24986: Revealing the Promise of Microfoundations in IM – A Modular Perspective

Monday, July 28, 2025

10:15 - 11:45 CEST (GMT+2)

Location: Bella Center: MR64/65

Session Type: Symposium (panel)
Shareable link: https://cdmcd.co/3RpWAd

Organizer(s)

PS

Pamela Sharkey Scott

Dulin City U., Ireland

Panelist(s)

GS

Grazia D. Santangelo

Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
RD

Rian HJ Drogendijk

U. of Groningen, Netherlands
HY

Harun Emre Yildiz

Mälardalen University, Sweden
TA

Tina C. Ambos

University of Geneva

This panel addresses the limited progress to date in applying microfoundations to understanding micro-macro relationships in complex, often nested, IM phenomena. Following from recent publications and a call for papers, the panellists will outline their modular approach to the foundational framework of microfoundations, Coleman's (1990) bathtub. The panellists will reveal how the bathtub can be broken down into its component parts or modules, each relating to a specific, independent relationship between two constructs, that can be theorized and tested. Rich examples will illustrate how the modular approach simplifies the research process and enables sequential studies, both quantitative and qualitative, to build cumulatively towards full explanations of microfoundations. The panel calls for scholars to adopt this modular approach to microfoundations to better tackle the important questions of our time for global business and society.