UD Lerner Professor Wendy Smith Honored

photo of Wendy Smith, Dana J. Johnson Professor of Management at the University of Delaware's Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics

Wendy Smith, Dana J. Johnson Professor of Management at the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, received the 2024 Academy of Management Review (AMR) Decade Award at the Academy of Management Annual meeting on August 11.

During the meeting, Smith, who is co-founder of the Women’s Leadership Initiative at UD, also received the research journal Organization & Environment’s 2024 Best Paper Award for 3-year Impact.

Academy of Management Review 2024 Decade Award

Smith’s journal article “Multiple Institutional Logics in Organizations: Explaining Their Varied Nature and Implications,” co-authored by Marya Besharov, professor of organizations and impact at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School, was the most cited body of work from 2014-2024 in the AMR and one that has demonstrated a significant impact in the field of management. Smith also won the Decade Award in 2021 and is the only person to have received this award twice.

“Winning the Decade Award from the Academy of Management Review twice is incredibly meaningful to me,” said Smith. “It not only reflects the lasting impact of my work but also affirms the importance of studying complex organizational dynamics over time. This recognition fuels my passion for continuing to explore how leaders and organizations can navigate competing demands and thrive in increasingly challenging environments.

“It’s both an honor and a reminder of the responsibility to push the boundaries of knowledge in ways that resonate with both scholars and practitioners.” 

Smith and Besharov’s paper examines how today’s complex organizations are constantly juggling multiple, often competing demands. Nonprofits like hospitals and universities face the dual pressures of generating revenue while controlling costs. Meanwhile, for-profit companies are increasingly addressing social and environmental challenges. Social enterprises, built with the dual purpose of achieving both business and social missions, are born into this balancing act. These varied goals, beliefs and approaches create ongoing tensions within organizations. Researchers describe this challenge as pluralism, where organizations operate under multiple “institutional logics.”

Smith and Besharov’s paper argues that while organizations are becoming more complex, they don’t all experience complexity in the same way. Some organizations manage demands that are relatively compatible, while others face more conflicting pressures. In some cases, one demand dominates, whereas in others, both are equally influential. These differences shape how people within the organization experience and navigate tensions.

“Our paper is important for several reasons,” said Smith. “It highlights the real-world complexity of organizations and the increasing challenges of leadership in these environments. Recognizing that not all organizations experience complexity in the same way allows researchers to explore these challenges with greater nuance and provides leaders with more tailored tools to navigate their specific situations.”

Organization and Environment 2024 Best Paper Award for 3-year Impact 

Smith and co-authors Natalie Slawinksi and Blair Winsor of Memorial University, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada won the Organization and Environment’s Best Paper award for their article “Managing the Paradoxes of Place to Foster Regeneration,” awarded to the best paper over the last three years based on originality, quality and impact.

Slawinski, Winsor and Smith explore the benefits and challenges of place-based organizations seeking to regenerate dying communities. They draw on rich data exploring Shorefast, a community enterprise in Newfoundland effectively navigating ongoing tensions while rebuilding the community of Fogo Island. The award review committee praised the article as a “fascinating and highly relevant case study with wide-ranging theoretical and practical implications.”

 

 

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