2026 Call for Professional Development Workshop (PDW) Proposals

Division PDW Chair: Stephanie Wang, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, USA

The International Management Division (IM) invites submissions for Professional Development Workshops (PDWs) at the 86th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM 2026) held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA from 31 July to 4 August 2026. 

The International Management Division (IM) of the Academy of Management brings together a global community of scholars researching and teaching management themes with a cross-border or cross-cultural dimension. These include the influence of the context (e.g., geopolitical and technological changes) on international management and the contribution of management to addressing global social and environmental challenges. Members of the IM community conduct research on themes such as: 

• the cross-border management of operations, including multi-country, multi-unit, strategy formulation, and implementation; 
• the cross-border differential impact of cultural, social, economic, technological, political, and other institutional forces on strategies, organizational forms, and management practices;
• evolving forms and management practices in cross-border business using physical and virtual channels supporting international business activities;
• the international competitiveness of entrepreneurs, firms, industries, and nations;
• comparative management studies involving two or more countries;
• the impact of multinational enterprises on the societies in which they operate, and their contribution to global challenges such as social inequalities and climate change. 

To learn more about the IM Division, please visit our website. 

Our goal for the PDWs is to provide participants with opportunities to enhance their professional and personal skills relevant to IM-related scholarship and teaching including macro and micro topics. With this in mind, we seek innovative, provocative, and exciting proposals that bring together an international community of scholars interested in enhancing research and teaching in the broad field of International Management. 

The format for PDW sessions is highly flexible. PDWs may consist of workshops, panels, round-table discussions, training sessions, etc. - meaningful interaction is the key. As such, PDWs provide opportunities to experiment, with respect to both content and format, that are typically beyond the scope of regular paper sessions. We seek creative and interactive proposals that promote scholarship or teaching and involve not only other AOM divisions, but also firms, not-for-profit organizations, consultancies, NGOs, and public sector organizations. 

PDWs will take place Friday, 31 July through Sunday, 2 August 2026 during the Annual Meeting. Please see the Annual Meeting website for additional information about the conference. 

This year, AOM will be offering an additional opportunity for participation. On-demand sessions will allow accepted presenters who are unable to attend in-person to pre-record and share their presentations through the AOM platform. 

Inaugural Best PDW Awards 

All PDWs submitted to the IM Division are eligible for the following Inaugural best PDW awards at the 2026 Annual Meeting. Award winners will be selected through live, onsite voting by PDW participants. 

• "Most Rigorous PDW" Award. This award recognizes the PDW that demonstrates exceptional scholarly rigor in its design, content, and execution. It honors PDWs that offer strong theoretical grounding or methodological sophistication with clear learning objectives that advance IB scholarship.
• "Most Transformative PDW" Award. This award recognizes transformative PDWs that push boundaries and introduce novel ideas, methods, or formats. It highlights workshops that are forward-looking, creative, and bold-those that open new conversations, experiment with fresh approaches to engagement, or address emerging topics shaping IB future. 

Submissions

If you are interested in organizing or being involved in a PDW in any way, please contact the IM Division's PDW Chair, Stephanie Wang. 

Final PDW submissions must be made through the AOM Submission Center website. The submission deadline is Tuesday, 13 January 2026 at 17:00 ET (UTC-5/GMT-5). The system will open in early December 2025 – so there is plenty of time to avoid the last-minute rush! Submission guidelines are available on the AOM website.  

We look forward to hearing from you regarding exciting workshops for the 2026 Annual Meeting!