#  Science, Technology, and Society Seminar: STS Circle at Harvard 

 



    ![Two-toned blue graphic background with the name of the seminar in white on top.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_5_4__480x385/public/2025-04/Seminar%20STS%20Circle_0.png?itok=lofjKFnq) 

 



 

####  calendar\_today Date and Time 

 **December 1, 2025** 

 12:15PM - 02:00PM EST 

####  pin\_drop Location 

 **CGIS South, S354**  

 [1730 Cambridge Street  
Cambridge, MA 02138  
United States



 ](<https://www.google.com/maps?q=US MA Cambridge 02138 1730 Cambridge Street>) 

A light lunch is provided for those that register by 1:00pm on the Thursday before the event.

 

 

 



 

## Narrative and the Causal Turn in Management Research

### Speaker

- Kyle Schirmann, PhD Candidate, Harvard Business School.

### Chair

- Sheila Jasanoff, Faculty Associate. Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies; Professor of Environmental Science and Public Policy, Committee on Degrees in Environmental Science and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School.

### Contact

**Henry Austin**  
<henryaustin@hks.harvard.edu>

### Abstract

The sociologist Andrew Abbott, writing from the perspective of an unspecified future researcher, suggested that “causal relationships” might be “what made social science *science*.” In recent decades, many management researchers, following economists, have centered causality in their empirical research, employing techniques such as randomized controlled trials, A/B testing, or instrumental variables estimation. This causal turn bounds the actors and relationships considered by economic models, enables researchers to do anticipatory work in future worlds, and aims to prevent future replication crises. It offers a criterion for choosing between competing theories, although it also may reduce the universe of demonstrable claims. I argue that the accompanying narrative forms, rhetorical techniques, and faith in method are essential and often overlooked elements: beyond the econometric merits of causal inference, these devices establish legitimacy and allow management researchers to shape policy and affect practice in new ways.

### Bio

Kyle Schirmann is a doctoral student in the Strategy unit at Harvard Business School, where he is completing a dissertation entitled “Creativity, Information, and Strategy." His research addresses how organizations develop creative and innovative capabilities, given environments of considerable technological or market uncertainty. Before joining HBS, Kyle worked as a software engineer at Bloomberg and as a senior analyst at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago. He earned a BA in Mathematics from New York University, an MA in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies from Columbia University, and a graduate diploma in Social Sciences from the University of London.



 

##  Register for in-person or virtual event 

 



 [ Register to attend in person arrow\_circle\_right ](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/14gS2RZUG6tOzbqFngo5LfsIA38bDZj-nhdNrWIm84hM/viewform?edit_requested=true) [ Register to attend virtually arrow\_circle\_right ](https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/pFiFusybSUmFqUy8-wfcbQ#/registration) 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ 2025–2026 ](/academic-year/2025-2026)
- [ Science, Technology, and Society Seminar: STS Circle at Harvard ](/seminars/science_society/schedule)
 
 

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