16562: The Presence and Absence of the Past

Sunday, July 27, 2025

12:00 - 13:30 CEST (GMT+2)

Location: Bella Center: Hall B- B3-m5

Session Type: Plenary Session
Highlight: DIG Highlight
Shareable link: https://cdmcd.co/QGWaqa

Coordinator(s)

DC

Diego Coraiola

U. of Victoria, Canada

Moderator(s)

WF

William Foster

U. of Alberta, Canada

Discussant(s)

RS

Roy R. Suddaby

U. of Victoria, Canada

Panelist(s)

AB

Amon Barros

FGV EAESP Sao Paulo School of Business Administration, Brazil
CL

Christina Lubinski

Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
LE

Liv Egholm

Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
MM

Mairi Maclean

U. of Bath, United Kingdom
FB

Francois Bastien

U. of Victoria, Canada

Understanding the past is a central concern for management and organizational history scholars, yet the discussions tend to be centred on history. This plenary session will explore a critical distinction between history as a narrative construction and the past as an active force that shapes contemporary life. The past under construction here is not the bygone past of history books, but the past we take into account in our daily lives, the past that influences our decisions, the past that guides our actions, the past that we dress, eat, breathe, and dwell by. We will focus on how the past reveals itself and is experienced as both a presence and an absence in the form of ruins, legacies, traditions, ghosts, and institutions that populate and enrich our timescape. Recognizing the past as a presence continuously woven into our lived experience, the plenary will explore how management and organizational scholars can better study and appreciate the implications of the living past for organizing.