HEALTH CARE MANAGEMENT (HCM)
2026 Division Scholarly Program: Call for Submissions
Program Chair: Ingrid Nembhard, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania
The Health Care Management (HCM) Division welcomes you to submit your papers, symposia proposals, and posters for consideration for the 86th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management to be held in Philadelphia, PA, USA, from 31 July to 4 August 2026.
The HCM Division invites submissions that align with its focus on advancing understanding of the role of professionals and organizations in providing health care across the globe. It is the Division that addresses all facets of management in the health and health care sector. Some of the topics explored within the Division include the experiences and performance of healthcare workers and organizations; health care finance and marketing; strategy and operational decision-making within the health care ecosystem; public policy issues (e.g., access to care, competition, cost control and quality of care); and comparisons of health systems across countries. The HCM Division invites submissions that address other topics and prides itself on empirical and conceptual application of theory to the study of healthcare organizations.
All submissions to the HCM Division must comply with AOM submission guidelines and formatting instructions and be made through the AOM Submission Center. If any guidelines and formatting instructions are not met, the submission will not be reviewed. Please carefully review the guidelines as well as the Additional Instructions and Considerations noted below.
The Submission Center will open in early December 2025. The submission deadline is Tuesday, 13 January 2026 at 17:00 (5 pm) EST (UTC-5 / GMT-5). Earlier submissions are encouraged. If you have questions about submission of papers, symposia proposals or posters to the HCM Division, please contact the HCM Division’s Program Chair, Ingrid Nembhard.
Additional Instructions and Considerations
Symposium Sessions
In symposium sessions, several speakers discuss a common topic or theme in a manner that brings new insights to the subject. There are two types of symposia: Panel Symposia engage a group of panelists in a formal interactive discussion, while Presenter Symposia involve a series of authored presentations on a preset theme. Unlike papers and posters, symposia may be submitted to multiple Divisions or Interest Groups (DIG). The HCM Division strongly encourages symposia submitters to select multiple, relevant DIGs to further inter-Division and inter-disciplinary consideration of topics in health care.
Teaching-Oriented Submissions
In line with AOM's Vision 2030, the Academy is reimagining teaching-focused programming at the Annual Meeting to make it more inclusive, innovative, and accessible. In 2026, AOM will pilot a new model for its teaching content that highlights practical teaching innovations and supports educators across all roles. The HCM Division supports these efforts and encourages submissions related to teaching. Submitters should select the "Teaching" orientation for their proposals when appropriate.
Poster Submissions
Poster sessions will again be a submission type for the 2026 Annual Meeting. Consideration for poster sessions requires submission of an extended abstract that will be reviewed by the selected DIG. If accepted for the Annual Meeting, submitters are expected to create a poster presentation that summarizes their research question, its significance, research findings, methods, and conclusions. Poster presentations will be scheduled in one-hour in-person poster sessions in highly visible areas across all four contracted spaces at the Annual Meeting. New for 2026 is the "Poster Showcase Area." A designated area in the Exhibit Hall where conference posters will remain on display after their scheduled presentation sessions. This space will allow attendees to continue exploring research findings, engage with authors asynchronously, and review materials at their own pace throughout the event.
PhD Students
Papers with a PhD student as the first or sole author should be clearly identified at the time of submission.
Division Awards
The HCM Division presents the following awards at the Annual Meeting, based on award committee review of eligible papers:
**Please identify your paper as award eligible at the time of submission if you wish your work to be considered for one of these awards. Papers may also be identified as eligible during the paper review process.
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Ingrid Nembhard, PhD, MS
2026 AOM HCM Program Chair
The Wharton School
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA, USA
ingridn@wharton.upenn.edu------------------------------