(posted on behalf of @Keith Hmieleski, PDW Chair)
Professional Development Workshops (PDWs) are among the most rewarding, stimulating, and enjoyable sessions of the Academy of Management (AOM) Annual Meeting. The Entrepreneurship Division invites creative and innovative proposals for interactive PDW sessions for the 2026 AOM Conference in Philadelphia, PA. We are inviting novel and engaging PDWs that explore Research (topics and methods), Teaching, and the interplay between Practice and Scholarship. Given its mission, “We Grow Entrepreneurial Scholars,” the ENT Division favors PDW proposals that give participants across career stages the opportunity to learn new skills, share ideas, help other scholars, have new experiences, and build connections.
How do PDWs contribute to the overall program?
PDWs are intended to complement, not replace, the regular AOM program. They should avoid conventional themes and topics and should not be structured as traditional paper or panel sessions. Instead, PDWs should be innovative in both content and format, exploring issues and fostering interactions that are not typically featured in the main program.
PDW sessions are typically structured as workshops, breakout sessions, tutorials, discussion panels, research incubators, or other interactive formats. PDWs should be intellectually stimulating while also providing a safe environment to present and refine new ideas, connect diverse perspectives, and generate new research opportunities. By encouraging the exchange of ideas and collaboration across fields and disciplines, PDWs help advance innovative directions for research. We welcome submissions that feature original topics, creative approaches to interaction, and experimental session designs. Examples include the use of technology in novel ways, fostering participant engagement before or after the session, and encouraging new forms of collaboration during the session.
Bridging Perspectives within the ENT Division and Across Divisions
Proposals should appeal to members of the Entrepreneurship Division or align with its domain. This domain encompasses not only the study of self-employment, small-business management, family business, new-venture formation, innovation, and firm growth, but also broader issues such as the recognition, analysis, and exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities; the nature of novelty, creativity, and innovation; and the ways in which individuals and groups exercise judgment under uncertainty. Sessions consisting primarily of standard paper presentations are more appropriate for traditional symposia.
PDWs are designed to build bridges across diverse scholarly communities—both within the Entrepreneurship Division and across the Academy of Management. The most effective PDWs foster meaningful interaction among individuals and groups who do not typically engage in the same sessions, workshops, or activities. Bridging diverse perspectives may include, but is not limited to, connecting junior and senior scholars; academics and practitioners; scholars from different countries; academics pursuing varied career paths; and perspectives that span divisional or theoretical boundaries across the Academy.
We encourage you to collaborate with colleagues both within and beyond the Division to submit PDW proposals with broad appeal to the wider Academy membership. PDWs offer a unique space for previously disconnected communities to come together, exchange knowledge and expertise, build new relationships, and ultimately contribute to the growth and advancement of the entrepreneurship field.
Submission Format and Components
Please attend carefully to the submission guidelines detailed below. Please note that the submission will not be reviewed if any of the guidelines and formatting requirements are not met.
Proposal Format Guidelines
- PDW proposals can be submitted to only ONE sponsor (that is, one [1] Division, Division Interest Group [DIG], or affiliate).
- Proposals should use the following page format:
- Times New Roman 12-point font.
- Double-spaced.
- 1-inch (2.5cm) margin all around.
- 8.5" x 11”-page setting.
- All submissions must be at least 4 pages but are limited to no more than 8 pages. You may use an appendix as needed to provide information that expands on the proposal.
- The entire submission must be contained in ONE document and must be either .pdf, .doc, .docx, or .rtf format.
Proposal Structure
Your proposal should be organized as follows:
Page 1: Title page which contains:
o The Academy submission system-assigned 5-digit submission number.
o The title of the workshop (in Title Case).
o The proposed Division sponsor (e.g., ENT Division) and any additional Divisions or Interest Groups that might be appropriate for cross-listing based on shared interests.
o An abstract of up to 250 words summarizing the workshop.
Page 2: One (1) page explanation as to why the workshop should be of interest to (a) the ENT division as the primary sponsor and (b) other Divisions or Interest Groups.
Page 3: One (1) page description of the workshop’s format.
Pages 4-6: One to three (1-3) page overview of the workshop.
Optional Appendix: You can use space in an Appendix to capture references, Tables (e.g., detailed agenda for the workshop), and/or Figures.
Proposal Evaluation Rubric
Proposals will be evaluated based on their ability to attract an audience from within the Entrepreneurship Division and across the Academy of Management, as well as on their level of innovation and potential impact on the professional development and success of participants. While revised versions of previous PDWs are welcome, proposals that simply repeat prior sessions without introducing new or innovative content will not be viewed favorably. Unlike the refereed scholarly program, which follows a double-blind review process and standardized time blocks and formats, PDWs offer greater flexibility in design. They may take a wide variety of formats, must be at least one hour in duration, and are reviewed directly by the PDW Chair.
The PDW Chair will use the following criteria to evaluate proposals:
a) Expected substantive and networking benefit for participants. Clearly specify the target audience(s) for the PDW and how your proposed session will facilitate their development.
b) Plans for creating an interactive and engaging session. Explain how you will structure the session to foster interaction amongst participants and promote inter-disciplinary ‘bridge-building.’
c) Breadth of interest of the session for individuals and groups within the Division and the broader Academy. Specify the anticipated breadth of interest, noting that you do not need to be ‘all things for all groups.’
d) Novelty of the topic or the format. Explain how the topic and/or how your proposed PDW format is novel and why introducing that novelty is useful for addressing program goals.
e) The effective use of program time. PDWs are typically at least two hours long, though sessions may be as short as 1.5 hours but must a minimum of one-hour duration. Ensure that you explain and justify why the requested time is needed to accomplish your goals and how you plan to maximize the use of that time. In doing so, consider that program time is zero-sum: your requests will ‘trade-off’ program time for other program participants.
Additional resources and questions to ask
William Dougan of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater has developed a helpful resource titled: A Guide for Creating and Managing a Good Professional Development Workshop. You are encouraged to review this guide as you prepare your proposal.
Before submitting a PDW proposal, consider the following questions to assess how well your submission aligns with the PDW evaluation criteria:
• Does the workshop offer a high quality and high-impact learning experience that meaningfully contributes to participants’ professional development?
• Do participants leave the workshop with clear and actionable takeaways (e.g., learning a new skill or developing a new research plan)?
• Does the workshop present a compelling theme and engage a group of participants likely to attract a strong audience despite competing sessions or scheduling constraints?
• Does the workshop foster genuine, multi-directional interaction among participants from different Divisions, disciplines, regions, career stages, or demographic backgrounds?
• Is the workshop creative and innovative in its topical focus, structure, or approach to engagement?
Submission Process and Deadlines
Proposals should be submitted to the AOM Annual Meeting Submission Center, which is available at the AOM website beginning in early December 2025. Early submissions are encouraged.
The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, January, 13th, 2026, at 5:00 PM ET (New York Time).
The PDW program runs from Friday through Sunday (July 31 – August 2, 2026).
Scholarly sessions (paper sessions and symposia) will be held Sunday, August 2 – Tuesday, August 4, 2026.
Poster sessions will run Friday, July 31 – Tuesday, August 4, 2026. DIGs may opt not to accept posters by notifying AOM.
All named PDW participants must commit to participation in advance. All proposals require a statement indicating that all named participants have consented to participate in the PDW. The AOM’s “Rule of Three” for the PDW program is that “no one may submit or be associated with more than 3 PDW submissions; or appear in more than 3 PDW sessions, regardless of whether the sessions are held on-site or off-site.”
See you in Philadelphia!
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