Making Connections Team

Making Connections Committee Mission

The mission of the Making Connections Committee is to enhance the overall experience of OB members, primarily by (1) helping all members feel “at home” in the division (2) welcoming new members to the division, (3) promoting research excellence, (4) facilitating career progression, and (5) integrating research with practice.

• Helping OB Members Feel “At Home” in the Division. Our committee organizes the OB Ambassador Program, which is designed to promote an inclusive, welcoming environment for all OB members. OB Ambassadors can be found greeting and connecting with members at a variety OB-sponsored events and sessions throughout the annual AOM meeting.
• Welcoming New Members to the Division: We have several initiatives designed specifically for members who are new to the OB Division. For example, we organize the OB Adopt-A-Member Program each year. Through this program, seasoned OB members “adopt” new members during the annual AOM meeting and share their knowledge related to navigating the conference and succeeding in academia. We also organize professional development workshops (PDWs; for the Academy of Management’s annual meetings) on topics that are likely to be of interest to new division members. For example, we facilitate a PDW entitled, “New to OB? Navigating the OB Division and AOM.” Moreover, we host an annual Networking Social where new (as well as seasoned) OB members have an opportunity to meet and mingle with senior OB scholars.
• Promoting Research Excellence: We help OB Division members in their pursuit of research excellence. For example, we organize the “Research Incubator” PDW primarily aimed at assisting doctoral students, junior faculty, and international students with working manuscripts. We also facilitate a “Research Roundtable,” where attendees can discuss their research interests with senior scholars in their specific areas of study. Moreover, the “Productivity Process”, one of our most popular sessions every year, is an innovative PDW in which prolific scholars share tips and techniques that have contributed to their success.
• Facilitating Career Progression: We help OB Division members progress in their academic careers. For example, we organize an annual session for entitled “Halfway There, But Now What?” for Ph.D. students who are halfway to completing their degree. This PDW focuses on topics ranging from launching the dissertation process to the intricacies of the job market process. We also have a session on “How to Manage Research Collaborations,” for scholars at any stage.
• Integrating Research with Practice. In our quest toward “making research meaningful,” we organize an excellent session on publishing in translational outlets (e.g., Harvard Business Review, Sloan MIT Management Review, HR People + Strategy, California Management Review), which addresses ways in which scholars can provide managers with greater access to research findings. This highly interactive and participative session, led by researchers and senior journal editors, advances discussions of the various avenues through which scholarly research can have a stronger impact on “real world” business practice.

MCC Members

Recent Chairs

Shannon Taylor (2017)

Adam Stoverink (2018)

Beth Campbell (2019, 2020)

Margaret Luciano (2021, 2022) 

Kate Zipay (2022, 2023)