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The 2024 Conference on Field Experiments in Strategy (CFXS): Reflections and Takeaways

24 January 2025

Anna Giulia Ponchia

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Last year, we were proud to co-host the 2024 Conference on Field Experiments in Strategy (CFXS), held at the INSEAD France Campus in Fontainebleau from December 18-19. Last year’s conference brought together over 85 researchers from around the globe, focused on field experiments in strategy, entrepreneurship, innovation, business growth, and experimental economics. Over two days, participants engaged in a series of insightful presentations and discussions in an informal and collaborative environment, covering topics from experimentation within SMEs to labour market sorting experiments and studies with social and political impact. This was the fifth iteration of the CFXS conference and the second time it was not hosted in conjunction with another major conference, which offered us some unique reflections. It was also our first conference with nearly half of the participants being early-career researchers, coming from locations including India, Chile, the US, Canada, Singapore, and more, supported by 14 travel bursaries sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

“Great, constructive atmosphere; great and diverse set of people; focus on producing good research and helping each other to do so.” – CFXS Participant

The two days

The conference started on the morning of Thursday, December 19th, with a PhD workshop focused on designing field experiments led by Professors Hyunjin Kim (INSEAD) and Rem Koning (Harvard Business School). The workshop provided an informal opportunity for students to get introduced to the ‘Strategy Experiment Canvas,’ guiding them through key components of setting up field experiments, from selecting sample sizes to discussing interventions and choosing estimation techniques. The feedback from students, especially those less exposed to this type of research, was overwhelmingly positive. This year, we were also pleased to welcome a record number of PhD students—our largest turnout yet! – reflecting the increasing interest in field experiments and the expanding reach of this field.

“The PhD workshop and walking through the experiment canvas was my favourite part of the conference! Extremely valuable.” – CFXS Participant

The rest of the conference then moved into an interactive program featuring three main content streams:

  1. Paper Presentations

We hosted four sessions on topics including Digitisation and Development, Organising Teams, Experiments in Labor Market Sorting, and Experimenting with Social and Political Impact. Each session featured ten-minute paper presentations followed by discussions from expert discussants connecting the papers, offering constructive feedback, and highlighting areas for improvement. The variety of topics and papers presented in these sessions (which you can access here) demonstrated the wide-ranging applications of field experiments, from political science and voting behaviours to SMEs in developing countries and e-commerce strategies.

“Great set of presentations, and excellent insights for my own research.” – CFXS Participant

  1. Idea-Pitch Sessions

Researchers (both junior and experienced) also had a chance to present their ideas and receive live feedback from the audience. This interactive format, reminiscent of a ‘shark tank’ for field experiments, encouraged lively exchanges and provided valuable insights for everyone in the room. Audience feedback appeared live on-screen and was later compiled for presenters to refine their ideas. Our back-to-back five-minute idea-pitch sessions were a highly commended unique highlight of the conference, which we definitely plan to continue in future conferences. Warm congratulations also go to Tess Lallement, PhD student at Cornell University, who won the best idea pitch prize for her innovative experiment on ‘Reducing Matching Frictions in Ugandan Labor Markets’ (photo on the right).

“The digital feedback tool was a fabulous way of allowing everyone to submit their ‘mind flow’ comments and authors to keep it! Just fantastic.” – CFXS Participant

“Love the opportunity for junior scholars and forthcoming job market candidates to present.” – CFXS Participant

  1. AI Panel Discussion

The final day featured a panel on the role of AI in industry. The discussion included three researchers and two industry leaders from Morningstar and Grab. The panellists discussed the challenges and opportunities of integrating AI into business practices, emphasizing how field experiments can provide practical insights and evidence to improve business processes. The balance between academic theory and real-world application of AI’s potential was a great high note to end the conference.

“Great, constructive atmosphere; great and diverse set of people; focus on producing good research and helping each other to do so.” – CFXS Participant

Our key highlights:

Overall, we had an incredible experience at the conference. Both the organisers and the participants left with a wealth of valuable insights, new connections, and actionable ideas to take forward. Here are some of the key highlights from the two days:

  • The mix of senior academics and PhD students adds diverse perspectives to the discussions and we loved having this mix of expertise
  • Contributions from various disciplines, including economics, entrepreneurship, and strategy, offered multifaceted insights and highlighted different challenges and perspectives to similar topics
  • Informal interactions during coffee breaks and unstructured moments were invaluable for networking and fostering new collaborations (and the French Croissants at coffee breaks were delicious!)
  • The growing interest in field experiments was clear, with many new faces joining the community. We look forward to continuing this momentum and expanding the field further. 

“Meeting new people, connecting with old acquaintances, getting (formal and informal) feedback on my research, learning about the state-of-the-art of experiments in strategy, experiencing INSEAD and Fontainebleau were my key highlights of these two days” – CFXS Participant

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of this conference, especially CFXS’s dedicated organisers, Rem Koning, Hyunjin Kim, and Sharique Hasan. We are excited to continue building this community and look forward to next year’s conference at the San Francisco INSEAD Campus on October 9-10, 2025. Mark your calendars—registrations open this spring!

More photos of the conference can be found here.