What Now? What Next? Business in Society in a Time of Chaos and Crossroads: A Call for Eco‐Social Research for Planetary Action

ABSTRACT This Agenda 2050 argues that we as business in society or other management scholars implicitly too often pretend that the tenets of conventional economics will provide a thriving future for us humans and for the rest of the beings we coexist with, despite all the evidence to the contrary. It further argues that we can no longer ignore the ecological – social (eco‐social) and political realities of polycrisis, the intersecting array of civilization‐threatening crises now facing humanity. The essay argues that we as scholars need to take the scholarly and intellectual risks to study and speak out about systemic issues, critique conventional economics, and address the very real perils humanity is facing, and do so in both our teaching and research. Incorporating alternative or heterodox economics frameworks, bringing systems thinking, and transformative or systemic change processes into business in society research could be helpful ways to broaden the research agenda to help scholars and leaders better understand and cope with polycrisis.