Getting Emotional: Theorizing About and From Data at the Intersection of Emotions and Institutions

This PDW is a continuation of PDWs we organized at AoM 2017 in Atlanta and 2018 in Chicago that attracted much interest and large audiences from across the academy. It aims to encourage empirical research at the intersection of emotions and institutions by creating an opportunity to discuss the possibilities and trouble- shoot the challenges of conducting such research. Studying emotions from an institutional perspective requires a more socially embedded conceptualization and a more contextualized approach than survey scales of affect can reveal. This leads researchers working in this domain to face empirical challenges in collecting, analyzing and displaying emotions as data. While emotions have been studied extensively by researchers from psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy and neurobiology, the appropriate lenses and methods by which to tackle emotions and their role in institutional dynamics is less understood. By bringing together renowned scholars, versed in distinct approaches and qualitative methodologies, we seek to develop expertise across the community of interested scholars to enable the continued growth of this important research stream within organizational theory. Senior and junior scholars who have successfully studied emotions and institutions will walk attendees through their specific approaches for collecting and analyzing data on emotions. By creating a forum to share best practices and common pitfalls, the proposed PDW will help build and enhance the skills of researchers interested in conducting empirical research on emotions and institutions.