Stacey Guenther has been named one of three finalists for the Academy of Management’s Management, Spirituality, and Religion (MSR) special interest group’s 2021 Most Promising Dissertation Proposal Award for her proposal entitled, A Phenomenological Inquiry into Group Beingness. The award is made annually to doctoral beginning the formulation of their dissertation topics. and/or currently performing dissertation-related research. The award includes a stipend to the top three finalists for the purpose of offsetting dissertation research costs. Stacey has also been named a Fetzer Scholar for MSR, which is awarded to 20 doctoral candidates and new faculty members each year and includes membership and tuition to all MSR meetings and events for one year.
The purpose of the MSR Most Promising Dissertation Award program is to honor and assist doctoral candidates working in the domain of Management, Spirituality, and Religion (MSR) to develop quality dissertations that can integrate management with spirituality and/or religion, and also reflect novel and/or significant evidence-based theoretical and/or applied contributions to the field. As an emerging discipline of scholarship within the Academy of Management (AOM), MSR seeks to encourage quality doctoral dissertations as a springboard to ongoing contributory research and inquiry.
Submissions generally align with the MSR domain statement: “MSR explores how spirituality and religion can influence organizational dynamics and affect management outcomes. In that regard, MSR is devoted to defining the relevance and impact of spirituality and religion in management, organizations, and society. Major areas of study include theory building and empirical research around the issues of faith, spirituality, and religion as they influence principles and practices in management. Important contributions have been made in MSR research to better understand the meaning of work, the impact of spirituality and spiritual leadership in the workplace, the purpose of business, the effects of religious pluralism in the workplace, and the distinctive elements of individual religious and spiritual beliefs that cultivate inner awareness and promote wisdom for the common good.”
As a recipient of these awards, finalists are expected to:
- Attend the annual Academy of Management meeting.
- Attend the MSR Scholarship and Publishing Consortium which precedes the AOM conference.
- Come to the Consortium prepared to discuss progress to date on their research proposal as well as receive feedback during the session.
- Attend the dissertation awards presentation during the MSR business meeting.
- Submit a scholarly paper to MSR through the Academy of Management review process when the thesis is completed. This would normally occur within one or two years after receiving the award.
