Empirical Focus
From Rise
RISE Management Research studies strategic management and entrepreneurship, and in particular the creation, collectivization, routinization, adaptation and change of firm-specific modes of strategy making, strategizing practices, strategic references, as well as the dynamic organization of entrepreneurial and managerial agency (Research Focus). It thereby focuses on a set of selected empirical contexts, which are ideal to study these questions and issues. We emphasize the importance of the particularities of the science, technology, industry and business context, in which these companies operate.
First, RISE Management Research studies a series of Swiss-based software companies, primarily active in the financial services context. On the one hand, we conduct in-depth, longitudinal research on the development of entrepreneurial agency and strategy making in three project-oriented software companies since 2001 (Adnovum Informatik AG, Ergon Informatik AG, Netcetera AG (Company Partners, Projects)), on the other hand, we conduct research on entrepreneurial agency and strategy making in two product-oriented software companies (Avaloq Evolution AG, Finnova AG Bankware). These companies are an ideal context for studying how the creation, stabilization, routinization and change of firm-specific, idiosyncratic modes of strategy making, strategizing practices, strategic references, as well as the dynamic organization of entrepreneurial and managerial agency take place, in particular situations, in the context of important events, and over time. Furthermore, they are ideal for studying why companies operating in similar technology and industry contexts develop in specific, sometimes diverging and sometimes converging ways. This unique company sample allows conducting in-depth and comparative case study research.
Second, RISE Management Research studies the strategic management of innovation and change in established pharmaceutical corporations. On the one hand, we conduct an in-depth longitudinal research on the strategic management of innovation at F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd (Company Partners), on the other hand, we conduct research on the introduction and realization of a financial reference and performance system in strategic management, over more than 10 years and in a dynamic, global industry environment, in the context of the transformation from Hoechst to Aventis and Sanofi-Aventis (focusing on the development between 1994 and 2004, in the context of the broader development over the last two decades) (Company Partners). These two companies are an ideal context for studying the strategic management of innovation (in the case of F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd) and change (in the case of Hoechst – Aventis – Sanofi-Aventis). In addition to these in-depth studies, we conduct research on specific issues in the strategic and entrepreneurial management of Life Sciences and Pharma companies, in the context of Actelion (Company Partners), Altana Pharma (Company Partners), and the SystemsX.ch Research Initiative on Systems Biology (Company Partners).
Third, RISE Management Research studies entrepreneurial strategy making in the context of artificial intelligence and robotics. On the one hand, we conduct an in-depth case study at the Artificial Intelligence Lab at the University of Zurich, one of the most innovative and unconventional research sites in this area (Academic Partners). In this context, we conduct in-depth, ethnographic research on the management, organization and communication of leading-edge, innovative basic research, in particular the routinization and institutionalization of innovation as the primary goal and main strategic reference of this laboratory; on the other hand, we compare this research site with other research sites (especially the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab at MIT), as well as with highly innovative business approaches, in particular in the game industry. This research is also related to research we conduct on the management of a complex research organization, in collaboration with CERN and with a particular focus on the ATLAS project (Company Partners). Given our research focus, it is important to understand scientific research as a primary source for (technological) innovation and business creation.
Fourth, RISE Management Research studies the strategic management of innovation in established Information Technology corporations. In particular, we have been studying the interplay of product innovation and platform innovation in the semiconductor industry, in collaboration with Infineon Technologies (today Quimonda: Company Partners); the transformation of the business model for high performance computing in the context of the Life Sciences, in collaboration with Hewlett Packard (Company Partners); the strategic management of the interplay between scientific research and commercialization in corporate research, in collaboration with one of the global IBM Research Laboratories (Company Partners). These cases cover issues of strategic management and entrepreneurship in the context of scientific research and technological innovation.
Fifth, RISE Management Research explores new research areas, which complement our research on strategic management and entrepreneurship in the context of innovation and change; in particular our research on entrepreneurial strategy making in adolescent software companies, strategic innovation and change in established Pharma corporations, and the management, organization, communication and commercialization of innovative research. Among these additional research areas, we are interested in studying innovation and creation in the fashion industry (which is characterized by particular patterns and collaborative constellations) and the particular challenges of strategic innovation in the financial services context (which is characterized by an attention focus on risk and stability, but which must be innovative at the same time).
