In the course of the last century, the growth imperative has come to dominate the priorities of scholars, policy-makers, and ordinary citizens. The assumption that economic growth is an absolute requirement of the global political economic system is so entrenched that it is rarely questioned by mainstream economists (Daly, 2013) and is perhaps even more taken for granted in the field of organizational and management studies. This is a dangerous narrowing of our collective field of vision and makes thinking in economic alternatives for organizations and organizing next to impossible. At the same time, this narrow, growth-centered vision of how economies work and how business operates has become increasingly unsustainable. Rampant climate change and approaching planetary boundaries (Rockström et al. 2009) are signifiers of what is termed the "anthropocene", our current geological era in which the impact of humanity on its social ecological system dominates over natural forces with potentially destructive consequences (Reichel & Perey 2018). This PDW is continuing the conversation at the AOM conferences on alternatives to growth and overcoming the shortsightedness of the managerial disciplines. By applying the concept of degrowth (Latouche 2004, 2009) we seek to focus this year especially on how to organize new collectives of transformative practice through connecting business with civil society and local governance institutions (Shrivastava & Kennelly 2013). Emphasis will be laid on collaborative visioning and strategizing beyond a singular economic logic while taking into account various belief systems and their local embeddedness into social and ecological contexts.
Although this PDW does not require any registration, we encourage you to visit https://degrowthaom.wordpress.com/ for background information and updates on the themes of our workshop.