AOM Annual Meeting 2026

Professional Development Workshop | August 2, 2026

The pace of digital transformation currently surpasses that which we have experienced in the past. Headlines are filled with news of layoffs due to artificial intelligence (AI) replacements. Often, efficiency and profit margins are the focus rather than human connection, partnerships, equity, or embodiment. Those who remain in the workforce face tremendous changes, which contribute to burnout and uncertainty, while the focus on inclusion diminishes, and a sense of isolation grows. Yet these troubling trends can be offset by designing organizations, policies, and frameworks that ensure humans remain involved in the transformation process. Through conversations with an expert interdisciplinary panel and roundtable discussions, this PDW aims to stimulate research in this rapidly changing environment, fostering a community and network for collaboration. The goal is to ensure that humans remain central, not peripheral, to the digital transformation process. Through the four pillars of connection, partnerships, equity, and embodiment, we aim not only to critique the current state of digital transformation but also to develop solutions for preserving our humanity amid the inevitable changes ahead.

Dr Cristina Gibson

Sustaining Well-Being, Adaptability, and Ethical Decision-Making During Digital Transformation Dr. Sharifa Batts, Pepperdine University

This presentation introduces Optimal Imperviousness Theory as a framework for change management that holds innovation and human flourishing in productive tension. Rather than treating digital transformation as something to adapt to, the framework asks leaders to intentionally design for it: fostering meaningful connection, preserving human judgment in AI-enabled decisions, and embedding equity and reflection into the transformation process itself. The result is not resistance to change, rather, it is sustainable change.