ORGANIZATION & MANAGEMENT THEORY (OMT)

The Organization and Management Theory (OMT) Division invites symposium and paper submissions for the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, which will be held from 4 August to 8 August 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Submission Center opens 6 December 2022. You may send us submissions through the AOM Submission Center until it closes on  Tuesday, 10  January 2023 at 17:00 ET (GMT-5/UTC-5).

Our Domain

The OMT Division welcomes submissions related to developing and testing theory about organizations, their members and management, organizing and managerial processes within and between organizations, organization-environment relations, and the role of organizations in society. The area has a rich intellectual heritage. OMT is inclusive of theoretical approaches and analytical methods that advance the understanding of organizational and managerial phenomena. We encourage the use of theory and research to address contemporary challenges to organizational life, managerial practice, and broader society. More information about the division is available on the OMT website.

The Conference Theme

When preparing your submission, we encourage you to connect to this year’s important conference theme: “Putting the Worker Front and Center.” Please consider submissions that advance scholarship and management practice that aim to improve the workplace and the lives of workers. For instance, how can organization and management theory help us understand and address current challenges regarding work, labor and employment relations, diversity and fairness in the workplace, technology and analytics, and larger questions relating to the future of work and workers? What can organizations and their managers do to provide good jobs and good careers for their employees now and over the long run? How can organizations improve job quality and the work experience of workers in every kind of job, especially low-wage workers? What organizational strategies can help enhance workers’ voice and address workplace inequality? What innovative organizational processes and practices, social structures, and public polices can help foster an inclusive future of work?

We also welcome scholarly submissions that do not directly pertain to this year’s theme. 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 the use of theory to address organizational and societal challenges. We aspire to advance robust theoretical understanding of organizations, organizing, and management.

Special Invitation

The OMT Executive Board thanks all of our members who have submitted and volunteered in prior years for their contributions to making OMT the place to be! We are counting on you to continue submitting your best research papers and most creative symposia. We especially invite PhD students and faculty who have not previously submitted research to the Academy or to the OMT Division. Our membership is eager to engage with new ideas and to welcome new members. If you have questions about the appropriateness of your submission for OMT, please feel free to contact the Program Chair.

Reviewing for OMT

Our division has a long tradition for providing constructive and developmental reviews of high quality. The success of the OMT program relies upon your active participation in the review process. We will need your help as a reviewer to help us identify our best submissions. Please sign up to review. The norm in the collegial community of OMT is that if you submit a paper, a symposium or a PDW, then you also help to develop the program by reviewing for the division. The sign-up system opens in early December — please sign up before you forget! Your reviewer assignment will be based on the keywords that you indicate are your areas of expertise. Thank you for your willingness to volunteer and contribute to the program by providing thoughtful and timely reviews. If you have not yet had a chance to review, 2023 is the year to start! PhD students are welcome. 

OMT Division Awards 

Each year the OMT Division presents a number of awards at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management:

• The Distinguished Scholar Award recognizes scholars who have been central to the intellectual development of the field of organization and management theory. 
• The Joanne Martin Trailblazer Award recognizes scholars who have blazed trails and paved the way for new ideas during the course of their careers (given every other year; to be given in 2024). 
• The Distinguished Educator Award recognizes scholars who have had a significant impact through their teaching and interactions with students (given every other year; to be given in 2023). 
• The Best Published Paper Award recognizes a journal article published in the previous year that advances our theoretical understanding of organizations, organizing, and management. 
• The Best Paper Award recognizes an empirical or conceptual paper submitted to the annual meeting that offers significant contributions to the field of organization and management theory. 
• The Louis Pondy Best Dissertation Paper Award recognizes the best paper based on a dissertation in the refereed scholarly program. 
• The Best International Paper Award recognizes research regarding themes and content of interest internationally. 
• The Best Paper on Environmental and Social Practices recognizes research that advances our understanding of environmental and social dimensions of organizing. 
• The Best OMT Entrepreneurship Paper recognizes a paper in the scholarly program that advances understanding of entrepreneurship drawing on organization and management theory. 
• The Best Student Paper recognizes a paper authored solely by students and included in the refereed program. 
• The OMT Responsible Research Award recognizes a paper that offers both credible and useful knowledge that can potentially advance business practices toward a better society. 
• The Best Symposium Award recognizes an event submitted to the annual meeting that stimulates, integrates, or extends discussions about organization and management theory.
• Our newly created award, the Ned Smith Rising Star Award  , recognizes an OMT scholar who has established a research record of exceptional quality and creativity early in their career. The award is established in honor of Edward "Ned" Bishop Smith (1981-2021). It will be awarded for the first time in 2023 and then every other year. 
• The Research Committee Award recognizes the valuable service provided by the most dedicated members of the research committee.
• The Above and Beyond the Call of Duty (ABCD) Award recognizes reviewers who were deemed worthy of special acknowledgment for the helpfulness, extensiveness, and insight of their reviews.