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Systemic issues in the external environment have become a strategic issue for business. The key distinguishing feature of systemic problems is that, while not resolving the problem can impose significant risk to an organization, resolution is not always possible by any single focal organization affected by it. For problems like the financial crisis, obesity, or climate change, complex, multi- organizational approaches are often necessary. While various theoretical lenses give partial answers to how this can be done effectively, they are inconsistent in building an understanding of how systemic problems can be successfully addressed by organizations. This workshop aims to continue a conversation that began in April of 2012 where leading academics began a dialogue on the impacts of these complex issues on management theory. We'll begin with a set of speakers who will share with the participants a view of systemic issues from their area of expertise. We'll then divide participants into groups according to a specified systemic issue where an academic expert will facilitate a debate/discussion to uncover how existing conversations in management aid in our understanding of organizational response to systemic problems and, more importantly, the limitations of these current conversations. Each group will present the results of their discussion to the audience with an emphasis on research questions that contribute to a broader research agenda. A summary of the common themes across the groups will then be presented to establish a research agenda amongst a community of interested scholars.

Join us for an exploration of the relevance of systemic issues to organization theory.