IIM Shillong hosted the 4 th edition of International Marketing Conference (iMarC IV), an event that has
established itself as a confluence of the brightest minds in marketing academia and industry. Held under the theme “Bridging the Gap Between Marketing Theory and Practice: Infusion, Inclusion, and Integration,” the four-day conference brought together global experts to address cutting-edge marketing challenges and innovations.
The Best Paper Awards, recognizing exceptional research contributions were awarded as follows:
1st Place: Mayank Nagpal (IIM Bangalore) for “From Words to Metric: Measuring Digitalization
from Corporate Reports.”
2nd Place: Sidharth Ramsinghaney (Twilio, United States) for “Breaking the Scale Barrier: AI-
Driven Customer Engagement Insights from Organizations Processing 12.1 Trillion Interactions.”
3rd Place: Alokparna Das (IIM Indore) for “The Influence of Pricing over Product Classification:
Exploring the Hedonic-Utilitarian Continuum.”
Supported by State Bank of India, Sunway Business School, Sunway University as the Knowledge Partner, and the IIMS Journal of Management Science as the Publication Partner, iMarC IV welcomed over 150 participants from across five countries, including the USA, Australia, Cameroon, Nepal and so on. With 219 submissions comprising 21 full papers and 198 abstracts, the event showcased 154 expertly curated papers, organized into thematic tracks that explored the ever-evolving marketing landscape.
Prof. Bidyut Jyoti Gogoi, Conference Chair, while welcoming the participants expressed that the two-day
conference should bring in discussions and deliberations on theory and practice while thematic overview of the iMarC IV was delivered by Prof. Basav Roychowdhury, Dean Research, IIM Shillong.
Conference witnessed thought-provoking insights on Customer-Centric Marketing: Lessons from Industry and Academics by the esteemed panellist Shri Jagannath A.L., Director of Thoughtworks, and Shri Himanshu Shekhar Mishra, Senior Journalist at NDTV, moderated by Prof Pratap Chandra Mandal
Luminaries from the global academic community delivered keynote addresses. Prof. Gerard and Dr. Christine Farias (Texas Tech University) discussed existential crises in business, while Dr. Subhadip Roy (IIM
Ahmedabad) focused on qualitative research design. Prof. Dipayan Biswas (University of Florida) shared
insights on publishing in top-tier journals, Dr. Sanjit Roy (Edith Cowan University) explored AI in
relationship marketing, and Dr. Bipul Kumar (IIM Indore) examined the societal impact of marketing.
In total, iMarC IV featured 25 technical sessions, robust panel discussions, and unparalleled networking
opportunities, bridging the gap between academic theories and real-world marketing applications.
