PDW Making Worlds With Words: Language as the Infrastructure of Future-Making
Academy of Management Annual Meeting 2026
Sunday, August 2 | 9:45–11:45 AM (ET)
Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown – Seminar A
How do organizations create the futures they envision?
Language does far more than describe the future-it shapes what organizations imagine, legitimize, and ultimately bring into being. This Professional Development Workshop explores the central role of narratives, framing, and discourse in future-making, bringing together leading scholars from organization theory, strategy, entrepreneurship, and discourse research.
Panelists
- Violina Rindova (University of California Irvine)
- Matthias Wenzel (Leuphana University of Lüneburg & Universidad EAFIT)
- Derek Harmon (Michigan State University)
- Nelson Phillips (University of California Santa Barbara)
Organizers
- Silvia Sanasi (University of Bergamo)
- Stefano Magistretti (Politecnico di Milano)
- Nico Klenner (The Australian National University)
- Luigi Mosca (Imperial Business School)
Together, we will explore questions such as:
- How does language shape organizational futures?
- How do narratives and framing enable future-making?
- Which theories and methods can advance research on the discursive dimension of future-making?
- How can scholars leverage the representation–performance paradox in future-making research and practice?
Following the panel, participants will join interactive roundtable discussions with the panelists and organizers to receive feedback on their own research, exchange ideas, and explore future collaborations.
Whether your interests lie in future making, strategy, entrepreneurship, organization theory, or discourse, we hope you will join the conversation. No registration is required. We look forward to seeing you in Philadelphia!
Silvia, Stefano, Nico, and Luigi
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Luigi Mosca
Imperial College London
London
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