Created by JKU's Institute of Organization Science in 2013, the Austrian Early Scholars Workshop in Management provides a unique opportunity for advanced PhD students and academics in early career stages (approx. 25 to 30 young scholars each year) to present their research to and discuss it with colleagues and distinguished professors from international and Austrian universities (such as from the University of Alberta, Boston College, University of Cambridge, University of Innsbruck, University of Jena, University of Oxford, University of Victoria, WU Vienna).

In addition to facilitating intellectual exchange, this workshop supports the development of a global network of young graduates interested in management and organization studies from institutional, organizational and behavioral perspectives. The program is targeted at early scholars who aim at a continued academic career in the fields of organization and management theory, strategy, innovation, entrepreneurship, organizational behavior or public management. With several faculty members’ strong background in institutional theory, the Austrian Early Scholars Workshop provides an environment particularly conducive to research inspired by institutional perspectives. It is, however, open to research that draws from a broad range of theoretical and methodological underpinnings.

In its early phase, the workshop was held in Linz. The fourth workshop brought in a new co-hosting cycle, alternating between the JKU Linz and WU Vienna. The workshop continues to institutionalize this project in the Austrian and international management research community.