CRITICAL MANAGEMENT STUDIES (CMS)  

The Critical Management Studies (CMS) Division welcomes proposals for the 84th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM 2024) held in person 9-13 August 2024 in Chicago, IL, USA. Professional Development Workshops (PDW) provide very valuable spaces which allow participants to share their thoughts and feelings on different topics which are relevant to CMS – and other divisions’ – members. The proposals can be related to this year’s conference theme, Innovating for the Future: Policy, Purpose, and Organizations, and/or to other themes that authors consider relevant. For example, last year’s CMS PDW program, included sessions focused on turning critical theses into critical books, reflexive learning, academic activism, mental health, navigating the pressures of academia, and other thought-provoking themes.

In line with the ethos of CMS, we will prioritize PDWs that:

• represent the diversity of the international CMS community, 
• include early career researchers in the teams,  
• motivate active participation of attendees so that thoughts, ideas, and experiences can be shared between all participants, and  
• seek to connect CMS scholars with other divisions in order to encourage collaborations which can allow broader scholarly impact. 

The theme of the 2024 Annual Meeting, Innovating for the Future: Policy, Purpose, and Organizations, calls us to reflect on ways in which we can shape a better future. Innovation drives progress and addresses the evolving needs of society while paving the way for solutions to global challenges. As CMS scholars, we need to think of innovation as a path in which we find ways to make a positive impact on the lives of people by finding better and more sustainable solutions to global issues such as climate change, resource scarcity, and social and economic inequality. It is paramount that managers and practitioners adopt a critical lens while innovating for the future, considering potential ethical and social implications of their innovations in order to ensure responsible and inclusive outcomes for everyone. The theme provides an opportunity to reflect on ways in which we can innovate to create a more just, equitable and environmentally friendly world for us all.

We invite CMS members, and members of other divisions, to propose ideas in the spirit of this year’s conference theme and around what inspires them. We welcome a broad range of ideas which can address, but are not limited to:

• How can critical thinking have an impact on innovation?
• How can activism be a driver for innovation?
• Explore the different pathways for innovation that promotes public good.
• Explore the consequences of innovation on organizational practices that address the global challenges.
• Examine the ways that innovation can translate the global challenges to localized spaces and context.
• Appraise and challenge the taken for granted notion that innovation is intrinsically positive.
• Critique and examine the implications that innovation can tackle environmental impact, including but not limited to the climate crises.
• Create innovative, alternative business and management schools for social impact and public value.
• Explore the role of innovation embedded on alternative ways of organizing, such as degrowth and social currencies, and alternative organizations, such as cooperatives.
• Initiate - critically informed - action research projects that bring innovative change in society.

This is just a guide since we welcome (and encourage) creative formats and creative proposals which are consistent with CMS ideas.

The CMS PDW program also incorporates the Doctoral and Early Career Consortium. Doctoral candidates and early career faculty are welcomed to be involved in this session which will allow them to engage in meaningful conversations with more experienced colleagues. We also offer the option of organizing one-on-one conversations between participants and more experienced scholars to address specific concerns.  If you are a doctoral student or an early career faculty, we strongly encourage you to be part of the consortia.

Transformative Academic Praxis 

Innovation needs implementation to have impact. We invite CMS scholars, members of CMS and other divisions, to propose PDWs that inform and innovate our educational, research, service, activism, and administration methodologies and practices. We encourage proposals that extend the reach of our research and teaching praxis that enhance our potential for transformative action that brings positive changes to our societies and economies.

Innovation has a key role in addressing our societies grand challenges and we invite PDW proposals that bring actions and innovative approaches at the forefront aiming to tackle those challenges. For example, proposals could address:

• The role of innovation on addressing place-base challenges, translating the global challenges to areas and context where they have an impact and occur.
• Innovation that happens on a particular and specific space and context.
• How local actors innovate and create transformative solutions through collaborative approaches related to their needs and requirements.

Particularly on teaching front, without a doubt, the post-pandemic world has made us innovate our own way of teaching since students have changed their expectations. For example, proposals could address:

• Alternative and innovative pedagogies,
• the impact of digital technologies, including AI and global communications, on the teaching and learning experience, and
• the changes in teaching and learning experiences in marginalized contexts in the post-pandemic world.
  

PDW Formats 

AOM 2024 will take place on-site in-person. The CMS division welcomes PDW proposals with any of the following formats: workshops, case studies, roundtable discussions, and panel discussions. 

Developing Proposals