Research

In our research, we put great emphasis on organizational theories, especially their further development and empirical testing. Important theories on which we base our work are new institutionalism, organizational ecology, and the business systems approach. These theories have in common that they consider cognitive, normative and regulative institutions as the central explanatory factors for the design of organizational structures and the behaviour of organizations and organizational members.

In empirical research, we focus primarily on how institutional and technical-economic factors influence the formal structure of corporations and the behavior of organizations and organizational members.

Central influencing factors change over time as new institutions emerge, others lose importance, new technologies are used or new management concepts are adopted by companies. The study of organizational change is therefore another focus of our research.

Four core areas of our research can thus be identified, which are closely interlinked:

1. Organizational theories
2. Organizational structures
3. Behavior of organizational members
4. Organizational change