Research area

My main research interest is understanding the ability of (some) organizations and individuals to introduce innovations in a routine way. Why do some firms manage to remain consistently successful over long stretches of time while many others fail? How do these few firms overcome the conflicts between efficiency (which calls for standardization, regularity and repeatability) and effectiveness (which calls for creativity, adaptability and experimentation)?

More specifically, I study the strategic implications of choices in product and organizational architectures. These issues are very important to make sense of the difficuties and opportunies of many firms engaged in the effort to integrate new, digital technologies in their internal processes, particularly nowadays as what is 'internal' or 'external' is not so clear anymore. Hence, the increasing attention to ecosysistems' dynamics. 

More recently, I have become very interested in understanding the possible applications of neurosciences to management research. Ultimately, decisions are taken by individuals, with specific skills and experiences. What are the neuropsychological differences between different types of individuals (e.g. managers vs entrepreneurs) in relation to their career paths and past experiences? Can we design processes and training programs which enhance the entrepreneurial attitudes of managers? And should even we try in the first place? This line of work has opened up a new line of work in strategy work as well as several insights that we are now applying in our teaching activities.  

Curriculum Vitae

Stefano Brusoni has been Professor of Technology and Innovation Management at the D-MTEC since 2011. Previously he was Associate Professor of Applied Economics at Bocconi University. He obtained his PhD in Science and Technology Policy studies from the University of Sussex (UK) at SPRU (Science Policy Research Unit), in 2002. He went on to work as a postdoctoral fellow at SPRU until 2003, when he became Assistant Professor at Bocconi University (I).

Prior to his doctoral studies, he enjoyed studying economics, history and being engaged in a variety of odd jobs, including a memorable stint as a firefighter, in the mid 1990s. It left many good memories and funny stories (vastly improved over the years).  

His current works focuses on the analysis of the obstacles to innovation and change, at the individual and organizational level. The former line of work is, to a large extent, experimental in nature. The second line of work is instead mainly field-based, developed in collaboration with several organizations engaged in the so-called digital transformation. Research has led to several papers in various journals, and also two start-ups (Spark Works and Sparkademy: www.sparkademy.com)

Editorial Responsibilities: Stefano was Associate Editor of the Strategic Management Journal. Since 2020, he is Senior Editor for Organization Science. He is also in the Editorial Board of Academy of Management Discoveries; Industrial and Corporate Change and Strategic Organization. 

Service: Stefano served as Program Chair of the Behavioral Strategy IG of the Strategic Management Society. Previously, he was Chair of the TIM Division in the AOM (2015-2020). He served for many years in the evaluation panels of the ERC (European Research Council) for starting and consolidator grants. He was part of the Good Scientific Practice committee of ETH Zurich from its foundation to 2021. He was Director of Studies at D-MTEC from 2018 to June 2022. In August 2022, he became Prorector for Continuing Education at ETH Zurich. 

Additional information

Memberships

Stefano is member of the Academy of Management (AOM) and Strategic Management Society. He was elected in leadership roles in both. He was Program Chair for the Behavioral Strategy IG (SMS). He was Chair (2015-2020) for the Technology and Innovation Management Division of the AOM and member of the Executive Board of the Strategy Division (STR) in 2013-2015.

Honors and Awards

Stefano has won several awards for his research and service to the academic communities, including the Organization Science recognition for oustanding service (2012, 2015, 2017, 2018).