Opportunity Structures in a Fragmented Geo‑Economic Landscape: Reimagining Social Mobility In and Around Organizations
Date & Time
Wednesday, October 21, 8:30–17:45
Location
Einstein Center Digital Future
Wilhelmstraße 67, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Registration Fees
- Non‑Member: $105
- SMS Member: $90
Event Overview
A defining feature of today’s geo-economic landscape is the rapid and uneven transformation of opportunity structures across regions, industries, and social groups. Artificial intelligence and automation are reshaping skill requirements and potentially substituting for traditional “mobility gateway” jobs. Geopolitical realignment and shifting expectations around diversity, equity, and inclusion are altering the institutional environment in which firms design recruitment, promotion, and compensation systems. Meanwhile, deindustrialization and energy transitions are weakening traditional employment paths in “left-behind” regions, fueling political discontent.
This one-day workshop brings together leading scholars and practitioners to examine how organizations and entrepreneurial ecosystems respond strategically to these unequal opportunity structures. Four curated panel discussions and an interactive Research Sprint address how recruitment systems, internal labor markets, and career ladders shape mobility trajectories; when and for whom entrepreneurship functions as a pathway to upward mobility; what evidence organizations and NGOs actually need to design mobility-enhancing strategies; and how declining opportunities relate to populism and democratic resilience.
The Extension is co-organized by Christopher I. Rider (University of Michigan), Leif Brändle (University of Hohenheim), Aleksandra Kacperczyk (London Business School), and Karl Wennberg (Stockholm School of Economics), with practice partners Netzwerk Chancen, Startup-Verband, and Bertelsmann Stiftung. It features scholars from strategy, entrepreneurship, sociology, and political economy alongside practitioners working on social mobility and equitable opportunity in Germany and beyond.