Open Strategy Workshop 2025
This year Open Strategy Workshop took place at Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. The workshop serves as a collaborative platform to share insights, discuss ongoing and future research projects, and foster new collaborations in the field.
Day 1:
The morning featured a dedicated Paper Development Workshop for PhD students, alongside a panel discussion on publishing in top-tier journals — led by Richard Whittington, David Seidl, Violetta Splitter, and Josh Morton.
The official opening in the Nelson Mandela Lecture Theatre began with welcomes from Richard Whittington, Violetta Splitter, Robin Engelbach, and Winky Wu — building on the momentum of last year’s Zurich workshop and setting the stage for this year’s Oxford edition.
This was followed by a thought-provoking keynote by Christian Stadler on “Open Strategy: What Executives Actually Want/Need?”, moderated by David Seidl.
Poster Session I showcased a range of exciting paper ideas, sparking insightful dialogue about the Open Strategy phenomenon and its sub-topics.
We closed the afternoon with an engaging Practitioner Panel featuring Nicole Ebber (Wikimedia Deutschland e. V.) and Tuula Antola (Omnia Finland), moderated by Eero Vaara — highlighting the challenges and opportunities of Open Strategy in practice.
In the evening, we gather for our conference dinner at St Peter's College, University of Oxford — offering time to reflect, connect, and celebrate the field we’re collectively shaping.
Day 2:
The second day started with the Open Strategy World Café, where participants joined one of seven thematic tables for roundtable discussions on key topics in Open Strategy:
- Boundary of Openness – Leonhard Dobusch & Jessica Crewe-Brown
- Inclusion – Aljona Zorina, PhD, HDR & Robin Engelbach
- Transparency – Basak Yakis-Douglas & Christoph Brielmaier
- Actors – Jeanine Porck & Joanna Jagiełło
- Contexts – Christiane Bellucci & Theresa Füreder
- Technology & AI – Josh Morton & Thomas Ortner
- Grand Challenges – Theresa Langenmayr & Christian Bruck
The second Poster Session followed, offering a chance to reflect on ideas from the café and dive into posters centered on “Tools & Techniques: Measuring and Enabling Openness” and “Strategy in Motion: Praxis, Evolution & Reflexivity.”
A highlight of the Oxford edition: The Oxford Union Style Debate on the motion “This house believes that Open Strategy is a sham!”
- Team Innsbruck: Julia Hautz, Leonhard Dobusch, Thomas Ortner
- Team Zurich: David Seidl, Theresa Langenmayr, Benjamin Grossmann-Hensel
Moderated by Violetta Splitter, the debate delivered sharp arguments, playful provocations, and critical reflections on Open Strategy’s future.
We concluded with a heartfelt Farewell Lunch, rounding off two days of engaging dialogue, new ideas, and community exchange.
We’re already looking forward to next year’s workshop at Universität Innsbruck! Stay updated and subscribe here.