After four decades of public policy dominated in the West by neoliberal faith in markets, and faced with climate change and other grand challenges, the wind seems to be turning toward a more proactive role for the state in influencing the direction of economy and society – though not necessarily in a progressive direction.
How can management and organization studies address the new role in the state in societal governance?
What conceptual tools and research methods can we use to understand the evolving interplay of state, business, and civil society in that governance?
In this sub-plenary, we attempt to respond to that question by building on several sub-themes at recent EGOS Colloquia, and we respond to the General Theme of the 41^st EGOS Colloquium 2025, which invites us to mobilize our “Creativity that Goes a Long Way”.