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Ren­ate Mey­er

Professor

Subjects
Organisation Management Qualitative methods Europe

Primary research areas

phe­nomen­o­lo­gic­al in­sti­tu­tion­al or­gan­iz­a­tion the­ory
Trans­la­tion of man­age­ment ideas into new cul­tur­al con­texts
Mul­timod­al re­search
Col­lect­ive ac­tion in crisis

In my re­search, I study mean­ing struc­tures and in­sti­tu­tions.

My current research interests include phenomenological institutional organization theory, multimodal research, changing meaning structures and institutional change, institutionalization of management innovations, translation ecosystems, institutional renewal, (de-)institutionalization of novel ideas, framing, unintended consequences of change initiatives, the impact of organizational research in society, collective action in various crises (refugees, covid, fires), as well as governance arrangements and governance gaps in multisector settings. I study phenomena such as the climate change debate, anti-vaccination discourses, science skepticism, the purpose of the corporate form, multistakeholder arrangements in various crises (forced migration, covid, fires), public infrastructure (e.g., public libraries) for social inclusion, and organizational utopias & dystopias.  

Publications

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December 2025

Wicked Crises and the (In)capacity to Act

Re­na­te Mey­er, Professor

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November 2025

It Takes a Village

Translating Management Ideas through an Ecology of Roles

Kasper Trolle Elmholdt

Jeppe Agger Nielsen

Arild Wæraas

Re­na­te Mey­er, Professor

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July 2025

Collective Action in Crisis?

Introduction to the Special Issue

Martin Kornberger

Re­na­te Mey­er, Professor

Ignasi Martí

Corinna Frey-Heger

Joep Cornelissen

Marian Gatzweiler
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Recent research projects

TI­TAN: Turn­ing The­ory into Ac­tion

TI­TAN is a col­lect­ive re­search pro­ject that in­vest­ig­ates how aca­dem­ic know­ledge products are un­der­stood and used in or­gan­iz­a­tion­al prac­tice. We trace aca­dem­ic know­ledge products from the do­main of or­gan­iz­a­tion­al and man­age­ment the­ory and fol­low them on their path from con­cep­tion to prac­tic­al use in Dan­ish com­pan­ies, via teach­ing and con­sult­ing. We study most of these pro­cesses in real time to identi­fy how, and with which in­ten­ded and un­in­ten­ded con­sequences, aca­dem­ic know­ledge im­pacts or­gan­iz­a­tions, and ul­ti­mately so­ci­ety.

Outside activities

Head of the In­sti­tute for Or­gan­iz­a­tion Stud­ies, WU Vi­enna

Co-Dir­ect­or of Re­search In­sti­tute for Urb­an Man­age­ment and Gov­ernance, WU Vi­enna , 2010 -

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