Research and Papers
My research addresses questions of organizational design, learning, and adaptation. In particular, my focus is on two broad questions:
- How does organizational design affect a firm’s ability to deal with complex (interdependent) decision problems?
- How does organizational design affect a firm’s ability to learn and adapt?
Dealing with Complexity
Ensuring Adaptation While Seeking Efficiency: Tiered Outsourcing and Skip-Level Supplier Ties in the Airbus A350 Program (with Markus C. Becker and Isabel Horrmann). Organization Science, 31 (2020): 1176-1197.
Effective Search in Rugged Performance Landscapes: A Review and Outlook (with Jens Schmidt and Nils Stieglitz). Journal of Management, 45 (2019): 258-318.
Models of Complex Adaptive Systems in Strategy and Organization Research
Mind & Society, 14 (2015): 169-183.
Distributed Problem Solving in Modular Systems: The Benefit of Temporary Coordination Neglect
Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 32 (2015): 124-136.
Learning from a Drastic Failure: Lessons from the Airbus A380 Program
(with Isabel Dörfler). Industry and Innovation, 21 (2014): 197-214.
Dealing with Complexity: Integrated vs. Chunky Search Processes
(with Nicolaj Siggelkow). Organization Science, 24 (2013): 116-132.
Complexity in the Telecommunications Industry: When Integrating Infrastructure and Services Backfires
(with Nico Grove). Telecommunications Policy, 36 (2012): 40-50.
Evaluating the New: The Contingent Value of a Pro-Innovation Bias
(with Dirk Martignoni). Schmalenbach Business Review, 63 (2011): 349-371.
Search, Failure, and the Value of Moderate Patience
Schmalenbach Business Review, 62 (2010): 233-258.
Innovation in komplexen Systemen: Wann zahlt es sich aus, Fehlschläge geduldig zu tolerieren? zfo – Zeitschrift Führung und Organisation, 4 (2010): 240-244.
Modularität in der verteilten Entwicklung komplexer Systeme: Chancen, Grenzen, Implikationen
(with Arnold Picot). Journal für Betriebswirtschaft, 57 (2007): 221-246.
Learning and Adaptation
Colleagues and Competitors: How Internal Social Comparisons Shape Organizational Search and Adaptation
(with JP Eggers and Nils Stieglitz). Administrative Science Quarterly, 64 (2019), 275-309.
Rewarding Value-Creating Ideas in Organizations: The Power of Low-Powered Incentives
(with Nils Stieglitz). Strategic Management Journal 35 (2014): 358-375.
Other Publications (Organization Design, Business Venturing, Health Care, Information Systems)
Reviewing, Revisiting, and Renewing the Foundations of Organization Design (with John Joseph, Richard Burton and Kannan Srikanth). Organization Design (Advances in Strategic Management) 40 (2018), Emerald Publishing Limited, 1-23.
Rocket Internet: Organizing a Startup Factory (with Carsten Bergenholtz, Lars Frederiksen, Robert M. Grant, Rebecca Köhler, David L. Preston and Scott Shane). Journal of Organization Design 7 (2018).
The Relevance of Organization Theory to the Field of Business and Information Systems Engineering
(with Arnold Picot). Business & Information Systems Engineering 1 (2009): 62-69.
Die Bedeutung der Organisationstheorie für die Entwicklung der Wirtschaftsinformatik
(with Arnold Picot). Wirtschaftsinformatik 51 (2009): 72-81.
Firm Boundary Decisions: The Market for Health-Related R&D Services with an Empirical Case Study for Germany
(with Hariolf Grupp). International Economics and Economic Policy, 5 (2008): 297-321.