way products and services have been created and delivered for decades and will continue to play an important role in the business world. However, no business is functioning in isolation but connected with each other in many forms. Businesses grow and excel as a part of their supply chains. Taking an alliance, collective and connection approach, this talk will discuss supply chain digitalisation and its key barriers, challenges and potential solutions. It will share a combination of supply chain digitalisation strategies in the UK and findings from research across Europe and internationally, based on three externally funded research projects focused in food supply chains.

1) 2016-2022, RUC-APS project (i.e. Enhancing and implementing knowledge based ICT solutions within high risk and uncertain conditions for agriculture production systems, https://ruc-aps.eu/), funded by European Commission under the Horizon 2020 framework, with project partners from eight countries across Europe (UK, France, Italy, Spain and Poland), South America (Chile and Argentina), and Asia (China).

2) 2012-2023, DATA project (i.e. Devon Agri-Tech Acceleration, https://www.devon.gov.uk/economy/wp-content/uploads/sites/68/2022/12/DATA-Sector-Research-and-Mapping-Report.pdf), funded by UK government under the Community Renewal Scheme.

3) “Water for Food Sustainability” project (i.e. From precision measurement of soil water content to data-driven decision support), funded by the UK Royal Society under international collaboration scheme, between UK (University of Plymouth) and China (Henan Agriculture University).  

The talk will look at the classic Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) proposed by Fred Davis in 1989 originally for Information Systems. The TAM will be extended for emerging agricultural technologies by considering four key dimensions: technology usefulness, ease of use, benefits and barriers. The new Agricultural Technology Acceptance Model (ATAM) incorporates a value chain perspective, including that from technology developers, farming businesses (as technology users) and farming experts (providing advice and consultancy services). Finally, the talk will look at some of the digital supply chain models and strategies currently piloted in the UK and internationally.