The two-day conference welcomed researchers, policymakers and business leaders to explore how contracts shape issues as varied as AI, environmental conservation, corporate governance and workplace relationships.

Co-organised by Imperial Business School’s Professors Renáta Kosová, Professor of Economics and Consul for the Faculty of Engineering and the Business School, and Patrick Bolton, Professor of Finance and Economics, alongside colleagues from the University of Bristol, the conference reflects an interdisciplinary approach to understanding how contracts influence business, markets and society.

A highlight of this year’s programme was the keynote lecture, “Citizen Investors” delivered by Professor Luigi Zingales from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He challenged the long-standing view that companies should focus only on maximising shareholder value and prioritising financial returns. Instead, he argued, businesses should consider shareholders’ broader values as citizens through maximising shareholder welfare. His talk explored how this shift could help tackle major societal challenges including climate change, inequality and the responsible use of corporate power.

Other sessions explored industrial policy, corporate bonds, trade, copyright, environmental policy and workplace management. A panel on AI and firm governance brought together experts to discuss one of the biggest challenges facing organisations today. While speakers recognised AI's enormous potential, they also warned that without effective governance, its benefits could become concentrated among a small number of organisations, widening inequality and increasing economic and political imbalances.

Professor Renáta Kosová said: “When people hear the word ‘contracts’, they often think of the legal documents or pages of small print. But contracts are everywhere around us – they also exist as everyday agreements and understandings that shape decisions within organisations, markets and society. By bringing together theorists, applied researchers, lawyers and practitioners, we want to create a forum where cutting-edge research is informed by real-world challenges and where those insights can, in turn, influence business practice and public policy.”

The 2026 conference marked another milestone for a series that has quickly gained an international profile. With the continued involvement of Sir Oliver Hart, Professor at Harvard University and winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his pioneering work in contract theory, the conference continues to grow as a leading forum for interdisciplinary exchange, reinforcing Imperial Business School’s role at the centre of a growing international conversation on the role of contracts in addressing today’s economic and societal challenges.