To respond to China’s national AI strategy and the discipline’s innovation agenda—and to address theoretical bottlenecks and practical challenges confronting global management science in the intelligent era—the 2025 Journal Editors Forum on “Building a New Paradigm for Management Science Research in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” was successfully held at the University from December 5 to 6.
Co-hosted by the School and the College of Economics and Management of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the forum attracted more than 500 experts and scholars from universities, research institutes, and industry organizations in China and abroad. As a major academic gathering in management science, the event brought together editors-in-chief of leading journals, academicians, and prominent scholars. Discussions centered on the core question of integrating AI with management science and tackled key issues shaping the discipline’s future. Research Professor Wu Gang, Deputy Director of the Department of Management Science at the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), and Prof. Zhou Peng, Vice President of China University of Petroleum (East China), attended and delivered opening remarks.
The forum featured two main components: keynote presentations and an editors’ roundtable, creating a multi-layered and in-depth platform for academic exchange. During the keynote session, renowned scholars from China and overseas outlined the evolving landscape of AI-enabled management science from diverse perspectives. In terms of international outlook and journal development, Academician Roman Słowiński, Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of Operational Research, highlighted the importance of balancing methodological innovation with practical relevance and presented frontier applications of preference learning and explainable methods in intelligent decision-making. Prof. Pedro Linares, Editor-in-Chief of The Energy Journal, discussed from a macro perspective the critical role of AI in complex energy-system modeling and policy evaluation. On disciplinary frontiers and technological applications, Research Professor Yang Xiaoguang, Editor-in-Chief of Systems Engineering—Theory & Practice, focused on the leapfrog development of large models and their potential in finance-related applications such as text understanding and high-frequency trading strategies. Prof. Xiong Xiong, Director of the Editorial Office of the Journal of Management Science in China, examined—through the lens of behavioral finance—how AI may mitigate information asymmetry in market competition while also introducing new risks. Prof. Lin Boqiang, Editor-in-Chief of Energy Economics, connected China’s energy development trends with the value of AI for forecasting and flexible dispatch in energy systems. Regarding methodological advances and paradigm shifts, Academician Peng Shi, Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics, emphasized the need for researchers to strengthen independent judgment and creative thinking when confronting complex problems. Prof. Ming Hu, Editor-in-Chief of Naval Research Logistics, compared operations management strategies across different data environments and articulated an applied framework integrating statistical learning and robust optimization.
The editors’ roundtable, chaired by Academician Fang Liping of Toronto Metropolitan University, brought together Roman Słowiński and other Chinese and international experts for an in-depth discussion on “How AI Is Reshaping the Research Paradigm in Management Science.” Participants reached shared understandings on key issues including new competency requirements for researchers in the AI era, norms and boundaries for AI-assisted writing, and pathways to balance theory-driven inquiry with data-driven approaches—offering practical methodological guidance for high-quality scholarship.
The successful forum not only clarified core directions and innovation pathways for management science research in the age of AI, but also facilitated more precise alignment among academic resources, industry needs, and policy support, generating forward-looking academic consensus and collaborative intentions. Insights from the forum are expected to support the discipline’s shift from tool-oriented applications toward deeper theoretical innovation, drive paradigm change in areas such as forecasting, optimization, and risk management, and inject sustained momentum into high-quality economic and social development and the modernization of enterprise management.
