Ventures rise and fall on waves of hype—if you're researching how entrepreneurial actors create, ride, or survive collective excitement around new ventures and markets, this PDW at AOM 2026 is built for scholars like you.
Submit your extended abstract by July 25th, 2026 to hype-pdw@googlegroups.com.
Session Details
Date: August 2nd
Time: 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Location: Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown, Mezzanine Level, Philadelphia Ballroom North
Hype is all around us—and it evolves fast. It denotes collective excitement and inflated expectations about the future of a new venture, market, or technology, shaping stocks and flows of attention, resources, and legitimacy. Examples include hype about the alternative meat market, about cryptocurrency technology, and most recently about SpaceX’s IPO.
This PDW will dive into the phenomenon of hype and equip scholars with tools to study it. The workshop consists of four parts:
- An introduction to research about hype
- Keynote talks by
- An open discussion
- Facilitated roundtables with keynote speakers and additional scholars with expertise in hype research:
The first three parts are open to all AOM 2026 attendees. Those wishing to receive feedback on a research idea at the roundtables are invited to e-mail hype-pdw@googlegroups.com by July 25, 2026 with 1) an extended abstract (max 2 pages) and 2) a brief statement about the challenge you'd like help with. Slots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants will learn what the current state of research about hype is, explore promising research opportunities, and receive feedback on conducting research about hype.
Hype is a distinct phenomenon and a potent force in business. Understanding how it operates—and the opportunities and risks it brings for entrepreneurial business leaders, investors, and policymakers—is essential. This PDW invites scholars, especially PhD and early-career researchers, to join in advancing research on this exciting and consequential topic.
If you have questions about submitting or the session in general, please email hype-pdw@googlegroups.com.
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Aaron Pagel
PhD Candidate
University of Oregon
apagel@uoregon.edu------------------------------