More on the EGOS conference

Several months ago we posted the EGOS – CFP -Sub-theme 41: The Effects of Social Movements on Organizational Processes. One of the organizers, Elisa Mattarelli, was also kind enough to provide more details on the unique conference format of the EGOS conference:

EGOS is a scholarly association which aims to further the theoretical and/or empirical advancement of knowledge about organizations, organizing and the contexts in which organizations operate. It has an associated journal – Organization Studies – and holds an annual conference in July. In 2008 EGOS colloquium, entitled “Upsetting Organizations” will be hosted by VU University, Amsterdam. 

EGOS embraces diversity of all kinds, including a pluralistic approach to understanding organizations from the perspectives of business studies (such as organization and management theory, innovation, organizational behavior), social sciences (such as sociology, social history, political science, psychology and anthropology) as well as the humanities (such as philosophy, discourse analysis, literary criticism and rhetoric). The Association provides a forum for identifying and discussing key issues in organizational theory and practice. Moreover, EGOS offers a stimulating intellectual environment for younger scholars, running doctoral and post-doctoral workshops at the beginning of the annual conference.

EGOS colloquia are organized in 3-day-long subthemes. Each subtheme has 2 to 4 “convenors” (or chairs) and sends out a call for papers. Some of the subthemes are permanent standing work groups, or, in other words, are run every year (e.g. Practice-Based Studies of Knowledge and Innovation in Workplaces). The other sub-themes are proposed anew each year.

For 2008, four members of the Academy of Management OCIS division (Suzanne P. Weisband, University of Arizona; Bart van den Hooff, Vrije Universiteit, Netherlands; Elisa Mattarelli, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy; and Maria Rita Tagliaventi, University of Bologna, Italy), with the help and supervision of Pamela Hinds (Stanford University) have organized the subtheme #35: “Working Across Boundaries: The Upsetting Effects of Offshoring on the Dynamics of Knowledge Intensive Work”. In order to advance the state of research on the dynamics of offshoring of knowledge intensive work, the subtheme calls for original empirical research that uses various methods and different theoretical perspectives.

The purpose in organizing this sub-theme is to promote the internationalization of the OCIS division community and to open a fruitful dialogue with organization and IS researchers from all over the world.