Call for Participation:
AOM PDW
Title: Creating Desirable Futures: Intersections and Opportunities Across Disciplines
Program Session: 880 (82nd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management)
Sponsor(s): (TIM, SIM, STR)
Session Format: Hybrid Interactive: Seattle + Virtual; Zoom "meeting" style
When: August 7 2022 from 2:00PM to 5:00PM. All times are Pacific (Seattle time) (UTC-7).
Participants:
Scott Cunningham - Editors-in-Chief Technological Forecasting and Social Change, University of Strathclyde
Henry Mintzberg - Cleghorn Professor of Management Studies, DeSautels Faculty of Management - McGill University
John Thackara - Tongji University
Organizers:
Claudio Dell'Era - Professor of Design Thinking for Business, School of Management - Politecnico di Milano
Jeanne Liedtka - United Technologies Professor of Business, School of Business, University of Virginia
Stefano Magistretti - Professor of Agile Innovation, School of Management - Politecnico di Milano
Francesco Zurlo – Professor of Industrial Design, Department of Design - Politecnico di Milano
Abstract:
It is the nature of human beings to think about the future. We know that new approaches - ones that do not start linearly from today to design tomorrow - are needed to create better futures when the problems to be solved are "wicked" (Buchanan, 1992; Rittel and Webber, 1973) and the challenges are "grand" (Ferraro, Etzion and Gehman, 2015). This year's All-Academy theme "Creating a Better World Together" puts a spotlight on our responsibilities and opportunities as academics to contribute to and enrich these essential organizational discussions.
Multiple scholars have argued that we have failed to meet our obligations here. Gümüsay and Reinecke (2021) challenge the academic community to support the management of uncertain futures by stressing the role of research in which "acts of (disciplined) imagination become input for theory-building." Garud, Gehman and Tharchen (2018) in their work on Performativity, argue for a role for scholars as "embedded-embodied actors" who participate in crafting more desirable futures, rather than adopting a normative perspective. But as we attempt to do so as academics, are we each reenacting the dilemma of the blind men and the elephant, seeing only through our own scholarly perspectives? Where are the unseen intersections and missed opportunities that result?
Aim of the PDW:
This PDW aims to explore these interstitial spaces and accelerate future-focused research across disciplines. In this PDW, we plan to accomplish this by bringing together a collection of scholars, each well-recognized in their own field, to share their perspectives, with a goal to identify collectively opportunities to work together across disciplines to meet the challenge of creating a better world.
If you are willing to participate please contact Jeanne Liedtka (liedtkaj@darden.virginia.edu) or Stefano Magistretti (stefano.magistretti@polimi.it) with any questions about the PDW or the application process.
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Claudio Dell'Era
School of Management, Politecnico Di Milano
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