---apologies for cross-posting---
Call for Abstracts
International Conference on Organizational Sociology
ICOS 2026
Plurality, Diversity and Social Inequality in Organizations
March 16/17, 2026
University of Potsdam, Germany
Joint conference by:
- Research Committee 17 “Sociology of Organizations” of the International Sociological Association
- Section for Organizational Sociology of the German Sociological Association
- Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Potsdam
- DFG-Network “Modes of organizational diversity: theories, methodologies and practices “
- “Organization & Society” Research Group, at the Department of Sociology and Political Science, NTNU Trondheim
Submission Deadline for abstracts (600-1200 words, excl. references): November 10, 2025
Organizations are confronted with a plurality of rapidly changing challenges to which they respond in various ways. Among these challenges are the organizational governance of claims for the recognition of group identities and differences, issues of sustainability, climate action, organizational responsibility, and the challenges posed by digitalization and generative AI. These processes of rapid change do not occur simultaneously across the world; they often begin in some countries or regions and are taken up elsewhere only after several years. When organizations adapt to such newly emerging challenges, their responses may remain superficial, or organizational changes may take so long that trends and socio-political discourses in the organizational environment shift before the changes are fully implemented.
We call for papers addressing rapid and gradual, superficial and profound organizational changes, as well as organizational resistance to expectations of change, in the following three themes:
ICOS has a special “themed but not siloed” format – featuring multiple themes without rigid boundaries. Session hopping is encouraged!
All information can be found under www.icos2026.org
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Michael Grothe-Hammer
Professor
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Trondheim
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