© OWMs

3rd Theory Building Workshop
of the Work, Organizational and Business Psychology Division of the German Association of Psychology
Münster, 18.-19. September 2025

We were delighted to welcome you to the 3rd Theory Building Workshop of the Work, Organizational and Business Division (Fachgruppe AOW Psychologie) of the German Association of Psychology (DGPs) in Münster. In addition to the discourse and further development of methodological skills, theoretical foundation is the second central building block of our research. This building block becomes even more important in light of growing presence of purely data-driven models and prediction-oriented artificial intelligence. With this workshop, we continued the tradition of offering a platform for the dissemination of skills and concepts, but also for discussion and collegial exchange on the development of theories in our field.

During the workshop, we addressed central themes of theory building, such as:

  • Why do we have theory? Helping you decide if we need another one (and if we do, explaining why)
  • From data to unit theory to programmatic theory and back (and how we add value along the way)
  • Connecting to the conversation (building on others work, helping others build on yours)
  • Finding your voice (and finding something meaningful to say)
  • Please stop doing this (bad habits that are ruining our science and not really helping your work)

The format of the workshop included short input presentations and examples by the facilitator as well as open discussions on the individual topics. Moreover, discussions and feedback on the participants' own theory papers are possible.

For the 3rd Theory Building Workshop, we were able to win Prof. Matthew Cronin from George Mason University (https://business.gmu.edu/profiles/mcronin) as facilitator. As Co-Editor in Chief of the Organizational Psychology Review (2019-2022) and currently Co-Editor in Chief of the Academy of Management Annals (2023-2026), he has extensive experience as an editor of theoretical works. In addition, Matthew regularly publishes on the topic of theory building, with titles such as “It's the theory, stupid” (OPR 2022) or “The theory crisis in management research” (AMR 2021). One of his main concerns is the linking and practical usability of theories.

© M. Cronin

Matthew’s teaser for the workshop:

“When one understands why our theory field needs theory in the first place, writing theory that will not only get published, but will also be read, cited, tested, and developed by others is more likely to happen. This workshop helps burgeoning authors learn how to connect their theory to the broader needs in management and organizational scholarship.”

Program:

On the first day, we started with a social lunch together at 12.00 noon, after which the workshop began with inputs and discussions. In the evening we had dinner together in the city center of Münster (included in the fee). The workshop continued on the second day at 9.00 am and ended around 4.00 pm.

We would like to thank our facilitator Matthew Cronin and all participants! 

Guido Hertel and Christoph Nohe