Special Issue Call for Papers in CEREM: Towards Smart Finance

1) Towards Smart Finance
The Central European Review of Management (CEREM) welcomes a special issue (SI) on timely topics. The current SI aims to contribute to the development of smart solutions in finance, which is thought to be a next stage in changes observed since the 1990s. With the traditional “world class” model of (central) bank financing being at stake, finance solutions are increasingly moving toward flexibility and implementing new ideas.
How can the good-old role of finance, all that has to do with the flow of money in households, firms and beyond, in today’s thrilling society change for the better? This question is way too broad to be covered in just a bundle of papers in CEREM. Nevertheless, in the current issue, authors from various disciplines will provide the reader interesting insights in what is happening in an ever more important field.

2) Topical overview and outcome of the special issue
The role of finance in the society has not changed much over time for centuries. Money flows between finance suppliers and customers via various but in essence stable channels, such as private investors, financial intermediaries and financial markets. Yet, an increasing number of shocks, including the recent COVI-19 pandemic outbursts, have questioned the system. The special issue addresses some of these issues.
As the economy as a whole shifts from responding to recovery, many issues come to the fore when overthinking today’s fast-forward (“FF”) finance world. What can be noted about money creation and new (crypto-) currencies? How important are new treasury solutions and will the banks dwindle? How can liquidity be upheld soundly in crisis times? What about issues of keeping control and safeguarding privacy?
The reader (m/f) is encouraged to overthink smart finance solutions. Especially when not being a finance policy maker, we may expect to receive many challenging insights. We will learn about facts and analyses and agree or disagree with the views provided. Nevertheless, one way or the other, after having read the special issue, you may want to confirm that the role of finance will never be as it was before.

3) Preliminary topic titles, as of March 4, 2021
• Innovation in Treasury Management.
• Money growth and social stability.
• Measuring liquidity in crisis times.
• The most simple system for central bank digital currency.
• Rule based monetary policy in a central bank digital currency based system.
• Big Data, financial firms and ethics.

Other contributions are welcome. Normal review procedures do apply.

4) Suggested timeline
• March 15, 2021: deadline contact authors to confirm SI proposal title.
• July 15, 2021: deadline for contact authors to send in SI first draft.
• Sept. 15, 2021: reviewers (1 author other article + 1 editor) deadline.
• November 15, 2021: deadline for contact authors to send in final draft.
• December 15, 2021: copy-editing process with CEREM to be finalized.

5) Special Issue editor: Wim Westerman
Wim Westerman is assistant professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Groningen. Contributions to bachelor and masters courses as well as projects on (International) Financial Management and beyond. Co-organizes events and conferences. Focuses with his research on financial management (corporate valuation, treasury management and energy finance). Writes regularly about these issues in scientific as well as professional journals and books. Co-initiated the Center for Energy and Value Issues (CEVI) in 2006. Publishes CEVI’s bi-annual Energy and Value Letter. Joins the board of two other international journals. Edits books.

6) SI Workshop
A formal workshop may be linked to the special issue, hosted by the International Society for Intercommunication of New Ideas (ISINI). The probable workshop is meant to fine-tune the SI papers, especially in terms of communication to a wide policy-interested public. The workshop may partially have a virtual character.

Dr. Wim Westerman
University of Groningen
Faculty of Economics and Business
Landleven 2
9747 AE Groningen
The Netherlands
w.westerman@rug.nl