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Call for Submissions

Management Education and Development Division (MED)

2026 Call for Scholarly Program Submissions

Division Program Chair: Ricardo Flores, Gustavson School of Business, Canada

The Management Education and Development Division (MED) warmly invites you to submit a proposal for a Paper, Poster session, and/or Symposium at the 86th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM 2026), which will be held in person from 31 July to 4 August 2026, in Philadelphia, PA, USA. 

Invitation 

We invite you to contribute your work to an intellectually vibrant MED program that also makes interdisciplinary connections with other AOM divisional interest groups. We welcome submissions that focus on education, learning, and innovative research addressing contemporary challenges and opportunities educators, leaders, students, and administrators face. 

  1. Papers | See guidelines on the AOM Website. 
  1. Symposia | See guidelines on the AOM Website. 
  1. Posters | See guidelines on the AOM Website. 

CONFERENCE THEME: No overarching theme. MED encourages innovative and provocative submissions that are research-focused, educative, and inspirational, advancing the future of management education.  

Why Submit to MED? 

MED is driven to Research, Educate, and Inspire. 

The Management Education and Development Division (MED) is the Academy of Management’s division for research on management education theory, practice, and policy. Our purpose is to amplify research and scholarship in management education, disseminate this research to support excellence in our educational remit, and ultimately inspire all AOM members in the classroom and within their core and critical roles as educators. 

MED provides a distinctive intellectual home for scholars whose work bridges research rigor and educational practice. Our reviewers understand the unique methodological considerations of education research, value diverse epistemological approaches, and appreciate scholarship that speaks to both theoretical advancement and practical application. Whether you are an established scholar, an early-career faculty member navigating the intersection of teaching and research, or a doctoral student developing your scholarly identity, MED offers a supportive community for developing and disseminating work that matters. 

Current Challenges in Management Education 

Management education stands at a critical juncture. Questions about purpose, legitimacy, and impact intensify even as technological change, societal polarization, climate urgency, and evolving work realities demand new educational responses. We seek scholarship that grapples seriously with these challenges while offering pathways forward—whether through theoretical insight, empirical evidence, pedagogical innovation, or critical inquiry that reframes our understanding of problems themselves. We enable effective management education and development practices by encouraging research on programs and institutions that address issues at all levels of management education, from individual learners to education and learning policy. Papers, symposia, and posters are encouraged to explore current challenges such as: 

  1. Pedagogical Innovation and Learning Design: As student expectations evolve and learning sciences advance, educators must continuously experiment with and assess new pedagogical approaches. We welcome research examining innovative instructional methods, evidence-based learning design, pedagogical experimentation across modalities (in-person, hybrid, online), and assessment of learning outcomes (e.g., include flipped classrooms, simulation-based learning, case method innovations, problem-based and project-based learning, etc.) 
  1. Curriculum Developments and Learning Pathways: Changing work landscapes, evolving competencies, and diverse student populations challenge traditional curricular structures. We seek scholarship addressing curriculum design and reform, micro-credentials and alternative pathways, interdisciplinary program development, competency frameworks, and integration of emerging domains (sustainability, social innovation, data analytics). How do programs balance disciplinary depth with breadth, navigate tensions between employability and critical thinking, and design pathways serving diverse learner needs? 
  1. AI, Digital Technologies, and the Future of Management Education: Artificial intelligence and digital platforms fundamentally reshape both management practice and pedagogy. We invite scholarship exploring AI and digital technologies in teaching and learning, curriculum implications, development of digital and data literacies, ethical considerations in technology adoption, and the changing relationship between human judgment and technological augmentation. 
  1. Leadership Development, Professional Identity, and Faculty Growth: Developing management educators requires attention to pedagogical capability, scholarly identity, and evolving role expectations, while student professional identity and leadership capacity remain core educational aims. We welcome scholarship addressing faculty development programs, formation of scholarly and teaching identities, leadership development pedagogies, mentoring and coaching, and supports for early-career scholars navigating complex academic demands. 
  1. Inclusivity, Equity, Ethics, and Human-Centered Education: Management education must grapple with its historical complicity in perpetuating inequalities and its responsibility to educate for ethical, equitable, and just futures. We invite scholarship exploring inclusive pedagogies, decolonizing management education, integration of Indigenous knowledges and non-Western perspectives, ethics across curriculum, social justice in business education, and pedagogical approaches centering care, relationships, and human dignity. 
  1. Cross-Disciplinary and Global Perspectives: Complex challenges rarely respect disciplinary boundaries, yet academic structures often reinforce siloed thinking. We welcome scholarship addressing interdisciplinary collaboration and program design, comparative management education research across contexts, internationalization of curricula and experiences, and development of global mindsets and cultural intelligence. 
  1. Impact, Relevance, and the Societal Value of Management Education: Business schools face persistent questions about societal contribution and legitimacy. We seek scholarship exploring the public value of management education, responses to grand challenges and sustainability imperatives, models of responsible and regenerative business education, assurance of learning and impact assessment. We welcome studies of alternative organizational forms (cooperatives, social enterprises, B Corps) and how management education can serve diverse organizational purposes. 
  1. Organizational Learning and Change in Higher Education Institutions: Management education occurs within institutions that themselves must learn, adapt, and change. We welcome scholarship addressing organizational change and innovation in business schools, institutional responses to external pressures and crises, leadership and governance in higher education, the role of accreditation and rankings, and applications of organizational learning theory to educational institutions. 

Types of Scholarship Welcomed 

Within and across these challenge areas, we particularly welcome scholarship that offers: 

  • Theoretical advances or empirical evidence about effective and innovative instructional methods
  • Innovative management education, institutional structures, or education policies
  • Applications that extend and challenge learning theories
  • Research and benchmark practices in coaching, training, and development
  • Online learning across cultures and environments
  • Critical analyses that interrogate taken-for-granted assumptions and reveal tensions, contradictions, or unintended consequences of current practices 

Submissions may have theoretical, pedagogical, or practical aims, but must be grounded in scholarship appropriate to the field. Our program will emerge from what we, the MED community of researchers, educators, and scholarly practitioners, find most meaningful through the peer-review process. We are committed to a rigorous yet developmental review process that recognizes diverse forms of scholarly contribution and provides constructive feedback to strengthen the field. Submit your proposal via the AOM Submission Center.  Check the AOM 2026 submission guidelines to ensure you have met all requirements for paper submissions, poster session submissions, and symposium submissions. 

What Makes a Strong Med Submission? 

Strong submissions typically demonstrate: (1) clear engagement with management education scholarship, situating work within relevant theoretical conversations and empirical literature; (2) methodological rigor appropriate to the research question and epistemological approach; (3) significance for theory, practice, or policy; (4) accessibility to an interdisciplinary audience while maintaining scholarly depth; and (5) reflexivity about limitations, context, and implications. We value both completed research and well-developed works-in-progress that articulate clear conceptual contributions. For symposia, we seek proposals bringing together diverse perspectives on coherent themes that promise rich intellectual exchange. 

Session Orientations  

Papers, posters, and symposia submitted to MED should specifically target the MED domain rather than be an “all academy” submission. As a submitter, you may indicate the general orientation of your proposal to help attendees identify sessions of interest: (a) Diversity; (b) International; (c) Practice; (d) Research; (e) Teaching. We encourage you to thoughtfully select the orientation that best reflects the primary contribution of your submission. 

MED Awards 

The MED Division recognizes outstanding submissions to the AOM Annual Meeting. We encourage you to self-nominate for awards when your work aligns with the criteria. To self-nominate, clearly state in both your submission cover page and first paragraph: (a) the award(s) for which the submission is to be considered, and (b) how the authors and content meet the criteria. MED awards include (see MED Division-Awards for details): 

  • MED Barry Armandi Award for Best Student Paper
  • MED Best Paper in Graduate Management Education and Development Award
  • MED Best Paper in Management Education and Development Award
  • MED Global Forum Best Paper Award
  • MED Junior Faculty Best Paper Award
  • MED Best Symposium Award
  • MED Global Forum Best Symposium Award 

Submission Queries?  

Help is available at the AOM Support Center.  The support team will attempt to respond within 1 business day.  Due to the high volume of requests just before the submission deadline, please do not wait until the last minute to submit! If the support team’s response does not resolve your problem or is unclear, you can call +1-914-326-1800, Monday-Friday from 09:00 to 17:00 (9 am – 5 pm) ET (NY time): The support team is not available 23 December 2025 – 1 January 2026 

Key Dates and Information 
  • Scholarly sessions (paper sessions and symposia) will take place Sunday, 2 August through Tuesday, 4 August 2026.
  • Poster sessions will take place Friday, 31 July, through Tuesday, 4 August 2026.
  • Submission Deadline: Tuesday, 13 January 2026 at 17:00 ET (UTC-5/GMT-5).
    All submissions must be entered in the Submission Center by this time, i.e., a 5-digit submission ID will be assigned to your proposal. No exceptions! 
  • Call for Submissions site: https://aom.org/annualmeeting/callforsubmissions/  
  • Submission Center Opens: Early December 2025
Recommendations
  • Submit early to give yourself time to identify and resolve problems before the system closes. Any submission that is not finalized or does not follow guidelines will automatically NOT be reviewed.
  • If you wish to discuss your proposal before submitting, contact the MED Program Chair by 20 December 2025. Given the demands of the Program Chair role, Ricardo will not be available to discuss proposals after the 20th of December 2025. 

Invitation To Review 

MED invites you to sign up as a volunteer reviewer. Review dates: Complete your review assignments beginning 22 January 2026 until 12 February 2026. 

Benefits of Reviewing

Reviewers gain visibility for themselves and their institutions. Reviewing gives you an opportunity to contribute to the Academy’s program planning, give back to your professional community, and learn about what constitutes excellent and interesting work. To sign up, visit the reviewers’ information page. Select up to 2 divisions/interest groups (DIGS) and keywords/subject areas that you feel qualified to review. We urge you to review for MED! You may be asked to review up to 3 submissions for each DIG you select (maximum of 6 submissions). Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools may NOT be used in reviewing submissions. 

We look forward to receiving your submission and contribution to our intellectually vibrant MED program.