Leitmotif

Plurality, Diversity and Social Inequality in Organizations

Organizations are confronted with a plurality of rapidly changing challenges to which they respond in various ways. Among these challenges are the organizational governance of claims for the recognition of group identities and differences, issues of sustainability, climate action, organizational responsibility, and the challenges posed by digitalization and generative AI. These processes of rapid change do not occur simultaneously across the world; they often begin in some countries or regions and are taken up elsewhere only after several years. When organizations adapt to such newly emerging challenges, their responses may remain superficial, or organizational changes may take so long that trends and socio-political discourses in the organizational environment shift before the changes are fully implemented. We call for papers that address rapid and gradual, superficial and profound organizational changes, as well as organizational resistance to expectations of change, in the following three themes:

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Organizations
• Sustainability Transitions, Climate Action & Organizational Responsibility
• Digitalization, Generative AI & Organizing 

Submission Requirements

Submissions must relate to one or several of the themes and/or the Leitmotif of the conference. Submissions that address one conference theme are as encouraged as those that address several themes.

Please submit an abstract of 600-1200 words (excluding references) by November 10, 2025.

Acceptance decisions will be made by the end of the year.

All further information on submission can be found HERE. 

Conference Format: Themed but Not Siloed

ICOS features multiple themes without rigid boundaries. Selected papers will be grouped into small sessions of thematically close presentations. This way we ensure that presentations have thematic foci but also do not take place in narrow silos. Conference participants are encouraged to hop between sessions and not to stay within a particular “track” or “stream”.