Ralph Heidl is an associate professor in the Department of Management at the Lundquist College of Business. His expertise includes collaborative networks, innovation management, intellectual property strategy, and technology entrepreneurship. His research on these topics has been published in journals including the Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management, Strategic Management Journal, Organization Research Methods, and Organization Science.
Heidl received his PhD from the University of Washington. Before earning his doctoral degree, he worked as a product manager, development architect, and program development manager in Germany. He has extensive industry experience in the design and implementation of mobile and collaborative business software for Fortune 500 companies.
What is your current research?
My research interests lie at the intersection of collaborative strategy, technological innovation, and entrepreneurship. I am interested in understanding how enterprising firms and individuals work together to create and use new technological resources.
Several of my current projects relate to the dynamics of multilateral collaboration in networked systems linking multiple teams within a single or across multiple organizations. The context of my work ranges from Fortune 500 technology firms to large-scale, government-funded projects in nuclear physics.
What should the public know about your research? Why is your topic important?
In a technology-driven economy, an organization’s ability create, capture, and deliver value from innovative activities depends critically on emergent collaborative structures that speedily identify, assimilate, and exploit valuable new knowledge. The ability to shape and manage increasingly fluid knowledge networks has become a key driver of organizational success in complex, high-velocity environments.
Why is studying entrepreneurship and innovation relevant for society?
Entrepreneurship and innovation drive technological progress which gives rise to both opportunities for and threats to individuals, organizations, and societies. It is my hope that a better understanding of the underlying processes will help guide human efforts towards finding better solutions to existential problems.