Janis Jäger at the 4th Annual Organizational Legitimacy Workshop

Between 8.-9.6., Janis Jäger attended the 4th international Workshop on Organizational Legitimacy at the University in Aix-en-Provence (amU).

Under the motto Advancing Legitimacy Frontiers: New Perspectives and Challenges, 74 participants from 54 universities gathered in Aix-en-Provence for the 4th international workshop on organizational legitimacy (Workshop Website). And I was part of it!

 

 

 

 

 

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My academic journey entered a new chapter when I started my PhD at the Department of Sociology at UZH in January. Shortly afterwards, my supervisor and mentor Katja Rost, forwarded me a call for papers for the 4^th international workshop on organizational legitimacy at Aix-Marseille University in Aix-en-Provence (amU). Without knowing it at the time, this would become one of my very first PhD adventures.

The deadline for the submission of the abstract was already approaching: 15^th February. I wrote the abstract, discussed and refined it with Katja, and our paper got accepted mid-March – jackpot! But we still needed to write the full paper until end of April. Throughout this process Katja provided invaluable guidance, and together we developed the first draft of our full paper, which I was going to discuss at the conference.

As soon as we were accepted it was clear that I want to take advantage of the location and add some holiday to the conference. I am super thankful to my department, that it was no problem to stay a full week and experience the southern part of France.

Together with my girlfriend, Marie, I arrived in Aix-en-Provence at Wednesday 3^rd of June under bright sunshine. Often referred to as the City of a Thousand Fountains, Aix is the cultural heart and capital of the Provence, a region in southern France known for colorful lavender fields, picturesque villages, and rich food culture.

Those first days before the conference turned out to be surprisingly valuable. Discovering the city, navigating the local bus system, and getting in touch with the local culture helped me to deal with some pre-conference anxiety. After all, I was about to attend my very first academic conference and discuss my research with scholars whose work I had only known through journal articles and literature reviews.

A whole series of questions were running through my mind. Would these experts find my research interesting? Am I confident enough to argue with some very (!) smart people? Did I really have something meaningful to contribute? What if they suggested taking the project in a completely different direction? Am I actually a scientist?

Fortunately, the relaxed atmosphere of Aix and the vacation days with Marie made these doubts fade into the background. The Mediterranean flair of the region almost made me forget I had come for work rather than vacation. On our first evening we wandered through the narrow streets of the old town before enjoying a wonderful three-course dinner at a traditional French restaurant.

The following day, Thursday, we explored the city’s markets, started the morning with fresh pain au chocolat, and immersed ourselves in the history of Aix. The city is particularly proud of a famous painter: Paul Cézanne, whose work paved the way for classical modernism and influenced generations of artists. Of course, we also saw a lot of fountains.

One small experience that perfectly illustrated how travelling broadens your horizons happened while using the local buses. Instead of buying a paper ticket, passengers simply tapped their bank card when boarding. As someone more accustomed to traditional ticketing systems, I found this remarkably elegant and surprisingly futuristic.

On Friday it was time to get on the bus and visit Marseille! Frequent buses depart every five to ten minutes from the Gare Routiére, Aix’s central bus station, and reach Marseille Saint-Charles in about 30 minutes.

Marseille was surprisingly beautiful and it definitely can't be seen in its entirety in a single day! We wandered through the colorful streets of Le Panier, the city’s historic quarter, strolled along the lively Vieux Port, and visited two of Marseille’s iconic landmarks: the Cathédrale La Major and the basilica Notre Dame de la Garde, from where you have a cinematic panorama over the city and the Mediterranean coastline, the harbor, the stadium and the landscape. We also visited the museum Cosquer Mediterranee where we wondered about prehistoric cave paintings – a fascinating encounter with human history spanning tens of thousands of years.

Saturday was beach day. We travelled by bus via Aubagne to the beautiful coastal town of Cassis, famous for its dramatic limestone cliffs and turquoise waters. From there we hiked through parts of the Calanques National Park, enjoyed nice views and took a swim in the surprisingly cold sea.

Sunday marked a small transition. I said goodby to Marie, as she had to return home, while I moved from our hotel in the centre of Aix to accommodation very close to the university campus (La Pauliane). The holiday part of the journey was coming to an end and the conference experience was about to begin! While checking in I already met two other attendees, as we were confronted with a not working self-check-in – Leiden verbindet (Misery loves company).

The two days of the workshop offered an outstanding academic programme. It featured inspiring key notes on organizational legitimacy by Roy Suddaby, Gerardo Patriotta and Eric Schoon. Beyond the keynote sessions, participants discussed their papers in small development workshops led by internationally renowned scholars on organizational legitimacy, including Laura Illia, Alex Bitektine, Anna Jasinenko, Björn Claes, Eero Vaara, Eric Schoon, Gerardo Patriotta, Patrick Haack, Roy Suddaby, Sonia Siraz.

Additional sessions focused on publishing legitimacy research from the perspective of journal editors, while a dedicated PhD workshop provided valuable insights into academic career paths and the international job market. On Monday evening there was also a very nice Gala-Dinner at a hotel in Aix, which Marie and I had already seen at our explorations of Aix.

For me, the paper development sessions were undoubtedly the highlight of the conference. Instead of simply presenting the own research, participants received detailed and constructive feedback in small groups, as everyone within the group read the paper before the conference. The workshop format created space for genuine discussion, encouraged critical reflection, and generated numerous ideas for improving our own work. It was inspiring to engage deeply with colleagues’ research while simultaneously receiving thoughtful suggestions for our own paper. In the end I went back with a lot of very helpful to-dos to develop our paper in a promising direction!

On Wednesday morning I left my hotel early to drive back to the Gare Routiére. From there I took the Bus to the TGV station. Once again I appreciated the effortless contactless ticketing system. It was highly interesting to get ticket controlled, because during the ticket inspection, the inspector merely scanned my debit card and instantly confirmed that I had paid. Futuristic!

Since I arrived early at the TGV station, I spent some time enjoying the view over the landscape. There is an observation platform where you have a beautiful look at the Montagne Sainte-Victoire, a mountain which was painted by Cézanne more than seventy times. Standing there, looking out over one of the most iconic landscapes in French art history, gave me a quiet moment to reflect both the conference and my time in Aix. In many ways, academic journeys and travelling have something in common: both are about discovering new perspectives.