We invite you to join the PDW "Involving Crowds in (Social) Science: Boosting Productivity and Bridging the Science-Society Gap"
Friday, July 25, 2025, 13:30 – 16:30 CEST
Location: Bella Center, Hall B- B2-m4
AOM Program Link: https://cdmcd.co/YKLabZ
Organizers:
- Susanne Beck, Warwick Business School, United Kingdom
- Christoph Grimpe, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
- Marion Poetz, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
- Henry Sauermann, ESMT European School of Management and Technology, Germany
Presenters:
- Chiara Franzoni, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
- Lars Frederiksen, Aarhus University, Denmark
- Carolin Haeussler, University of Passau, Germany
- Olga Kokshagina, EDHEC Business School, France
Workshop Overview:
This PDW aims to inspire scholars across disciplines to rethink the role of crowds in advancing science and fostering science-society integration.
Involving crowds in scientific research has become a powerful approach to advance scientific productivity while also fostering societal impact. Crowd science is well established in the "hard sciences," where crowds help with tasks like generating large-scale data sets for biodiversity monitoring, co-developing innovative medical interventions, or achieving creative breakthroughs in biochemistry (helping David Baker win the Nobel Prize 2024).
Although AI is reshaping the role of crowds in research, it often amplifies-rather than replaces-crowd members' contributions to knowledge production. Interestingly, crowd science approaches remain underutilized in the social sciences, particularly in management and organizational studies.
This PDW explores the potential and challenges of involving crowds across scientific fields – including management and organizations. Participants will:
1. Learn conceptual frameworks to analyze different crowd science applications and assess potential benefits and challenges.
2. Hear expert talks on cutting-edge examples of crowd science projects, including the role of AI and challenges in evaluating contributions.
3. Join a panel discussion exploring why crowd involvement is rare in social sciences and what barriers or opportunities exist.
4. Participate in roundtables designed to help apply crowd approaches to their own research, supported by practical tools and frameworks.
5. Engage in a concluding plenary discussion to synthesize insights and co-develop an actionable research agenda.
We look forward to seeing you in Copenhagen!
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Henry Sauermann
ESMT - European School of Management and Technology - Berlin
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