There is currently an open PhD position at the Department of Organization and Learning. The position is in the area of management control (Supervisor: Professor Martin Messner). Application deadline is August 22, 2025. For more information on how to apply, please see: https://lfuonline.uibk.ac.at/public/karriereportal.details?asg_id_in=12684
This research essay is authored by Max Heusgen, student in the master course Open Organizations and Organizing Openness at University of Innsbruck.
In today’s fast-paced business environment, organizations constantly seek methods that foster adaptability, responsiveness, and inclusivity in their strategic decision-making processes. One emerging trend is Open Strategy initiatives. Unlike traditional top-down strategies, open strategy promotes increased transparency, inclusion, and broad-based participation in strategic development, often facilitated by IT systems (Hautz et al., 2017; Tavakoli et al., 2017). However, as this openness scales, it becomes increasingly complex, leading to potential pitfalls that can hinder its execution, as evidenced by the Wikimedia Foundation (Laura Dobusch et al., 2019) and Premium Cola (Luedicke et al., 2017). Hautz et al. (2017) therefore outline the five dilemmas of process, commitment, disclosure, empowerment, and escalation. Interestingly, some companies are already reversing their open strategy approach in pursuit of greater control and profit from their innovations (Appleyard & Chesbrough, 2017).
Another prevalent trend is Agile working. Originating in software development, Agile methods prioritize flexibility, continuous improvement, and active stakeholder involvement. They are characterized by iterative development cycles and a swift response to change (Alsaqqa et al., 2020). Agile methods positively impact project success, efficiency, and stakeholder satisfaction in volatile and uncertain environments (Serrador & Pinto, 2015). The 15th State of Agile Report by Digital.ai (2022) reveals that 86% of Software Development and 63% of IT departments are working agile, with other departments like operations or production also seeing a significant increase from 2020 to 2021. Agile values align with Open Strategy on many occasions and provide tangible measures for their implementation.
The central thesis of this essay suggests that as open strategy is practiced more radically, its inherent challenges become increasingly pronounced. However, the principles and methods of Agile frameworks, known for their robust response to the complexities of software development and other areas, can offer valuable solutions to these open strategy pitfalls. This essay will introduce the values of Open Strategy and the challenges associated with scaling them in an organization. It will then explain how Agile methodologies handle these values and how Open Strategy could benefit from these practices.
Continue reading “Agile practices in Open Strategy: A new approach to overcoming Open Strategy challenges and enhancing organizational decision-making”
This research essay is authored by Eva-Maria Schillinger, student in the master course Open Organizations and Organizing Openness at University of Innsbruck.
As a worldwide, open and collaborative knowledge sharing platform, Wikipedia has largely replaced the need for physical encyclopedias for many. From children using it for their first school presentations to university professors and academics, the readership is broad and diverse. And since Wikipedia prides itself on being an open-for-anyone space for collaboration, you would think that the large community of editors and contributors should be similar in diversity, but this is not the case. While there are multiple dimensions of diversity that could be examined in the case of Wikipedia, gender is the most visible and prominent facet. But not only diversity among users is more scarce than expected, furthermore there is a lack of inclusivity of perspectives and alternative opinions, which in some cases can lead to misrepresentation. Recognizing the lack of diversity among editors and the resulting bias in the content displayed is crucial for making attempts to increase inclusivity in both areas, which according to Wikipedia’s principle of equality should be the goal of the organization and its vast community. Finding the causes for this exclusion is the next step. This essay will examine potential exclusionary effects of boundaries around and within Wikipedia and how they inhibit inclusivity for both contributors and content. In total, four boundaries and their potential for exclusion are discussed. The focus lies on the English version of Wikipedia to keep an appropriate scope.
Continue reading “The Excluding Effects of Boundaries in the Case of English Wikipedia”
Bei dem Infoevent “Gemma’s an? Auslandssemester!” am 24.11. 2022, 13:45-15:00, HS7 (Geiwi-Turm) erfahren Interessierte alles rund um das Thema Auslandsaufenthalt im Studium. Die Veranstaltung ist als Hybrid Event geplant. Studierende können den Livestream via OLAT mitverfolgen.
Angesiedelt bei der Professur von Martin Kornberger am Institut für Ethics in Management an der WU Wien gibt es die Gelegenheit für eine Doktorand:innenstelle in einem Bereich, der besonders für Absolvent:innen des Masters “Organization Studies” interessant sein könnte.
Die Bewerbungsfrist endet am 31. August 2022.
The Leuphana University of Lüneburg, one of the most dynamic hubs for organization studies scholarship in the German-speaking area, is inviting applications for its PhD program on „Entrepreneurship, Management & Innovation“, incl. scholarship opportunities in the areas of management or psychology:
Our doctoral programme is aimed at future scholars in the fields of entrepreneurship, management and innovation. Our goal is to train doctoral students for research positions at leading universities or for research-related careers in consulting firms, governments or industry. You will receive training at the forefront of current research on entrepreneurship, management and innovation in our doctoral programme and develop a strong knowledge base in your respective research area. You will acquire skills to further develop theories, design scientifically sound research designs and publish your research results in renowned international journals. As a doctoral student, you will learn the necessary tools to contribute to debates in your research field as an independent scholar.
The deadline for applications is August 15, 2022.
Check out this new article published by doctoral fellow Paul Zimmermann on “Governing by protection: Studying the problematization of whistleblower protection in the EU”, which has recently been published in Administrative Theory and Practice:
Despite the proliferation of whistleblower protection legislation across the world, increasingly scholars report that these laws fail to fully protect the whistleblower. In this paper, I direct attention to the politics of whistleblower protection and suggest that the Foucauldian concept of problematization can help to clarify how legal regulation is involved in the exercise of political power. I situate my study in the EU context and the Whistleblower Protection Directive drawing on Carol Bacchi’s WPR approach. The study finds, that by mobilizing the engagement of workers in law enforcement, whistleblower protection works as a technology of power to rectify the problematics of EU government. I conclude by reflecting on the ethico-political implications of governmentalizing whistleblower protection in advanced liberal democracies.
Prof. Barbara Herzog-Punzenberger vom Institut für Erziehungswissenschaft sucht kurzfristig ein:e Projektmitarbeiter:in: Studierende, die sich mit Fragen der Migration, Mehrsprachigkeit und Ungleichheit beschäftigen (wollen), Interesse an deskriptiver Statistik und entsprechende Lehrveranstaltungen absolviert haben, einige Übung im Erstellen von Tabellen und zugehöriger Grafiken in Excel aufweisen, dabei sehr genau und verlässlich sind, Deadlines einhalten, eine schnelle Auffassungsgabe haben und teamfähig sind, können sich ab sofort melden, wenn sie bis Ende August einen Arbeitsauftrag im ungefähren Stundenumfang eines Vollzeitmonats für € 2.200,– erledigen und dabei Einblick in einen der hochwertigsten Datensätze im Bildungsbereich bekommen wollen.
Senden Sie Ihre aussagekräftige Bewerbung umgehend an barbara.herzog-punzenberger@uibk.ac.at.
There is currently an open PhD position at the Department of Organization and Learning. The position is in the area of management control (Supervisor: Professor Martin Messner). It addresses potential candidates with an interest in empirical research in topics such as corporate planning, performance measurement, data analytics and digital transformation, corporate governance, or sustainability control. Candidates should be close to finishing their master’s degree and ideally be able to start the position in autumn/winter 2022.
Application deadline is June 21, 2022. For more information on how to apply, please see: https://lfuonline.uibk.ac.at/public/karriereportal.details?asg_id_in=12684
Am Donnerstag, 18. November um 18 Uhr liefert Richard Weiskopf einen Impulsvortrag zum Thema “Organisation und die Kritik des Wahrsprechens (parrhesia)” im Rahmen des Philosophischen Cafés in der Innsbrucker Bäckerei.
Im Anschluss gibt es wie beim Philosophischen Café üblich die Möglichkeit zur Diskussion und zum informellen Austausch bei Speis und Trank. Es sind Covid-Bestimmungen zu beachten, es gilt die 2G-Regel. Darüber hinaus werden aufgrund der prekären pandemischen Lage alle Besucher:innen gebeten, sich zeitnah vor der Veranstaltung zusätzlich testen zu lassen, um einen möglichst sicheren und entspannten philosophischen Abend zu ermöglichen.
ConJunction 