MANAGEMENT HISTORY (MH)

The Management History (MH) Division invites symposium and paper submissions for the 84th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management to be held in Chicago, IL, USA 9-13 August 2024. The Submission Center will open early in December and have a submission deadline of Tuesday, 9 January 2024, at 17:00 ET (GMT-5/UTC-5).

The theme for the conference is “Innovating for the Future: Policy, Purpose, and Organizations.” This is a timely and important theme. Accelerating technologies, such as AI and automation, are reshaping organizational landscapes, necessitating a nuanced understanding of how policy, purpose, and innovation intersect. This understanding ensures responsible technological integration, mindful of ethical considerations and equitable outcomes. 

More particularly, the rise of AI technologies is profoundly reshaping the employment landscape. Online platforms like Fiverr and Freelancer.com enable individuals to offer specialized services globally, fostering a gig economy where AI-driven tools match freelancers with clients. In manufacturing, collaborative robots (cobots) like those produced by Universal Robots work alongside human employees, automating repetitive tasks and enhancing productivity. Organizations like DeepMind are pushing the boundaries of AI research, achieving significant breakthroughs in protein folding and opening new avenues in drug discovery and medical research.  

We are going through a period of profound change due to the rise of the information age that rivals the emergence of the industrial and market economies of the 19th century. This is where the rich field of management history can answer the call from scholars and practitioners for increased clarity and reduced uncertainty. Management has responded to various exogenous and endogenous changes in the past. For example, the emergence of Taylorism and scientific management occurred due to changes in technology and employment relations, and studies of such past developments can provide exemplars in research and theorizing for scholars and practitioners tackling contemporary inter-related issues. 

As such, management history offers a unique opportunity to share and discuss information and perspectives about these seemingly intractable issues. The Management History division embraces a broad and multi-theoretical approach to the role of history and historical methods in understanding management, organizations, and business. PDW sessions provide an interactive and developmental opportunity to expand the confines of regular scholarly practice and challenge nostrums through provocative and unexplored areas of research. We are inclusive and not only seek submissions from management, business, and organizational historians, but also from those in other disciplines who have historical perspectives or interests. 

Details of the requirements for each session type are outlined on the submission website, the link is provided below. Feel free to contact the program chair, Matteo Cristofaro, if you have further questions. Please keep in mind that developing symposia, including panel discussions having broad appeal across multiple divisions (and submitting to as many as three), increases the chance of having your symposia accepted. 

Management History Division Awards

1. John F. Mee Award for Best Contribution to Management History 
2. Journal of Management History Best International Paper Award 
3. SAGE Publishers Award for Best MH Division Paper in Leadership 
4. Ronald B. Shuman Award for Best Graduate Student Paper 
5. MH Division Best Reviewer Award 

The MH Division also nominates a best paper on an international subject or theme for the Academy's Carolyn Dexter Award and a best student paper for the William H. Newman Award; consistent with the criteria for those honors. Authors that believe their papers are eligible for any of these awards should self-nominate when submitting to ensure they are included in that selection process. 

Call for Reviewers 

You may sign up as a reviewer starting in early December 2023. We may ask you to review up to three submissions between 18 January and 15 February. We will strive to assign papers in areas of your expertise as noted from the keywords you provide. 

For any inquiries concerning your submission, please contact Matteo Cristofaro. We look forward to receiving your submissions and seeing you in Chicago next August!