Step ONE: Starting Your Sustainability PhD Journey with ONE (#13592)
Format: In Person - Philadelphia
Register Here - Deadline: Friday, May 29th, 2026
Step ONE is a moderated PDW created to support early-stage PhD students interested in organizations and the natural environment to begin and bolster their journey with the Organizations and the Natural Environment (ONE) Division. This PDW is a precursor for the ONE Doctoral Consortium and geared towards first-time attendees and students in the first years of their PhD journey.
The objectives of the PDW are to:
(1) Cultivate confidence and community through shared insights and advice;
(2) Guide early-stage PhD students in navigating AOM and the ONE Division; and
(3) Develop students' interests in ONE-related topics, and support them in identifying potential theoretical lenses, collaborators, and pathways.
The tentative agenda is the following:
- Opening panel discussion with recent graduates and late-stage PhD students (Lydia Milly Certa, Assistant Professor at NEOMA Business School; Lonneke Weterings, PhD candidate at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University; and Valen Boyd, PhD candidate at Ivey Business School, Western University).
- Moderated small-group roundtables based on research interests, where you will discuss your research ideas with like-minded peers and mentors.
- Keynote panel discussion with ONE Division Chair, Sara Soderstrom (Associate Professor, University of Michigan) and the ONE Division's Best Dissertation Award Winner (2025), Hannah Schupfer (Postdoctoral Researcher at King's College London).
They will be sharing insights, lessons, and best practices based on their PhD journeys, and offer steps forward to meaningfully connect with, learn from, contribute to, and thrive within the ONE community.
What will I have to do after registering?
After registering, accepted participants are invited to prepare a one-slide summary of their research interests (1-3 sentences and a picture that represents their research focus). These images will be shared among other participants at the PDW and are used to allocate participants to the roundtables.
Is the PDW in person only? What if I am not able to attend AOM?
This year's AOM will take place in an in-person only format. Nevertheless, we are committed to try to make our PDW accessible for students who are not able to attend physically at the conference. Please indicate in the Google Form, if you are interested in an online option.
Is there a AOM fee waiver for the participants of this PDW?
We are currently discussing with the ONE Division the possibility to assign a conference registration fee waiver to new ONE members facing financial restrictions at their home institution. The waiver does not cover the required membership fee nor the travel costs. To apply, indicate in your registration if you would like to request a registration fee waiver. More information will follow.
If you have questions about this PDW, please contact a member of the organizing team.
Register Here - Deadline: Friday, May 29th, 2026
We look forward to meeting you at AOM in Philadelphia!
Lonneke Weterings (PhD candidate, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University; weterings@rsm.nl)
Valen Boyd (PhD candidate, Ivey Business School at Western University; vboyd.phd@ivey.ca)
Raj Mohan (PhD candidate, Indian Institute of Management Indore, India; f21rajm@iimidr.ac.in)
Ibhade Akpede (PhD candidate, University of Exeter, United Kingdom; ifa202@exeter.ac.uk)
Klementine Klein (PhD candidate, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University; k.klein@rsm.nl)
Caroline Kunesch (PhD candidate, Institute of Marketing and Innovation, BOKU University, Vienna; caroline.kunesch@boku.ac.at)
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Caroline Kunesch, MSc.
Research Assistant | PhD Candidate
BOKU University, Vienna
caroline.kunesch@boku.ac.at------------------------------