Theorizing and Enacting Societal Impact - 3 ECTS

Course Coordinator: Eva Boxenbaum, Professor
Department of Organization, CBS

Faculty

Eva Boxenbaum, Professor
Department of Organization, CBS

Pedro Monteiro, Tenure-Track Assistant Professor
Department of Organization, CBS 

Anders Krabbe, Tenure-Track Assistant Professor
Department of Strategy and Innovation, CBS

Professor Susanne Boch Waldorff
Department of Organization, CBS

Vivi Lena Andersen, Director
Rudersdal Museums. PhD Cup 2018 participant

Cathrine la Cour, documentarist/ journalist
Outreach Now

Marianna Lubanski 
Project Lead & Change Agent for Innovation & Impact
Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship, CBS

Prerequisite

Participants are required to submit an individual project plan related to societal impact (1-2 pages) no later than Nov. 15. They must attend the full course to obtain a course certificate. 

This course equips participants with a theoretical understanding of societal impact that can help them make their own research socially impactful. Participants learn about professional organization and acquire organizational and communicative insights that are useful for enhancing the societal impact of research. Through this work, they begin shaping their own professional identity and impactful pathway in view of crafting a meaningful career. 

Content 

The course is composed of theoretically informed lectures on societal impact at the intersection of organizational theory and communication theory. The morning blocks (“theorizing impact”) focus on understanding the inter-organizational context, using organizational theory. In the afternoon blocks (“enacting impact”), participants learn to navigate this context as an individual scholar, based on communication theory and entrepreneurship.  

Lecture plan

Tuesday Dec. 1

Theorizing impact
9.00 – 10.00: Introduction to the course (Eva Boxenbaum)
10.30 – 12.00: Professional aspirations (Anders Krabbe)

Enacting impact
13.00 – 16.00: Audiovisual storytelling & academia (Cathrine la Cour
16.00 – 16.30: Feedback

Wednesday Dec. 2

Theorizing impact
9.00 – 10.15: Changing roles and expertise of scholars (Pedro Monteiro)
10.45 – 12.00: Translating research to impact public policy (Susanne Boch Waldorff)

Enacting impact
13.00 – 16.00: Verbal and non-verbal communication skills (Vivi Lena Andersen)
16.00 – 16.30: Feedback

Thursday, Dec 3

Theorizing impact
9.00 – 10.15 Modes of communication (Eva Boxenbaum & Silviya Svejenova)
10.45 – 12:00 Art & Aesthetics (Silviya Svejenova)

Enacting impact
13.00 – 15.00: Entrepreneurial pitching & pathways (Marianna Lubanski)
15.00 – 15.30: Feedback
15.30 – 16.00: Course evaluation

Teaching style

The pedagogical approach revolves around an application of theoretical insights, step by step, to gradually build a product that aims at fostering societal impact of the participants’ research. Participants gain insights from lectures, discussion, group work, and exercises as the course unfolds.  

Benco, R. C. (2020). Why science needs art. Smithsonian Magazine (April 15, 2020).  https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-of-natural-history/2020/04/15/why-science-needs-art/

Boxenbaum, E., Jones, C., Meyer, R., & Svejenova, S. (2018). Towards an articulation of the material and visual turn in organization studies. Organization Studies, 39(5-6), 597-616. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840618772611

Huising, R., “Epistemic travel and its dangers: Academic impact seeking, influencing, and posing” in preparation for Research in the Sociology of Organizations.

Jones, C., Svejenova, S., Pedersen, J. S., & Townley, B. (2016). Misfits, mavericks and mainstreams: Drivers of innovation in the creative industries. Organization Studies, 37(6), 751-768.

Kacprzyk, J., Clune, S., Clark, C., & Kane, A.  (2023). Making a greener planet: nature documentaries promote plant awareness, Annals of Botany, 131(2), 255–260.  

Khoury, C. K., Kisel, Y., Kantar, M., Barber, E., Ricciardi, V., Klirs, C., ... & Novy, A. (2019). Science–graphic art partnerships to increase research impact. Communications Biology, 2(1), 295. 

Krabbe, A. D., & Grodal, S. “The mediation dilemma and power hybris in the hearing aid industry (1945-2015)”, working paper.

Li, N., Villanueva, I. I., Jilk, T., Van Matre, B. R., & Brossard, D. (2023). Artistic representations of data can help bridge the US political divide over climate change. Communications Earth & Environment, 4(1), 195.

McKee, R., & Fryer, B. (2003). Storytelling that moves people. Harvard Business Review, 81(6), 51-55.

Meyer, R. E., Jancsary, D., Höllerer, M. A., & Boxenbaum, E. (2018). The role of verbal and visual text in the process of institutionalization. Academy of Management Review, 43(3), 392-418.

Reinecke, J., Boxenbaum, E., & Gehman, J. (2022). Impactful Theory: Pathways to Mattering. Organization Theory, 3(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/26317877221131061

Vaughan, D. (2006). NASA revisited: Theory, analogy, and public sociology. American Journal of Sociology, 112(2), 353-393.

Villanueva, I. I., Li, N., Jilk, T., Renner, J., Van Matre, B. R., & Brossard, D. (2024). When science meets art on Instagram: Examining the effects of visual art on emotions, interest, and social media engagement. Science Communication, https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470241228279

Course Diploma