Dear Colleagues,
We kindly invite you to join us at the following PDW at the Academy of Management Meeting 2026: OMT meets STS: Imaginaries, Innovation & Futures
When: August 1 2026 (Saturday), 10 AM - 1 PM
Where: Sheraton, Liberty Ballroom D
Across management disciplines, there is growing recognition that understanding how organizational actors engage with the future is integral to comprehending contemporary organizing processes (Jain, Islam, Farrell & Nair, 2026). However, much of this discourse remains siloed and fragmented across the different "macro" disciplinary domains such as OMT and TIM. We see an opportunity to bring these research conversations together, facilitating dialogue and an ample research agenda around this topic. Building on Koselleck's (2004) notion of "the future" as a product of modernity's rupture from cyclical time and its increasing orientation toward progress, prediction, and control, as well as Jasanoff and Kim's (2015) concept of sociotechnical imaginaries-collectively held and institutionally stabilized visions of desirable futures realized through science and technology-this workshop explores how imagined futures shape innovation, and how innovation, in turn, shapes what futures are imaginable. We intend for this PDW to demonstrate value in exploring the concepts of imagination, innovation and futures (and their interactions) using lenses developed within OMT, STS and other related fields (SAP, CTO, ENT, MH, CMS among others), as well as employing these concepts as anchors to construct a multidisciplinary understanding of present-day organizing.
The PDW will run for 3 hours, structured in three interlinked parts designed to combine intellectual provocation, idea development, and collective synthesis.
Part I: Framing the Conversation
Three short, high-level presentations from our panel experts introducing a few conceptual anchors:
* Violina Rindova (University of California - Irvine) on futurescapes
* Raghu Garud (Penn State University) on entrepreneurial storytelling
* Roy Suddaby (University of Victoria) on the narrative construction of innovation
Part II: Mapping the terrain
A plenary discussion that generates and synthesizes insights into such themes as (1) The future as historical construct (2) Innovation as narrative practice. (3) Temporal pluralism: coexisting futures in organizational fields.
Part III: Idea Development Roundtables
Participants will submit extended abstracts prior to the PDW. We welcome conceptual papers, historical analyses, and empirically grounded studies that investigate how futures are envisioned and enacted (via imagination & innovation) in organizational settings. Each roundtable will include a few authors and 1-2 expert facilitators who will provide detailed feedback. These discussions will focus on strengthening theoretical framing using the relevant literature (Jasanoff, Koselleck, sociology of expectations, performativity/market studies, narrative theory, etc) and connecting empirical work on innovation (AI, climate tech, health, design) to broader imaginaries.
The expert facilitators include Callen Anthony (New York University), Daniel Beunza (Bayes Business School), Luciana D'Adderio (University of Edinburgh), Sanjay Jain (California State University - Northridge), Andrew Nelson (University of Oregon), Neil Pollock (University of Edinburgh), Joe Porac (New York University), Jane Vedel (Copenhagen Business School) & Alan Zhang (Columbia University).
Parts 1 & 2 are open to all AOM 2026 attendees. For our roundtables (Part 3), we invite submissions that engage with the theme(s) of the PDW: Imagination, Innovation & Futures. Please submit an extended abstract (~1000 words) to https://forms.gle/hQ6RRor1KwkwPtKe6 by July 20 2026. Selected participants will receive detailed feedback on their ideas from the facilitators and peers.
By the end of the PDW, participants will understand how the concept of the future emerged historically as a precondition for innovation discourse; be able to apply the frameworks of sociotechnical imaginaries, futurescapes and storyworlds to the study of innovation; receive developmental feedback on their ideas from established scholars; and finally, contribute to an emerging research community at the intersection of OMT and STS focusing on key topics such as temporality and innovation.
Please address any questions regarding submissions or the session to: sanjay.jain@csun.edu
We look forward to seeing you in Philadelphia!
Daniel Beunza
Sanjay Jain
Roy Suddaby
Jane Vedel
(PDW Convenors)
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Sanjay Jain
California State University-Northridge
Northridge CA
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