Call for Applications

Panelists & Facilitators:
Dror Etzion, University of Vermont, USA
Steffen Farny, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany
Anne-Laure Fayard, Nova SBE, Portugal
Ali Gümüsay, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany
Garima Sharma, American University, Washington D.C., USA
Tammar B. Zilber, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Purpose

The overall goal of this PDW – hosted by the EGOS Standing Working Group (SWG) 10 on “Organizing Desirable Futures: Sustainable Transformation, Impactful Scholarship & Grand Challenges” – is to promote research methods and strategies that involve collaboration and communication with practitioners in co-creating desirable futures. This PDW will offer the opportunity for scholars at all stages to explore under-discussed research approaches – action research, co-creation, transdisciplinary research – that may be suitable for working closely with organizations and managers that are driving change to create desirable futures such as a fair and just world both socially and environmentally.
 
There is a growing scholarly interest in producing research that is also societally relevant and impactful – meaning that the research we produce contributes to solving the social and environmental issues that we study (Bansal & Sharma, 2022; Harley & Fleming, 2021; Jarzabkowski et al., 2021; Wickert et al., 2020). Yet, the dominant research approaches of our field are too researcher-centric – they were designed to help us build theory as silent observers of events that have already occurred – not to (co-)solve societal problems that are still unraveling as we speak (Langley & Klag, 2017). Alternative approaches such as action research or co-creation (Lüscher and Lewis, 2008; Sharma & Bansal, 2020) are available that bring the researcher into closer contact with practitioners and position the researcher as both an observer and active participant in driving change. However, these approaches are not widely accepted in management studies and present many barriers that prevent researchers from utilizing them (Williams et al., 2022).
 
In this PDW, we ask the question: “Are our research approaches suited for helping to achieve societal change? Or do we need to break the boundaries of our current research approaches in order to (co-)create the desirable futures that we would like to see (Gümüsay and Reinecke, 2022)?” We argue that organization scholars need to ask difficult questions that touch the core of our field’s assumptions and research approaches in order to truly move forward as co-creators of desirable futures.
 
This PDW will showcase underutilized research approaches that scholars in our field are currently using and leave space for imagining what new approaches might look like (Williams et al., 2022). The PDW aims to facilitate conversations between experienced scholars, early-career scholars, and PhD candidates to discuss paper proposals and project ideas. Thus, we invite the EGOS community to jointly work on expanding our methodological approaches for addressing grand challenges and co-creating desirable futures, generating new research idea(l)s, and fostering potential research and impact collaborations.
 

Format

The PDW will run in a hybrid format with both in-person and online participation.

• It will start with a brief introduction to the background, aims, and panelists of the event (10 min). We will then conduct a panel discussion (35 min + 35 min Q&A), where our invited scholars will introduce one specific method for co-creating desirable futures (5 min each) as input for further discussion.

• Roundtable paper feedback discussion (2 sessions of 60 minutes)

• After the panel discussion, the workshop will be divided into roundtables (including online breakout groups), each chaired by one of our organizers and/or panelists and dedicated to the exploration of one specific research method. The aim of the roundtable is both educational and explorative, to (a) deepen knowledge about unconventional research methods for impact, and (b) explore and imagine ways the methods could be used in future research projects. Participants will also discuss and receive feedback on their project ideas, and roundtable moderators will facilitate the discussion and ensure that participants will receive rich and diverse inspirations for their respective projects. We will then come together in a concluding session, where we invite roundtable participants to present the results of their discussion and share insights with participants from other roundtables.

Application

We welcome submissions associated with the use of various research approaches that involve the researcher in tackling social and environmental issues.

Please submit – via the EGOS website – by April 30, 2024, a single document of application (.docx, or .pdf file) that includes the following information:

• On the title page, please clearly indicate

• A summary (0.5–1 page) of a proposed or current project explaining the proposed method and the relation to the PDW theme.

References

• Bansal, P., & Sharma, G. (2022): “Three Different Approaches to Impact: Translating, Cocreating, and Performing.” Business & Society, 61 (4), 827–832.
• Gümüsay, A.A., & Reinecke, J. (2021): “Researching for Desirable Futures: From Real Utopias to Imagining Alternatives.” Journal of Management Studies, 59 (1), 236–242.
• Harley, B., & Fleming, P. (2021): “Not Even Trying to Change the World: Why Do Elite Management Journals Ignore the Major Problems Facing Humanity?” The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 57 (2), 133–152.
• Jarzabkowski, P., Dowell, G.W., & Berchicci, L. (2021): “Strategy and organization scholarship through a radical sustainability lens: A call for 5.0.” Strategic Organization, 19 (3): 449-455.
• Langley, A., & Klag, M. (2019): “Being Where? Navigating the Involvement Paradox in Qualitative Research Accounts.” Organizational Research Methods, 22 (2), 515–538.
• Lüscher, L.S., & Lewis, M.W. (2008): “Organizational Change and Managerial Sensemaking: Working Through Paradox.” Academy of Management Journal, 51 (2), 221–240.
• Sharma, G., & Bansal, P. (2020): “Cocreating rigorous and relevant knowledge.” Academy of Management Journal, 63 (2), 386–410.
• Wickert, C., Post, C., Doh, J.P., Prescott, J.E., & Prencipe, A. (2021): “Management Research that Makes a Difference: Broadening the Meaning of Impact.” Journal of Management Studies, 58 (2), 297–320.
• Williams, A., Whiteman, G., Walls, J., Harley, B., & Dowell, G. (2022): “Call for Papers: Special Issue of Strategic Organization: Impact Driven Strategy Research for Grand Challenges.” Strategic Organization, 20 (1), 225–227.