Call for Applications 2023

Topics and Purpose

Organizations are all around us: not just firms, plants, and work groups, but also hospitals, schools, and governments. Furthermore, by construing an “organization” as something that can be first organized and then managed, one can also include certain contractual relationships — not only between firms (such as some hand-in-glove supply relationships, joint ventures, and alliances) but also between a government and a firm (such as some regulatory relationships and public-private partnerships). Indeed, noting that the examples above are all opportunities to collaborate, one can move beyond formal organization charts and formal contracts to include communities, networks, social movements and other less formal institutions as organized activities.

Given such a broad domain, a huge fraction of economic activity, as well as much political and social activity, is undertaken in, with, or by organizations. Put differently, if organizations are how we collaborate, it is important to get them right! For example, the gains from improving production activities and supply chains in low-income countries could be enormous. Also, learning from the “bright spots” among hospitals, schools, and governments, and understanding how these successes might be spread, could be immensely valuable. Finally, although industrial productivity in high-income countries may seem mundane to some, improving the effectiveness of such firms might nonetheless allow substantial improvements in the quality of life—both for the workforces in these firms and for the communities that experience the products and externalities these firms produce.

If organizational effectiveness is so important for innovation and social impact, one might think that academics would be studying the issue actively. To some extent, this is true, but the field is badly fragmented: different disciplines operate mostly in isolation; many professional schools focus on only their own kind of organization (e.g., hospitals, schools, public agencies, businesses). Meanwhile, social-science departments often regard organizational effectiveness as outside their purview; and doctoral training in professional schools sometimes lacks the depth available in social-science departments.

In response to this situation, the 2023 summer institute will begin with presentations about how economics and sociology approach the study of organizations (with other disciplines to follow). In addition, to build community, there will be frequent group discussions and projects (“hacks”) on thorny organizational ideas and problems, as well as dinner conversations with scholars and practitioners who have been deeply involved in the worlds of politics, law, journalism and business. In sum, the first week will be a very intensive experience.

Besides the directors, the full-time participants in the first week will be young scholars (ranging from late-stage graduate students to advanced assistant professors) drawn from a wide range of disciplines and fields (not just economics and sociology; typically also political science, communications, organizational behavior and strategy) whose careers studying organizations are underway, and who have demonstrated an interest in and an aptitude for expanding their thinking about organizations towards other disciplines.

The second week will be different from the first: all participants in the first four summer institutes (2016–19) will be invited back to CASBS to join the second week of the 2023 summer institute.

Naturally, participants from the early years of the summer institutes are now further along in their careers than the new participants in 2023 will be. For example, many of the former are now tenured. These 2016–19 participants represent a wide range of the disciplines and fields that study organizations and other organized activities. For example, fewer than half are from economics or sociology. The second week of the 2023 summer institute will emphasize other disciplines and fields studying organizations, leveraging the expertise of 2016–19 participants.

Eligibility

Those eligible to apply include advanced graduate students and junior faculty from the social and behavioral sciences and allied professional schools. We are also interested in applications from scholars affiliated with four-year colleges and with colleges and universities attended predominately by minority students.

Accepted applicants will be expected to arrive prepared by having read a syllabus of about 20 key papers and surveys.

Location

The Center is located on a hillside overlooking the Stanford University campus. Comfortable studies in beautiful surroundings will be provided.

Support

Admitted applicants will be offered a fellowship that will cover all expenses, including transportation (within the usual university-mandated constraints on travel expenses). Lodging will be provided and meals will be covered. Though not required, any financial contribution from a participant’s home institution would be greatly appreciated.

Application

The application consists of: (i) a online form providing contact information and the name of the recommendation writer; (ii) a curriculum vitae (for faculty, this should include not only research but also courses taught; for doctoral students, not only research but also courses taken); (iii) a two-page essay explaining how the institute will advance the applicant's research; and (iv) one letter of support, which will be treated confidentially and submitted through our secure application system.

Application portal can be accessed at
https://applycasbs.stanford.edu/summerapplication/

Directors

Gibbons and Powell both have one foot in their respective disciplines and the other in professional schools. Gibbons has appointments in the Sloan School of Management and the Economics Department at MIT, and he regularly teaches organizational economics to PhD students from economics and a variety of disciplines. Powell is currently serving as interim director of CASBS. He has an appointment in the Graduate School of Education at Stanford, as well as sociology, business, engineering, and communication. He, too, teaches an organization theory seminar that attracts PhD students from more than a half dozen departments and schools. Both Gibbons and Powell have been been CASBS fellows, and each co-directed a previous summer institute at CASBS before starting those on Organizations and Their Effectiveness.

Comments from Participants in Past Summer Institutes

Consuelo Amat, Political Science, Johns Hopkins - “I learned an immense amount and enjoyed every moment. My scholarly career now has a strong link to a community of scholars – organizational scholars – that I did not have before.” (2016)

Charles Angelucci, Economics, MIT Sloan - “Allow me to thank you once more for two *fantastic* weeks. I have chosen to be an academic because of these (rare) moments. I feel truly fortunate and am immensely grateful. Many of the readings have made a deep impression on me and I have written down at least a dozen ideas for potential future projects. I have no doubt that I will embark on a few on these projects (two in particular I cannot stop thinking about). I hope one day to be able to give to others what you have given us.” (2018)

Angela Aristidou, Organizational Behavior, University College London - “We received encouragement to think beyond disciplinary boundaries. This understanding changes one's mind on what a scholarly career should aim at: big ideas and real-world impact. The effect of the CASBS summer institute is like a "greenhouse effect": thinking that would otherwise take years to develop, is expedited through the purposeful interactions within the group, and the targeted and immediate feedback to budding ideas by Woody and Bob.” (2017)

Richard Benton, Industrial Relations, University of Illinois – “The informal discussions with participants led me to think about my own work and career differently. Meeting young scholars, at a similar career stage as myself, across disciplines also exposed me to more career opportunities and pathways within academia. The structure of the cross-disciplinary groups worked well – the discussions of what could be borrowed from other disciplines was a great invitation for us to really engage with work outside our home discipline but avoid growing defensive or somehow enforcing disciplinary boundaries.” (2017)

Christof Brandtner, Entrepreneurship, emlyon Business School, France - “Organizations nerd camp was the best two weeks of my academic life thus far.” (2016)

Giulia Cappellaro, Social and Political Sciences, Bocconi University, Milan - “Besides the what of research, I also learned important aspects of the how to do research. The institute fosters an open dialogue where ideas and concepts are analyzed and reanalyzed through multiple lens over two weeks and this allowed developing a critical and well-rounded understanding beyond single disciplines.” (2018)

Jillian Chown, Organizational Behavior, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern -

“The institute encouraged me to think across boundaries and to be less conservative in my research objectives. It also encouraged me to think longer term” (2018)

Russell Funk, Strategy, University of Minnesota – “The summer institute introduced me to (and got me excited about) current work in organizational economics. Even though I could have accessed relevant materials before hand, the summer institute gave me the opportunity to do the reading, and most importantly, learn it together with outstanding colleagues and leaders in the field.” (2016)

Claudine Gartenberg, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania – “This institute has definitely made a large impact. First and foremost, the quality of the research was so incredible that it was very inspiring. I have seen so much satisficing over the years to get numbers of publications up, or get into conferences or get citations – it is such a breath of fresh air to see such beautiful research that has intellectual value for itself, and that makes you understand the world differently after you read it and really think about it. I want to make sure my research can have similar impact over the long run.” (2017)

Jennifer Hadden, Political Science, University of Maryland – It is unlikely that I would have encountered this kind of discussion at my institution, where disciplines tend to work in silos.  I appreciated that this interdisciplinary conversation was both substantive and meaningful, but also conducted in a spirit of genuine openness.” (2017)

Mai Hassan, Political Science, MIT - “The ideas/approaches that were both new to me and the most useful for my research are those that focus on the importance of inter-organizational dynamics. Before this fortnight, I hadn’t thought too much about relational contracts within and between organizations, and how relationships are built/sustained, and how they vary. I could probably have learned about this at my home school, but I didn’t know what I should’ve been looking for and I wouldn’t have learned it in the same way.” (2018)

Dan Honig, Public Policy, University College London - “These two weeks felt about as open and collaborative as with any group I’ve ever been exposed to. I take away a sense there are many others engaged in similar efforts to my own, interested in borrowing (and stealing) from across traditional boundaries in pursuit of knowledge and tools for better understanding the world.” (2018)

Hongyi Li, Economics, University of New South Wales – “I found the mix of activities to be a fantastic combination. The summer institute allowed us to develop a clear sense of each disciplinary approach and its strengths. It then showed how an interdisciplinary approach – combining ideas and techniques from multiple perspectives in tackling difficult organizational problems – may add immense value, especially for applied problems where organizational leaders must put insights into practice. I plan to continue to engage with organizational research from other disciplines in my scholarship – both by “stealing” valuable conceptual insights and by being more open-minded about methodological choices in my own work.” (2017)

Henning Piezunka, Strategy, INSEAD, France - “The institute was incredibly rich and refreshing. I learned about concepts that were completely new to me, and also saw ideas that I already knew in a new light.” (2018)

Mike Powell, Economics, Kellogg School, Northwestern – “My view of interdisciplinary research has changed a lot as a result of this summer institute. In the past, interdisciplinarity seemed sold as an objective in itself, rather than as a means to achieve an understanding of complex social phenomena by going beyond my own discipline’s boundaries. This experience will make me much more likely to find common ground with other academics who are studying fundamentally similar questions but through different lenses.” (2016)

Andrea Pozas-Loyo, Law, National Autonomous University of Mexico - “ I learned not only new ideas and approaches, but I think I acquired a complete new way of thinking about problems I’ve been working on for years. I found all the visitors and organizational leaders very inspiring and thought provoking. I also deeply appreciated the presence of women leaders.” (2018)

Chris Rea, Public Policy, Ohio State – “The workshop was absolutely not a space for intellectual boxing matches, to see whose ideas could knock down the competition and better explain this or that about the way the world works. Instead, it was a space for rabid cross-disciplinary stealing, intellectual construction, and collaborative, collective inquiry using lenses from across the social sciences in service of understanding how organizations work, where they come from, and how we might make them work better. I can’t imagine a better way to spend two weeks.” (2017)

Celene Reynolds, Law and Social Policy, University of Buffalo - “It was an incredible experience—the best two weeks of my academic life. I had high expectations going in, but they were exceeded in every respect. The group was exceptional. The vibe was not at all competitive; it was clear that we were all there to learn from one another and to build a community. I loved hearing how people from different disciplines responded to the ideas—this was educational in itself.” (2018)

Erica Robles-Anderson, Media, Culture and Society, New York University - “I think one of the most important aspects of this workshop was settling in to embrace the kind of scholarly career I’m going to have. Bob and Woody, and all the guest chefs are expert border crossers; all have a sparkle in their eye. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to see people really dive into their enthusiasms, work hard, and keep smiling. We think a lot in academia about the field changing ideas, but this felt like getting a moment to absorb the habitus of field changers, folks invested in a way of being as part of the scholarly life.” (2018)

Ben Schneer, Political Science, Harvard Kennedy School – “These two weeks reminded me that ultimately my career should be about exchanging ideas and trying to get people to think about things in a new way. It also reminded me that it can be a social / collaborative endeavor. Especially as someone just starting out, I think it is easy to focus myopically on cranking out work and to lose sight of what the larger goals are. This experience reminds me of those ideals.” (2017)

Daniela Scur, Economics, Cornell Dyson School - “I feel a lot less alone, and I look forward to many interesting discussions with my fellow scholars in the future.” (2018)

Aaron Shaw, Communication Studies, Northwestern – “I enjoyed and benefited from every aspect of the summer institute, including the challenging conversations, the generous mentorship of the leaders, the collaborative spirit of the participants, and the extraordinary support of the center staff. As junior faculty, the opportunities I have for sustained engagement with big ideas in a small group of extraordinary interlocutors are limited. I am deeply grateful to have been a part of the institute.” (2016)

Melissa Valentine, Work, Technology, and Organization, Stanford School of Engineering – “I do interdisciplinary work, but with computer scientists. I think this institute has made me crave the discipline and creativity that can come from thinking hard across disciplines. The institute made me want to be a deeper and more reflective scholar.” (2016)