Say Something that Matters: Why and How to Write Essays for Business & Society

Responsible Business Mobiliser Seminar - Mobilizer leads: Profs Stephan Manning and Rob Caruana

Abstract: 

Essays hold a distinctive and growing place in management and organization studies. They are free of the conventions of empirical and conceptual articles, so scholars can use them to provoke, synthesise, challenge received wisdom and open new lines of enquiry, often at the pace that pressing environmental, political, and social debates demand. Yet many scholars still do not know what makes an idea publishable as an essay, or how it differs from more conventional submissions. This session begins by considering why scholars may wish to write an essay, what essays can do that other formats cannot, and what editors and reviewers look for, before turning attention to Business & Society. Drawing on my experience as Associate Editor for Commentaries at Business & Society, I will explore why the journal is a natural home for essays, what a strong Commentary looks like, and the common pitfalls that lead to desk rejection. Alongside practical insights and tips for getting published, the session includes time for ideation and for working through ideas in progress. Participants are encouraged to bring an emerging argument, a half-formed provocation, a draft or simply a curious mind and will leave with a sharper sense of the contribution of essays in Business & Society, and beyond.

Bio:

Sarah Glozer is a Professor of Marketing and Sustainability in the School of Management at the University of Bath, UK. Her research examines the communication and practice of responsible and sustainable business, particularly in the context of digital transformation. She has published work in Journal of Management Studies, Organization Studies, Organization, Business & Society, and Journal of Business Ethics, among others. She is co-author of one of Europe’s best-selling textbooks on Business Ethics, an Associate Editor at Business & Society, and an Editorial Review Board Member at Organization Studies. She is also a conscious movement facilitator-in-training and the founder of ‘Monday Moves’; an initiative designed to get academics out of the mind and into the body.