'The Transformation of Epistemic Agency and Governance in Higher Education Through Large Language Models: Towards a Future of Organised Immaturity' Leadership, Organisations, Behaviour and Reputation Research Seminar

Professor Lindebaum is curious about 'values' as a meta-theme in his research, particularly in relation to theory building, learning/education, technology and emotions at work. His work regularly appears in journals of international distinction, such as the Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Learning and Education, the Journal of Management Studies, Organization Studies and Human Relations, and he is also the author of the book Emancipation through Emotion Regulation (Edward Elgar, 2017).

Despite his theoretical pursuits, the practical relevance of his research is regularly recognized in news outlets, such as the Financial Times, the New York Times, BBC Radio 5 Live, Wirtschaftswoche, the Daily Mail, the Independent, FORTUNE magazine and Bloomberg Business Week. Furthermore, he has published several practitioner-focused articles in MIT Sloan Management Review, one of which has been accepted into the Honor Roll of the Responsible Research in Business and Management network as an indication that his research serves the larger good. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Academy of Management Learning and Education.

The topic of this presentation is 'The Transformation of Epistemic Agency and Governance in Higher Education Through Large Language Models: Towards a Future of Organised Immaturity'. This seminar will explore how and why the use of large language models (LLMs) transforms epistemic agency and epistemic governance in Higher Education (HE) and why this transformation can usher organised immaturity as a new organising principle for HE.

Asking these questions now matters for two reasons; because the profound impact of LLMs on epistemic agency and governance in HE has not been adequately scrutinised by theorists of organisations and HE to date and because LLMs represent an epistemic technology that fundamentally alters who produces knowledge, how knowledge is produced (through research) and disseminated (through education) and what kind of knowledge is produced. This lack of scrutiny leaves us unequipped to understand why and how LLMs transform (via the activities of Big EdTech first and institutional responses second) epistemic agency and epistemic governance in HE.

Two aims follow from this broader concern. First, the research interrogates how 'epistemic agency' undergoes transformation as more HE institutions (and related parties) adopt and legitimatise LLMs in research and education in ways that rewrites the rules concerning epistemic governance in favour of Big EdTech. In this process, epistemic agents transform into epistemic consumers over time. Building on this, the second aim is to show why the aforementioned transformation can usher organised immaturity as a new organising principle for HE. This development undermines the Humboldtian ideal of HE as a progressive cultural project of integrating research and education within a broader normative foundation of academic freedom. This ideal also emphasises the intellectual development of reason and 'holistic knowledge' to enable social deliberation essential to the development and maintenance of democracies.

The seminar will discuss the theoretical ramifications of the data analysis, suggest avenues for future research and offer an agenda for immediate corrective action to enlarge our control over epistemic agency and governance in HE. The full research paper, co-authored by Professor Lindebaum, Dr Eimear Nolan and Dr Manuel Ramirez, can be viewed here.

After the seminar has concluded, Professor Lindebaum will lead an expert session workshop, titled 'Why (and How to) Publish in the Academy of Management Learning and Education'. This workshop is targeted specifically at prospective AMLE authors.

The seminar is for an internal audience and will be held on 20 November 2025, 1:00pm, in room LG01 of the Henley Business School building, Whiteknights campus. For those unable to attend in person there is also the option to dial in remotely via Microsoft Teams. If you are interested in joining, please contact Alex Baker on a.j.baker@henley.ac.uk

Members of LOBR faculty may also request to book a one to one meeting with Professor Lindebaum. Each appointment will last 30 minutes, between 10:00am to 12:00pm. Slots are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. To arrange an appointment, please contact Alex Baker on a.j.baker@henley.ac.uk

LOBR research seminars are co-ordinated by Professor Bernd Vogel and Dr Anastasiya Saraeva.