Diary

Citation

(2008), "Diary", Strategic Direction, Vol. 24 No. 8. https://doi.org/10.1108/sd.2008.05624hac.001

Diary

Article Type: Diary From: Strategic Direction, Volume 24, Issue 8.

Conference organizer: Aberdeen Business School, Robert Gordon University. E-mail: am2008@rgu.ac.uk; Tel: 01224 263857; Fax: 01224 263838; Web site: http://www2.rgu.ac.uk/am2008/

Academy of Marketing Annual Conference 2008

8-10 July 2008, Aberdeen, Scotland. In an age of consumption and consumerism the marketing discipline has matured to the point where many organizations accept, as a given, the importance of being customer led and market focused. Therefore, this is an opportune time to reassess the position of the subject within the broader field of management and critically reflect on the development and potential of marketing to make a contribution to future wellbeing.

Despite this maturity there is increased ambiguity in delimiting the scope of the subject and much room for debate on how to research and evaluate issues of relevance and importance to a range of interested constituents. The boundaries between marketing, operations and human resources, especially in service and non-manufacturing organizations, can become blurred.

The theme for the 2008 conference is “Reflective Marketing in a Material World”. The conference will address the nature of the subject and the relevance of marketing in today’s material world. Papers will continue to reflect the special interest of the academy members.

Contact name: James P Walsh. Conference organizer: Academy of Management. E-mail: jpwalsh@umich.edu; Web site: http://meeting.aomonline.org/2008/

Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management 2008: “The Questions We Ask”

8-13 August 2008, Anaheim, California. About the organiser: the Academy of Management is a leading professional association for scholars dedicated to creating and disseminating knowledge about management and organizations.

There is an unmistakable trend in the last few AOM conference themes and presidential addresses. We yearn to apply the knowledge we discover. Our quest for an “engaged academy” and “evidence-based management” reveals just how much we want to share what we learn. At the same time, it reveals some uneasiness about why our knowledge has not found its way into practice. Those thousands of pages of scholarship contain as many questions as they do answers. Are those questions the right ones to be asking? What do they tell us about what is still unknown in our field?

Come to Anaheim and let’s consider what we do not know about the world of organization and management and what questions we might dare to ask. Let’s take stock of our questions. After all, our answers can only be as good as our questions.

Let’s begin by identifying the questions that define the theoretical and empirical frontiers of our sub-specialties. What puzzles, conundrums, points of confusion, and unanswered questions really bedevil you and your close colleagues? Reconnoiter your field of expertise and articulate the unanswered questions. Be sure to consider the most meaningful questions. Just because a question has yet to be asked or answered does not mean that we need to address it. Some questions are more important than others. Thirty-five years ago, Murray Davis counseled us to turn our assumptions on their head if we are to find interesting questions. But are interesting questions always the most important questions? What makes for a great research question? Indeed, what marks a poor one? Each division and interest group will receive a “free” session on the program this year to highlight the best research questions in their world.