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The OMT Executive Board thanks all of our members who have submitted and volunteered in prior years to make OMT the place to be! We are counting on you to continue submitting your best research papers and most creative symposia. We also welcome PhD students and faculty who have not yet submitted research to the Academy or OMT Division before. OMT encompass a diverse range of theories, topics, and people. Our membership is eager to engage with new ideas and welcome new members.

Specific Domain: Organization and management theory involves a building and testing diverse theories at multiple levels including organizations and organizing processes, intra-organizational relations, organization-environment relations, and the role of organizations in society.  Some popular topics in recent years have included networks and embeddedness; innovation and change; entrepreneurial organizing; organizational design and new organizational forms; inequality; diffusion, learning and knowledge; social change; environmental and social practices; culture; capabilities and competencies; institutional theory and legitimacy; categories and categorization; corporate governance and top management teams; routines and routine dynamics; power and dependence; work and occupations; identity and identity work; social movements; alternatives to capitalism; practice and process theories of organizing. More information about the division can be found on the OMT website (http://omtweb.org).

Special Instructions: OMT encourages the submission of symposia or papers that develop new theory or that apply our existing theory base to emerging management domains. The division celebrates theoretical novelty, methodological pluralism, international research collaborations, and linkages between theory and practice.  Submissions focused on this year’s Academy theme – At the Interface – are particularly encouraged. If you have questions about the appropriateness of your submission for OMT, please feel free to contact the Program Chair. The submission system is now open. It closes on Tuesday, January 10, 2017 at 5pm ET (NY Time).

Looking forward to receiving your submissions. Please do not hesitate to contact me at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for any additional ifnormation.

Davide Ravasi

Cass Business School

OMT Program Chair

The Organization and Management Theory (OMT) Division invites proposals for PDW sessions for the 2017 Academy of Management Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, August 4-8. The OMT division is a community built from a common desire to develop and promote understanding of organizations and organizing. We stand at the intersection of micro and macro analysis, providing a context for mutually beneficial intellectual engagement across disciplinary and other boundaries.

PDW sessions provide excellent opportunities for exploring emerging research questions or methods, trying out new workshop formats, and kindling conversations on important but understudied phenomena, and building communities. They can take a variety of formats – methods workshops, tutorials, debates, roundtable discussions, town hall meetings, to name a few – and can address ideas or phenomena that might not (yet) fit in the regular program. PDW sessions are also intended for professional development of the participants, so active engagement of the participants is essential. Sessions that look like standard paper presentations or symposia are more appropriate for the regular conference program.

We aim to offer a wide variety of innovative, diverse, and interactive PDWs that engage as large and as broad a representation of the OMT membership as possible. We encourage proposals that address the overall AOM 2017 conference theme, “At the Interface.” The conference theme description explicitly mentions several topics that are highly relevant to OMT scholars, including but not limited to networks, organizational form and design, organizational goals and boundaries, inter-organizational relationships and alliances, organizational change, and innovation. Further, the notion of interfaces more broadly points to the role organizations play in both connecting and separating—we believe OMT scholars have much to offer here.

Acceptance of proposals for OMT PDWs will be based on (a) relevance to the interests of the Division's membership; (b) novelty and creativity; and (c) plans for creating an interactive and engaging session. We further welcome proposals that are of interest to members of other AOM divisions (e.g., ENT, BPS, OB, MOC, TIM, etc.), although that is not a requirement for acceptance.  Please indicate in the submission document what divisions and interest groups may be suitable as potential co-sponsors.

PDW sessions will be held on Friday, August 4 and Saturday, August 5, 2017 from 8am-8pm. The submission system opens Tuesday, November 15, 2016. All submissions are to be submitted electronically through the AOM Submission System. The deadline for submissions is Tuesday January 10, 2017 at 5:00 PM ET (NY Time). We encourage you to submit early to enable the possibility of feedback to maximize your chance of acceptance.

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I hope that all of you who attended Academy this year enjoyed the overall program. After the business meeting, several members expressed an interest in getting more details about the numbers this year, so I thought I’d quickly share some of the interesting statistics from this year’s OMT program, prior to sending out a full report later this Fall. The numbers speak well on their own for the future of OMT:

• 15.7% increase in number of people signing up to review
• 27.9% increase in number of people completing at least one review
• 90.9% review completion rate
• 0 emergency reviewers
• 2.2% decrease in time until review completion
• 2.3% increase in average length of each review
• 4.4% increase in average usefulness of reviews
• 3.5% increase in average tone of reviews
• 631 papers and 90 symposium submitted (2nd highest total in history, and highest ever in the United States)
• 84 symposium (82 co-sponsored with 63 of those co-sponsored by 2 other divisions)
• 79 traditional paper sessions (393 papers total)
• 8 discussion paper sessions (38 papers total)
• 28 OMT Off-Program events (Cafes, Runs, Yoga, Eats, Drinks, Editor Chats)
• 2017 OMTers registered for Anaheim (2nd highest number in history, and highest ever in the United States)
• 1060 of those were non-U.S. members (2nd highest number in history, and highest ever in the United States)
• 633 of the OMTers registered for Anaheim were students (Our highest number ever)

Looking forward to seeing you all next year in Atlanta!

Cheers,

Marc-David

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Marc-David L. Seidel

Academy of Management

OMT Division Chair-Elect 2017
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ASQ's new editor-in-chief, Henrich Greve’s coffee chat for OMT was met with resounding success, with Forrest Briscoe and Marc-David L. Seidel (ASQ associate editors) showing up to help field questions. Many interested scholars showed up to inquire about the future of the field and to get advice on how to publish a paper in ASQ.

Below are quick highlights of the Q&A that occurred, followed by more details:

• “ASQ is an authors’ journal which means that you have the liberty to write the way you think the paper should be written”
• “Here at ASQ, we want to deal with fundamental questions, and we want to publish articles that will be relevant to scholars decades from now. Most journals impact factor is three years. We go beyond that.”
• “Contributions per page are actually a metric we think about. This creates an odd selectivity effect. We’re pretty negative on extra pages on what you want to say”
• “ASQ has a streamlined review process”
  • “We have two rounds of reviews. Any editor who wants to go to a fourth round needs to talk to me about it. It’ll only happen under exceptional circumstances”
  • “You will hear from us within the week if there’s a desk reject”
  • “New data, new methodologies are seen as opportunities to ask and answer questions we couldn’t ask before”

Many of the questions at the coffee chats revolved around – “what should an ASQ article look like?” These include a wide range of sub-questions regarding the length of an article (the introduction section), different standards pertaining to qualitative papers and etc.

• Henrich:
  • “ASQ is an authors’ journal NOT a format journal and this means that authors can send their papers in whichever format they deem the most appropriate”
  • “Our editors are widely read and each article will be sent to the editor who will is deemed the best fit for evaluating the article taking into consideration its style of writing, format and content”
  • “Contributions per page are actually a metric we think about. This creates an odd selectivity effect. We’re pretty negative on extra pages on what you want to say”

What is the role of associate editors?

• Henrich:
  • “I do not have the power to say yes or no to every single decision. The main editor does not bless each decision. The associate editors are held responsible for their decision”
  • “As I mentioned, each paper gets assigned to the associate editor who is the best fit, and this person will be best able to judge if that paper is fundamental and if it will be included in the curriculum of PhD students one to two decades from now”

Can we submit an abstract or something of the sort to speed up knowing if ASQ is a suitable place to publish our paper?

• Henrich:
  • “Please send the full paper. That way, we will best be able to judge. Our review process is actually pretty quick. When you submit it, it gets evaluated immediately. We’ll let you know if the style of the paper isn’t the best fit at ASQ.”
  • “You will know within the week if it is a desk reject”

What does it take to become a reviewer?

• Henrich:
  • “Be good at that particular style of research. Be good at what you do and know the literature”
  • “Academy makes lists on reviewers. If you do good reviews for academy, the journals will look for that”
  • “So two things: Be good at what you do, and be a good reviewer”

Are you interested in papers using new big data techniques and technologies?

• Henrich:
• “Yes, we want to make progress at ASQ while being stable in our quality"
• “New data, new methodologies are seen as opportunities to ask and answer questions we couldn’t ask or answer before”
• “We will need to find reviewers who can read the papers and find out if our audience is ready for it”

Summarized by Daphne Teh (Insead) & Amy Zhao (Insead)

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We have had an amazingly enthusiastic response to the OMT Events, which are back by popular demand providing an off-program calendar of events self-organized by OMT members off-site in non-official venues.

These off-program events are the perfect way for both new and established members to casually meet with a smaller group of people who share common interests.

Bookmark:  Off-Program OMT Events Calendar

Here are some highlights:

OMT Eats

• Friday:  Mexican food organized by Natalya Alonso - departing from the Meet OMT Reception.
• Saturday:  Visit the nearby Little Saigon neighborhood, home of one of the largest Vietnamese communities outside of Vietnam, for Vietnamese food organized by Dennis Ma. E-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to reserve your spot.
• Sunday:  Ethiopian food organized by Jo-Ellen Pozner. E-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to reserve your spot.

OMT ASQ Editor Chat

• Join Henrich Greve, the new incoming editor of ASQ, and other members of the ASQ editorial team for a casual self-hosted chat at a nearby cafe on Saturday afternoon.

OMT Cafes

• Choose from 15+ casual self-hosted topically themed cafe chats scheduled in nearby cafes. Topics range from Emergence to Institutions, Family Business to Corporate Reputation.

OMT Runs

• Join Klaus Weber and other OMTers each morning (Friday-Tuesday) for a casual run. Open to runners of all levels.

OMT Drinks

• In addition to the official OMT hosted receptions (Friday and Monday), we have self-hosted gatherings at local bars and brewpubs on Saturday evening.

Full OMT Events details:  OMT Events Calendar

Please spread the word to anyone you think may be interested in joining the events, particularly those who are not yet OMT members.  All are welcome!

All of us at OMT are looking forward to welcoming you and thank you again for making OMT the Place to Be!

Best wishes,

Marc-David

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Marc-David L. Seidel

Academy of Management

OMT Division Program Chair 2016

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David Hickson died on Wednesday, June 22nd, 2016. That statement baldly puts a full stop at the end of a well-lived life, a life that made a difference to family and friends and to the worldwide academic community of scholars of organizations. David made a significant difference to our field in three important, substantive, ways: through his own research; through his involvement in the founding and early years of the European Group for Organization Studies; and through his role in Organization Studies. These contributions were recognized by him being the first ever Honorary Member of EGOS in 1998 and by receiving the Joanne Martin Trailblazer Award from the Organization and Management Theory Division of the Academy of Management in 2013. And yet, David arrived in academe by an unusual route. After a time as Assistant Secretary of the Bristol Stock Exchange, he had gone to the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology to pursue his ambition of becoming a personnel manager. However, Reg Revans spotted his potential as a researcher and he went on to do a Master's degree, studying restriction of output in a machine shop. It was from there that he was recruited by the new head of the Department of Industrial Administration at Birmingham College of Advanced Technology (later the University of Aston), Tom Lupton, and his career as an academic researcher took off.

In terms of the research that he carried out over a period of four decades, his contributions are through the Aston group, the strategic contingencies theory of power and strategic organizational decision-making. David was a leading member of the Aston group, central to the development of those concepts and findings on organization structure and context that have remained important to our understanding of organizations to this day. In particular, the work he led on operations technology and organization structure helped formulate the terms of that debate. The role of technology in organizational design still features as an important set of ideas about organizations. During his time with the Aston program, two qualities began to be apparent in David. One was his keen sense of the relationship between theory and data. Yes, he wished to spend time sorting out concepts, but equally, it was important to him to collect and analyze data. Another, was his tremendous attention to detail; no one could get away with shoddy work in David's presence. Nothing was to be missed, no stone to be left unturned. These qualities remained with him all of his life and have been important to the mark he has made on our field.

But during his time at Aston he was able to appreciate the role of theory more and more and when he was invited to spend time at the University of Alberta from 1968-70, the project he led there bore all the hallmarks of his approach to research. What became known as the strategic contingencies theory of power showed his commitment to theory, his concern with data, and the rigor and thoroughness of his approach to research. The original paper of that research has been highly influential and the ideas were an important grounding for resource dependence theory.  It also inspired a continuing theoretical and empirical discussion of power. These ideas still have to be dealt with in any discussion of power in organizations.  Indeed, the latest citation of this work is in the April 2016 issue of the Academy of Management Review. 40 years after the work was done, it continues to help shape debate on the nature of power in organizations. Thus, David was important in establishing the conversation about power in organizations.

From this work came his invitation to apply for a professorship at the University of Bradford, where, from 1970 on, he was to spend the rest of his academic life. It was also from the work that he had initiated at Alberta that his lifelong interest in strategic decision making became crystallized. At Bradford he led research teams, worked with Phd students and developed concepts and theories on how decisions are made by senior managers. One of the outcomes of this research was the book Top Decisions that remains a path-breaking, benchmark study.  During this time, David dealt with issues of the production of strategic decisions, the shape of the decision making process, the implementation of those decisions, and the nature of organizational processes within which decision making is embedded. David Hickson's name is synonymous with the study of strategic, macro, organizational decision making.

So, from an academic research perspective, David's contribution was much more than most of us can hope to achieve. He was centrally involved in three major studies, which have become part of the accepted canon of literature on organizations, namely, the Aston studies, the strategic contengencies theory of power, and strategic decision making. Surely this was more than enough for any one person. But no, David made a massive contribution to our professional community through the European Group for Organizational Studies, and the journal, Organization Studies.

David was one of a small group of people who made EGOS a reality. Soon after arriving back in Britain after his two-year sojourn in Canada, David began to explore the possibility of a European grouping of organizational researchers. While in North America he had seen the influence of bodies such as the American Sociological Association and the Academy of Management, and, as a committed European (unlike so many British of the 1970s and now this decade), he also saw the possibilities on a European scale. So, a small group of people, including David, launched the European Group for Organization Studies, with its first Colloquium in Breaux-sans-Nappe in 1975. EGOS has since played a major role in developing organization theory initially in Europe, and latterly as an international forum that increasingly draws together European, North American and Asian scholars. As the links between North America, Europe and Asia have increased in strength, we can easily take for granted the vibrancy of European organization theory. But without the trailblazing work of David Hickson, through EGOS (and Organization Studies), those links that we now accept as being part of the globalization of organization theory would not be so strong.  David’s important contribution enabled new ideas to circulate and new conversations to take place.

David's experience at Aston and in Alberta had demonstrated the influence and importance of Administrative Science Quarterly, but he was interested in the possibility of a journal with a non-North American focus come into prominence, although he had grave doubts about whether it was really a possibility. The birth of Organization Studies and his doubts about the whole thing was chronicled by David in an 'Inside Story' in O.S. with its beginnings in a bedroom in Speyer in 1977 (Inside Story: the Bedroom Scene, Organization Studies 1: 87-90). Suffice it to say that David was an important midwife in the birth of the journal in 1980 and then served for 11 years as its Editor-in-Chief. It was in this role that David ensured that not only did O.S. get off the ground, but that it became the leading European-based journal for organizational analysis. As an editor, he was tireless in searching out papers and authors, encouraging submissions, giving critical but positive feedback, and encouraging all things associated with the journal. Very few of us have any idea of what it takes, as an Editor, to launch a journal and build it into a leading journal, and when one thinks of this being done in a multi-cultural environment, across nation states and languages, then the challenge is enormous. We need to remember that David did this while occupying a chair at Bradford and leading a groundbreaking series of research studies on strategic decision making. As editor for the first 11 years, he was central in developing that distinctive voice of OS and ensuring that a variety of alternative ways of thinking about organizations were established.

At this time of remembering David Hickson’s life I would like to add a more personal note. He was not only my colleague but my friend and I will miss him. We worked together very intensively for 12 years and then continued to discuss ideas, research, EGOS, OS over the succeeding 35 years. All the time David was very willing to give of himself. He was always committed to working with others. Right from the days of Aston, David worked in teams for research and professional purposes. In doing that, he has contributed immeasurably to the life of colleagues and they have contributed in the same way to his life. He certainly contributed to my life.

I would also like to remember David’s family, which was very important to him, as they go through a time of grieving but also, I know, a time of really good reminiscences. I think of his wife, Marjorie, and the difficulties that she has surmounted with incredible strength and optimism. She has been an extremely important part of David's life and his success as an academic. His children, Adrian and Luci, and their spouses together with his 5 grandchildren were important in providing a space away from academia, in which other interests and activities could be indulged. I know that his grandchildren will miss ‘Bompa’. I wish all of his family well as they move into this different phase of their lives.

Thank you for your life and your contribution, David.

Bob Hinings

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Chair’s Message – Nelson Phillips, Imperial College, introduces this issue of the OMT Division newsletter, and identifies some highlights of the upcoming Anaheim meeting. Read More…

Program Chair Marc-David Seidel shares an overview of OMT's program

PDW Chair Davide Ravasi previews the pre-conference program

Research Committee Chair Jo-Ellen Pozner announces our paper and symposia award winners for this year

Be sure to join our New and Returning Member Networking and Research Forum and attend our many OMT events, including our Monday morning Distinguished Scholar Breakfast to congratulate John Meyer and hear his distinguished talk

Follow these links for details of the OMT Doctoral Consortium, Junior Faculty Consortium, or Dissertation Proposal Workshop

For those of you attending EGOS in Naples, please join us Thursday July 7th at 5:30-7:00 at Meet OMT @ EGOS, which is jointly sponsored with Cass School of Business! Please join us for vibrant conversation, drinks and appetizers in a beautiful setting. OMT and Cass School of Business look forward to mingling and seeing you in Naples!

Other Announcements

Please congratulate our newly elected OMT executives as well as our 2016 ABCD Award Recipients

Remember the life of David J. Hickson (1931 - 2016)

Considering attending several events hosted by the Community of Academy Senior Scholars

Be a part of the OMT Social Media Team or Communications Team

Please like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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Are you interested in being a part of the OMT Social Media Team at EGOS or AOM this year?   Take pictures, tweet, and be a part of the OMT conversation at these conferences!  Please contact Eunice Rhee ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Also, if you’re interested in being a volunteer on the OMT Communications Team, which includes blogging on our website, interviewing top scholars, and helping out at conferences, please contact Derek Harmon ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

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At this year’s Annual Meeting in Anaheim the new initiative of the Academy of Management to serve its senior members, the Community of Academy Senior Scholars (CASS), will co-sponsor several events that members of this division are cordially invited to attend. CASS was created to provide programs and activities that are relevant and helpful for senior members of the Academy who are contemplating or in retirement from their primary career.

This year CASS is sponsoring or hosting two program activities. First, on Monday morning of this year’s Annual Meeting we will host a special CASS session that has two parts. The first part will be a strategic planning session, led by Myron Fottler, to discuss and organize how CASS can best serve all senior members of the Academy. The second part will consist of a discussion panel of past presidents entitled “To Retire or Not To Retire: That is the Question”.  Moderated by Regina Greenwood and Julia Baker, these presenters will share the decision process they followed as they considered retirement. Panelists include Bill Starbuck, Mike Hitt, and Anne Huff with others scheduled to appear via SKYPE.  Their experiences will frame an audience driven conversation about retiring, retirement, and finding new or encore careers.  This two part session will start at 7:30 and a light breakfast will be provided. Please check the program for location.

The second activity will be a program co-sponsored with several divisions called “Then and Now”. This year’s offering, in a series that has included Gary Latham, Ed Locke, Fred Luthans, and Victor Vroom, we present the work of Sim Sitkin on Organizational Trust. The purpose of this session, chaired by Craig Crossley, is to spotlight a senior scholar’s contribution to the management body of knowledge by having that person discuss and describe how he or she got involved in this area and then developed it. To complement this distinguished scholar’s presentation, two recent scholars on this topic, Nicole Gillespie and Bart de Jong, will discuss how this original work has evolved. Please check your program for time and place.

CASS invites any member who might find the sessions sponsored by it to come and join us. We believe that there is a need in the Academy for an organized group of its senior scholars who wish to both socialize with and learn from each other the challenges and opportunities that senior scholars face.

Robert C. Ford

Community of Academy Senior Scholars

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Welcome to the Spring 2016 edition of the OMT Newsletter.

In this newsletter we highlight and summarize all the news and announcements that have been posted to our blog since our last newsletter. It has been a busy six months since our Fall Newsletter so there is a lot to explore in this edition of the OMT Newsletter. I hope you find it helpful and interesting.

First of all, it's hard to believe but it is almost time for the meetings in Anaheim. It is going to be a fantastic conference and there is a huge variety of activities and sessions for the OMT community. OMT really is the place to be!

More specifically, program Chair Marc-David Seidel has created a fantastic program and and you can find an overview of OMT's program for this year here. PDW Chair Davide Ravasi has done an equally stellar job of the pre-conference program. Have a look at their overviews and start thinking about your favorites! Research Committee Chair Jo-Ellen Pozner has also provided a report on our paper and symposia award winners for this year.  Also, be sure to join our New and Returning Member Networking and Research Forum and attend our many OMT events, including our Monday morning Distinguished Scholar Breakfast to congratulate John Meyer and hear his distinguished talk.

As usual, we have a number of division activities that are organized every year for our membership. Follow these links for details of the OMT Doctoral Consortium, Junior Faculty Consortium, or Dissertation Proposal Workshop.

Second, for those of you attending EGOS in Naples, please join us Thursday July 7^th at 5:30-7:00 at Meet OMT @ EGOS. This event is jointly sponsored with Cass School of Business so a big thank you to them! Please join us for vibrant conversation, drinks and appetizers in a beautiful setting. OMT and Cass School of Business look forward to mingling and seeing you in Naples. And make sure to look for the executive members in attendance as we would love to hear your thoughts on OMT.

Finally, as you will no doubt have heard, our elections very well managed by Ann Langley and we have a great set of new members of the executive committee. Be sure to congratulate our newly elected OMT executives.

Alright, that’s it for now. I look forward to seeing everyone in Anaheim and Naples this summer!

Sincerely,

Nelson

Nelson Phillips
OMT Division Chair

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A sincere thank you to the ABCD (Above and Beyond the Call of Duty) Award Winning Reviewers

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We are pleased to announce that John Meyer has been named the OMT Distinguished Scholar for 2016.

John Meyer is Professor of Sociology (and, by courtesy, Education), emeritus, at Stanford. Please join us on Monday morning at the Academy meeting in Anaheim to congratulate John and hear his distinguished talk!

OMT Distinguished Scholar Breakfast

Monday, Aug 8 2016 8:00AM - 9:30AM

Anaheim Marriott in Northwest Marquis Ballroom

Since 1980, the Organization and Management Theory Division has been presenting the Distinguished Scholar Award to scholars whose contributions have been central to the intellectual development of the field of organization studies.