WORKSHOPS AT SAN FRANCISCO
Workshops are held on Saturday, October 11, 2025; the first day of the SMS Annual Conference. Workshops are included in the registration for the Annual Conference, therefore participants in workshops must be registered for the Annual Conference.
While workshops are open to all conference attendees, please note that some workshops have a competitive application process. Review the details for each workshop below for whether an application is required and the deadline for applications.
Most workshops are presented by the SMS Interest Groups and Communities (IG&Cs).
Workshops are scheduled for three-hour morning (9:00 AM–12:00 PM) or afternoon (1:00 PM–4:00 PM) sessions. Conference attendees are welcome to attend workshops both in the morning and afternoon timeslots. For workshops that require applications, we ask that you do not apply for more than two workshops per timeslot.
Lunch and coffee breaks are provided for all workshop participants.
To learn about the full-day Annual Doctoral Workshop, click here. Please note that because it runs the entire day, participants cannot attend the IG&C Workshops as well.
MORNING WORKSHOPS
Sponsored by the Corporate Strategy, Competitive Strategy, Cooperative Strategy, Knowledge & Innovation, Strategic Human Capital, and Global Strategy Interest Groups
Application required; Walk-ins welcome for panel portion
At the SMS 45th Annual Conference in San Francisco, the strategic management research community will examine questions about strategy in an economy where the emergence of huge corporates poses unique challenges for corporate, competitive, and cooperative strategies, management of knowledge, innovation, and human capital, management of a global footprint, and more. Our workshop seeks to create a space where scholars can explore these varied topics. Through an interactive panel and Q&A discussion followed by in-depth paper feedback sessions, this junior faculty development workshop aims to bring together a variety of perspectives across diverse strategy communities. The workshop is open to interested scholars at all levels, with priority given to submissions from junior faculty. Applications will be required for this workshop.
Application Requirements:
- A CV
- A copy (or extended abstract) of the paper for which they would like to receive feedback
Confirmed Panelists:
- Heather Berry
- Francesco Castellaneta
- Martin Ganco
- Nan Jia
- Elisa Operti
- Grazia Santangelo
- Tony Tong
Confirmed Discussants:
- Francisco Brahm
- Colleen Cunningham
- John Eklund
- Marco Giarratana
- Cecilia Gu
- Carlos Inoue
- Jacqueline Kirtley
- Giacomo Marchesini
- Milan Miric
- Sandeep Pillai
Co-Organizers:
- Julia Bodner
- Jasmina Chauvin
- Liang Chen
- Bruno Cirillo
- Luisa Gagliardi
- Cecilia Qian Gu
- Hyo Kang
- Daniel Keum
- Min Jung Kim
- Pankaj Kumar
- Martina Pasquini
- Lisa Tang
Sponsored by the Entrepreneurship & Strategy, Knowledge & Innovation, and Global Strategy Interest Group
No application required; Walk-ins welcome
This PDW explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping the global landscape of entrepreneurship. Drawing on both academic research and the practitioners’ perspective, the session examines AI’s influence on opportunity recognition, resource mobilization, market entry, and other key steps of the entrepreneurial process, and how these may vary across international settings. Distinguished speakers will share cutting-edge research and insights from the industry. The conversation aims to illuminate how AI is redefining value creation, spurring innovation, and reshaping entrepreneurial ecosystems around the world. Ultimately, this session bridges theory and practice, providing invaluable guidance for academics and practitioners navigating today’s rapidly evolving global digital landscape.
Panelists:
- Kathy Eisenhardt (Stanford University)
- Constance Helfat (Dartmouth)
- Tarun Khanna (Harvard University)
- Nan Jia (USC)
- Shaker Zahra (University of Minnesota)
- Practitioner speakers TBA
Organizers:
- Andrea Contigiani
- Nataliya Wright
- Shinjinee Chattopadhyay
- Stephanie Wang
Sponsored by the Behavioral Strategy and Knowledge & Innovation Interest Groups
No application required; Walk-ins welcome
While the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on organizations has been the subject of numerous conference panels, these conversations have primarily focused on two ends of the spectrum: the implications of AI for managerial practice—such as competition, creativity, team dynamics, and organizational design—and the evolving methodologies enabled by AI in organizational research. Collectively, our scholarly community has begun to address these practical and methodological dimensions of AI’s integration into the field of strategic management.
However, a critical gap remains underexplored: the implications of AI for the core theories of management. Most of our foundational theories—spanning organizational learning, knowledge transfer, human capital, routines, technological innovation, and disruption—were developed in a pre-AI era and are built upon specific assumptions regarding human cognition, decision-making, politics, and social interaction. The emergence of AI as a potential decision-maker challenges many of these assumptions and may ultimately necessitate substantial theoretical revisions. Unlike previous technologies, AI agents are beginning to exhibit capabilities once considered unique to humans, thereby potentially altering the conceptual foundations of organizational behavior and strategic decision-making.
This session brings together a panel of leading scholars whose work has shaped many of our existing theoretical frameworks. The aim is not only to provoke discussion but to generate speculative and forward-looking insights into how our key theories may need to evolve in light of AI revolution. Through a combination of panel discussions, audience engagement, and roundtable dialogues, this session aims to chart a path forward for theory development in the era of intelligent machines.
Panelists:
- Matthew Bidwell (LBS)
- Russ Coff (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
- Felipe Csaszar (University of Michigan)
- Gabriel Szulanski (INSEAD)
Organizers:
- Maciej Workiewicz
- Dylan Boynton
- Victoria Sevcenko
Sponsored by the Behavioral Strategy, Strategy Practice, and Strategy Process Interest Groups
No application required; Walk-ins welcome
How do organizations strategize amid unprecedented change and uncertainty, while also creating value? This interactive panel explores, debates, and informs this question from diverse, sometimes conflicting academic perspectives and will use practitioners to extend, validate, and perhaps dismiss the relevance of academic theory. The ultimate aim of both panels is to generate insight into the theory–practice interface and to spark new, actionable research directions.
Academics offer insights through different theoretical lenses. For example, a process view examines how goal framing from explicit to normative impacts motivation and thus strategizing. A practice view views the need to adapt to unprecedented change as an emergent, adaptive process, addressing what issues become strategic through collective social processes and behavior. This emergent view appears to contrast considerably with the theory-based view, which asserts that managers' capacity to generate novel forwardlooking beliefs and causal relationships which were not previously obvious or salient is central to strategizing, particularly in uncertain environments. Drawing on experience from startups to large corporations, practitioner panelists will reflect on their experience based on the above-mentioned theoretical perspectives.
Our hope is to foster insight, debate, and contextualization. Topics include the complexities of strategizing in research-intensive organizations, the integration of AI, novel strategies and emerging practices, and the persistent challenges of linking strategy formulation to value-creation. The session concludes with Q&A and themed breakout groups to develop collaborative research ideas. Attendees are encouraged to bring a one-page handout to support discussion.
Panelists:
- Teppin Felin (Utah State University)
- Eero Vaara (Oxford University)
- Libby Weber (Michigan State University)
- Danamichelle Brennen, MA (IT startup entrepreneur and strategist for small and mid-size companies, including Ancestry, QVC)
- Kristen Hege, MD, MBA (Former SVP of Bristol Myers Squibb, current bio-tech startup board/advisor)
- Russ McGuire (IT entrepreneur; former CSO, Sprint; strategic consultant)
Organizers:
- Dylan Boynton
- Katharina Cepa
- Laura Poppo
Sponsored by the Strategy Process and Strategy Practice Interest Groups
No application required; Walk-ins welcome
The workshop is designed to engage scholars throughout SMS on publishing rigorous and impactful strategy research from a process and/or practice perspective. The workshop is open to all scholars at SMS who are interested in or curious about strategy process and practice research. It would be particularly beneficial for strategy researchers using qualitative methods in their investigations. The workshop comprises three sessions. Section one is a panel discussion involving journal editors and senior members of reviewer boards. The panelists will share their insights into publishing qualitative research in the journals they serve. Section two, “The nuts and bolts of reviewing strategy practice and process research,” is designed as a resource kit for effectively reviewing strategy research with process and/or practice perspective. It is expected to be beneficial for researchers who submit their work to understand how their work may be evaluated by reviewers. In the third session, we invited an author and their acting editor to share the journal of publishing a practice and/process paper successfully. The session, titled “The bumpy but ultimately successful road to publishing SAPP research,” is designed to showcase publishing process as a co-construction process guided by experts in the field, e.g., editors and reviewers, for a better output. The workshop will be concluded with a Q&A and reflections from all panel participants on publishing process and/or practice studies in strategy.
Participants:
- Julia Hautz (panelist)
- Paul Spee (panelist)
- Gianmario Verona (panelist)
- Catherine Maritan (editor)
- Theresa Langenmayr (author)
Organizers:
- Joachim Stonig
- Qian Li
Sponsored by the Stakeholder Strategy Interest Group
Application required; Walk-ins welcome for panel portion
This workshop aims to explore the multifaceted role of stakeholder engagement and social impact in academic research and its connection to public and business policy. Our central goal is to create a space for scholars to reflect on how research can both inform and be informed by the complex dynamics of stakeholder relationships and the pursuit of meaningful societal outcomes.
Stakeholder engagement and social impact are increasingly central to research in management and related fields. Whether studying firms, NGOs, stakeholders, or local communities, researchers benefit from direct engagement with those affected by or involved in their field of study. These interactions can improve the relevance and rigor of research, and in turn, help translate academic insights into actionable recommendations for policy and practice. Our workshop is designed to support scholars in navigating this dynamic relationship: understanding context, creating connections, and pursuing impact.
By highlighting diverse contexts, ranging from health and education to sustainability and economic development, we will examine how stakeholder engagement not only deepens researchers’ understanding of real-world challenges but also shapes the ways research can influence policies and practices with tangible impact.
The workshop will consist of two main components:
- Panel Discussion: A panel featuring experienced researchers will open the workshop. Panelists will share insights from their work on stakeholder engagement and social impact, discussing the theoretical, empirical, and practical challenges they’ve encountered. The conversation will emphasize how research choices, methods, and framing are shaped by stakeholder dynamics and how researchers can effectively engage with practitioners, policymakers, and communities.
- Thematic Roundtables: Following the panel, participants will join small, focused roundtable discussions, each centered on a specific topic within the broader theme. These discussions will provide opportunities for in-depth, collaborative dialogue between participants and experienced facilitators, encouraging the exchange of ideas, challenges, and approaches in an informal and supportive environment.
Application Requirements:
- A brief research interest statement
- Topic preference selection from the list provided in the application form.
Panelists:
- Anita McGahan (University of Toronto)
- Jiao Luo (University of Minnesota)
- Christiane Bode (Imperial College London)
- Olga Hawn (University of North Carolina Chapel Hill)
- Aline Gatignon (University of Pennsylvania)
- Sandro Cabral (Insper)
Organizers:
- Marina Gama
- Carlos Inoue
- Thomaz Teodorovicz
Sponsored by the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal
Application required; Walk-ins welcome for panel portion
The SEJ Doctoral and Junior Faculty Paper Development Workshop is intended for PhD students close to completing their dissertation work or junior faculty who have a paper that they are interested in developing for submission to the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal.
This session is divided into two parts- first a panel of distinguished speakers will address topics around what it takes to publish in top journals, SEJ in particular, now and in the near future. They will also take questions from the audience. This part of the workshop is open to all.
The second part of the session is limited to those junior faculty and PhD students who have applied and been selected to participate. Each individual will be assigned a mentor. Mentors will read the papers in advance and provide personalized feedback as well as answer questions during the second half of the workshop.
Application Requirements:
- A current CV
- Current working paper intended to be submitted within the next 6-12 months.
Panelists and Mentors:
- Kathleen Eisenhardt
- Melissa Graebner
- Peter Klein
- Marvin Lieberman
- Victor Bennett
- Emily Cox Pahnke
- Becky Karp
- Rem Koning
- Abhishek Nagaraj
- Deepak Somaya
- Andy Wu
- Yong Li
- Susan Cohen
- Pinar Ozcan
- Lyda Bigelow
Organizers:
- Lyda Bigelow
- Pinar Ozcan
AFTERNOON WORKSHOPS
Sponsored by the Teaching Community and Strategy Practice Interest Group
No application required; Walk-ins welcome
As noted in the programme, “The San Francisco Bay Area is the birthplace and home of many … ultra-behemoths, as well as a cradle and hub for high-potential new ventures.” These trillion-dollar companies “have unique challenges in governance, organizational design, cooperative strategies, management of capabilities and human capital, managing a global footprint, and more.”
While all firms need to think about these issues in new ways, so do we as scholars of strategy. This makes our teaching more challenging, especially as our institutions require teaching that is research-informed. How can we bring bleeding-edge topics from strategy to non-research students? For example, how do we introduce topics such as the rise of the trillion-dollar companies to MBA students and make their challenges relevant and practical, and how do we introduce ideas such as Strategy-as-Practice or Open Strategy to undergraduate students to prepare them for their lives in organisations?
In this workshop, participants will: (a) consider different types of bleeding-edge topics that are appropriate and useful to teach, (b) how they might be taught, and (c) develop sample teaching plans for their courses. During the workshop, participants will hear from a panel of leaders from the field about how and why (or why not) they teach at the bleeding edge.
Panelists:
- Dr. Duncan Angwin, Professor of Management and Director of Executive Education, UCL School of
Management - Dr. Christiane Bellucci, Assistant Professor of Strategy & International Business, Warwick Business School
- Dr. Richard Whittington, Professor of Strategic Management, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
- Dr. Basak Yakis-Douglas, Associate Professor, King's College London & Associate Fellow, Saïd Business
School, University of Oxford
Organizers:
- Peter Smith
- Martha Reyes
- Sabine Baumann
Sponsored by the Entrepreneurship & Strategy Interest Group
No application required; Walk-ins welcome
We are pleased to return with an “encore” of our standing-room-only PDW in Istanbul! In this three-hour PDW planned for San Francisco, we are grateful to have the expertise from an even greater community of editors. Our PDW is motivated by the recognition that publishing in the entrepreneurship and strategy domain is never easy. Beyond intellectual talent and contribution, the simple truth is that while the number of researchers in this space steadily grows, the number of top journal outlets remains relatively constant. What does a researcher need to do to increase their odds of publishing? This is the question we pose to the editors across our top publishing outlets in entrepreneurship and strategy. In the first hour, the editors share personal approaches and strategies to publishing their own research. In the second hour, we ask them to share their observations in publishing gained as editors. In the third hour, we break into round tables and encourage our audience to ask questions of our editors for feedback and advice in their own publishing journey. Please join us for an insightful and timely PDW on best practices among editors on publishing in entrepreneurship and strategy.
Panelists:
- Sharon Alvarez (Pitt)
- Paolo Aversa (King’s College London)
- Sekou Bermiss (UNC Chapel Hill)
- Maryann Feldman (ASU)
- Melissa Graebner (Illinois)
- Qian (Cecilia) Gu (Georgia State)
- Connie Helfat (Dartmouth)
- Michael Jacobides (LBS)
- Peter Klein (Baylor)
- Francisco Polidoro, Jr. (Texas)
- Brian Silverman (Toronto)
- Margarethe Wiersema (UC Irvine)
- Todd Zenger (Utah)
- Yan (Anthea) Zhang (Rice University)
Organizer:
- Curba Lampert
Sponsored by the Entrepreneurship & Strategy and Knowledge & Innovation Interest Groups, and the Research Methods Community
No application required; Walk-ins welcome
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the research landscape, providing powerful tools for data analysis, text processing, and model building. This professional development workshop at SMS will introduce strategy scholars to the fundamentals of AI-assisted research, focusing on practical applications rather than technical complexity. No prior experience with AI or coding is required—our goal is to equip participants with hands-on skills they can immediately apply in their own work. We will use open-source tools such as GitHub, Google Colab (a free, cloud-based coding environment), R, Python, and Gemini (Google’s AI model) to explore AI-driven research tools.
The workshop will be led by a team of scholars with expertise in AI and research methods, Xi Kang, Abishek Nagaraj, Hyunjin Kim, Nan Jia, and Natalie Carlson. The session will be structured around interactive demonstrations and hands-on exercises, covering topics such as:
- Automating Literature Reviews with AI – Using tools built on large language models (LLMs) (e.g., Consensus, Connected Papers) to summarize and extract insights from academic papers– led by Xi Kang, Vanderbilt University.
- AI-Powered Theorizing– developing theory using AI – led by Abhishek Nagaraj, UC Berkeley.
- AI-Powered Experiments– Using AI to conduct experiments– led by Hyunjin Kim, INSEAD.
- Building Predictive Models – Applying machine learning methods to strategy research questions – led by Nan Jia, University of Southern California.
- Text Analysis and Classification – Implementing natural language processing (NLP) techniques to analyze qualitative data – led by Natalie Carlson, University of Pennsylvania.
The workshop will conclude with an open discussion on best practices, limitations, and ethical considerations of AI in research. By the end, attendees will have a working knowledge of AI tools that can enhance their research workflows and new perspectives on integrating AI into strategy research.
Panelists:
- Xi Kang
- Abishek Nagaraj
- Hyunjin Kim
- Nan Jia
- Natalie Carlson
Organizers:
- Valentina Assenova
- Sandeep Pillai
- Shiva Agarwal
Sponsored by the Behavioral Strategy and Cooperative Strategy Interest Groups, and Teaching Community
No application required; Walk-ins welcome
As strategy scholars, our job is to generate novel insights about developing and sustaining competitive advantage in the face of uncertainty through our research, and to educate and assist managers in accomplishing this goal. Yet the world in which the field of strategy came of age has changed in drastic ways, challenging our theoretical assumptions, the nature of the phenomena we study, and the role of higher education in society. The exponential growth of AI and its capabilities is undermining insights gleaned through our traditional frameworks and our ability to educate effectively. Furthermore, political polarization within society is pervasive, extending to our classrooms and firms and making it difficult to have meaningful discussions about incorporating vulnerable stakeholders into strategic decisions while also diminishing public trust in research. More broadly, the global economy predicated on greater degrees of cooperation and integration is being transformed by trade wars, institutional disruption, and the evolution of new relationships between market and state. As researchers, teachers, and public intellectuals, we face pressure to adjust and adapt.
This session offers a frank look at the state of the world and our field's place in it. We also hope it generates novel ideas about what we as a field can do to not only reinvigorate but also accelerate our impact to keep pace with changes in the world and help guide firms and students through these unprecedented, treacherous economic and political waters. This workshop will last 3 hours, featuring both a panel of seasoned scholars discussing these issues and suggesting solutions, and a series of roundtable discussions led by the panelists and other junior and senior scholars.
The panel will begin with a brief overview of the topic, followed by short (10 minute) presentations by senior scholars. The remainder of the panel discussion will comprise moderated discussion between the session audience and the panelists. The round table discussions will be led by the panelists, the session chairs and the junior scholar round table discussion leaders on specific topics related to the future of strategy research impact, teaching in an environment of technical and social upheaval, and how we can better serve consumers of our knowledge. These discussions will occur for 45 minutes followed by reporting out by each table, and final comments from the panelists.
Senior Panelists
- Dr. David Teece, Professor of the Graduate School, Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley
- Dr. Jackson Nickerson, Edward Jones Dean of Chaifetz Business School, St. Louis University
- Dr. Sri Zaheer, Professor, Dean Emerita, Elmer L. Andersen Chair in Global Corporate Social Responsibility, Carlson School of Business, University of Minnesota
- Dr. Peter Klein. W. W. Caruth Chair; Professor of Entrepreneurship; Chair, Department of Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation, Hankamer School of Business, Baylor University
- Dr. Gerard Hodgkinson, Professor of Strategic Management and Behavioural Science at Alliance Manchester Business School
Facilitators:
- Dr. Yejee Lee, Auburn University
- Dr. Ishva Minefee, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Dr. Reuben Hurst, University of Maryland
- Dr. Yusaku Takedam, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Dr. Anna McKean, University of Utah
- Dr. G. Alessandra Rizzi, Texas Christian University
Organizers:
- Dr. Dylan Boynton, Michigan State University
- Dr. Libby Weber, Michigan State University
- Dr. Ayesha Malhotra, University of Calgary
Sponsored by the Strategic Leadership & Governance Interest Group
Application required; Walk-ins welcome for panel portion
The Strategic Leadership & Governance PDW is divided into two segments. The first segment is a paper development workshop targeted at doctoral students and junior scholars. An application (including a 5-page research proposal) and pre-registration are required. Authors will participate in small, roundtable discussions led by senior scholars with common interests who will share feedback on the author's research.
The second segment is open to participants from the first segment and walk-ins. It will center on a highly interactive “Iron Chef” paper development exercise. Participants are placed in teams and work together to craft a paper proposal (including a research question, theoretical model, and data collection/testing strategy) using a set of theoretical and empirical “ingredients.” The teams then present their proposals, get real-time feedback on their ideas, and compete for a variety of light-hearted awards. This segment concludes with senior scholars offering reflections on various strategies for generating paper ideas.
Application Requirements:
- A 5-page research proposal
Panelists:
- John Busenbark
- MK Chin
- Andi Koenig
- Jeff Lovelace
- Ann Mooney Murphy
- Ilaria Orlandi
- Matt Semadeni
- Amanda Cowen
- Craig Crossland
Organizers:
- Ann Mooney Murphy
Sponsored by the Competitive Strategy Interest Group
Application required; Walk-ins welcome for panel portion
When business schools evaluate a junior professor for tenure, the school typically seeks letters from several prominent individuals in the junior scholar’s area of research. This half-day workshop is intended to help assistant professors and post-doctoral candidates understand and prepare for the tenure letter process.
The first half of the workshop will feature presentations by prominent senior faculty who have written tenure letters or have gone through the tenure process multiple times. They will describe the letter-writing process, explain how they evaluate a tenure case, and provide advice for junior scholars.
The second half of the workshop will feature small round-table discussions where junior scholars will describe their intended research program and receive feedback and advice from the senior scholars.
Application Requirements:
- An updated CV
- A research statement (maximum 3 pages), which we will share with the
panelists - Applicant's top 4 preferences in terms of panelists that the applicant would like
to be matched with for the roundtable discussions. (We will try our best to take the applicants top choices)
Panelists:
- Riitta Katila (Stanford)
- Tim Folta (UConn)
- Nick Argyres(WashU)
- Juan Santalo (IE)
- Pinar Ozcan (Oxford)
- Henning Piezunka (Wharton)
Organizers:
- Maria Roche
- Christine Choi
- Johanna Glauber
Sponsored by the Strategy Research Foundation (SRF)
Application required; Walk-ins welcome for panel portion
Securing external funding is a critical milestone for advancing research projects. Yet, for many scholars, navigating the complex world of grants and funding opportunities can feel unfamiliar. The Strategy Research Foundation (SRF) is pleased to organize a “Grant Writing and Research Funding” workshop that is designed to equip strategic management researchers with essential knowledge and practical tips to develop competitive grant proposals.
The first section of the workshop (open to all attendees) will highlight the growing importance of grants for academic success. Panelists will explore different types of funding sources and how to identify opportunities that align with researchers’ goals. The panel discussion will also cover the key elements of a strong funding proposal, including interpreting grant calls, crafting a compelling executive summary, articulating the motivation behind a project, and developing realistic financial plans and responsible budgets. Further, the workshop will feature success stories, highlighting lessons learned from experienced grant recipients and common pitfalls to avoid.
The second section of the workshop (applicantion required) will provide interactive discussions with participants and roundtable leaders about specific funding proposals, budgeting practices, and experiential activities. The roundtable discussions are designed to accommodate researchers at all stages of the fundraising process, whether they are still formulating ideas, are searching for funding sources, or have already begun writing a grant proposal for their projects. By the end of the workshop, attendees will be better prepared to transform their research ideas into funded projects.
Consistent with SRF’s mission, that is, creating funding initiatives that support strategy scholars in conducting rigorous and business relevant research, the workshop aims to inspire and enable participants to navigate the grant-writing process with greater confidence and success. However, the discussions will extend beyond SRF funding opportunities, focusing instead on strategies to secure external funding from a wide range of sources.
Application Requirements:
- A current CV
- One-paragraph research interest statement
Panelists:
- Maryann Feldman (Arizona State University)
- Nan Jia (University of Southern California)
- Riitta Katila (Stanford)
- Tobias Kretschmer (LMU Munich)
Organizers:
- Mahka Moeen
- Francisco Polidoro