Abstract
This curated debate discusses the value of practice theories in studying, understanding and tackling grand challenges. Practice theories assume that social phenomena are constituted through everyday doings and sayings. Building on this premise, the different contributions in this curated debate go beyond the assumption that grand challenges are abstract phenomena. The authors argue that grand challenges are enacted through mundane, situated actions that are often hidden in plain sight. Building on their research, they suggest that understanding grand challenges requires scholars to approach phenomena as nondualistic. Accordingly, they reveal that situated actions are not self-contained but related across space and time, requiring scholars to adopt a relational perspective. The debate concludes with a call for action as we embrace our dual role as scholars and citizens.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 143-166 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| Journal | Journal of Management Inquiry |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Apr 2025 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s) 2025.
Funding
We thank all the participants for attending and the Strategizing Activities and Practices (SAP) Interest Group of the Academy of Management for sponsoring the original symposium together with co-sponsorship from the Organization and Management Theory and Organization Development and Change Divisions. We are grateful to Paul Olk and two anonymous reviewers for their excellent guidance and insightful comments. The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Kathrin Sele acknowledges funding from the Academy of Finland Research Fellow Grant #321362. Christian Mahringer acknowledges funding by the WIN program of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, financed by the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of the State of Baden-Wurttemberg. Marleen Huysman and Anastasia Sergeeva acknowledge the funding under the Open Competition program by the Dutch Research Council (NWO), file number 406.18.EB.030. The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Kathrin Sele acknowledges funding from the Academy of Finland Research Fellow Grant #321362. Christian Mahringer acknowledges funding by the WIN program of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, financed by the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of the State of Baden-Wurttemberg. Marleen Huysman and Anastasia Sergeeva acknowledge the funding under the Open Competition program by the Dutch Research Council (NWO), file number 406.18.EB.030.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Academy of Management | |
| Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg | |
| Organization and Management Theory and Organization Development and Change Divisions | |
| Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften | |
| Research Council of Finland | 321362 |
| Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek | 406.18 |
Keywords
- consequentiality
- extreme contexts
- grand challenges
- posthumanism
- practice theories
- relationality
- routine dynamics
- situated actions
- strategy-as-practice
- technology-as-practice
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