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Signe Vikkelsø

Professor

Emner
Organisation Centralisering Decentralisering Forandringsledelse Teknologi Sociologi Historie

Primary research areas

Form­al or­gan­iz­a­tion
What is the role of form­al or­gan­iz­a­tion in so­ci­ety, and what are the con­sequences of in­ad­equate form­al­iz­a­tion?
My re­search cen­ters on the bal­an­cing act between form­al and in­form­al ele­ments, and how anti-bur­eau­crat­ic sen­ti­ments may in­ter­fere with it in un­for­tu­nate ways.
His­tory of or­gan­iz­a­tion the­ory
How has or­gan­iz­a­tion the­ory evolved over time as a body of know­ledge and prac­tice, and what are the im­plic­a­tions for its cur­rent status?
Sci­ence, tech­no­logy and or­gan­iz­a­tion
I’m in­ter­ested in the ways sci­ence, tech­no­logy, and or­gan­iz­a­tion are en­tangled with one an­oth­er - for in­stance, the or­gan­iz­a­tion­al con­sequences of new tech­no­lo­gies, the or­gan­iz­a­tion­al ten­sions arising from sci­ence and tech­no­logy policies, and the evol­u­tion of or­gan­iz­a­tion and man­age­ment the­ory as sci­entif­ic dis­cip­lines.
Or­gan­iz­a­tion­al tools and prin­ciples
I study the tool­box of prac­tic­al or­gan­iz­a­tion and how it af­fects the struc­ture and func­tion­ing of or­gan­iz­a­tions. This in­cludes a re­search pro­ject of the role of the or­gan­iz­a­tion chart in think­ing about or­gan­iz­a­tions and sup­port­ing or­gan­iz­a­tion­al ac­count­ab­il­ity and nav­ig­a­tion.

I study what makes good or­gan­iz­a­tion

I am Professor of Science, Technology, and Organization, with a background in social psychology from the University of Copenhagen and a PhD in organization and management studies from Copenhagen Business School.

My research explores topics at the intersection of organization theory, science and technology studies, and the sociology of work. This includes an interest in formal organization, organizational tools and principles, and the history of organization and management theory: What characterizes good organization, and what roles do organizational tools, technologies, and theories play? Empirically, I have focused on healthcare, manufacturing industries, innovation partnerships, and banking using qualitative methods such as ethnography, interviews, and archival research.

I have served as a research leader or core member of four externally funded collaborative research projects and have supervised 18 PhD students. I have extensive leadership experience, having served seven years as Head of Department and currently serving as Head of Studies for Master Programs in Organization, Strategy, Leadership and People. I am also member of the Social Science Research Council under Independent Research Fund Denmark.

Recent research projects

“See­ing Or­gan­iz­a­tion: The So­cio-Ma­ter­i­al His­tory of the Or­gan­iz­a­tion­al Chart”

The pro­ject ad­dresses the role of the or­gan­iz­a­tion­al chart in so­ci­ety and ex­plores the chart’s en­tan­gle­ment with chan­ging modes of rep­res­ent­a­tion­al prac­tices, shifts in or­gan­iz­a­tion and man­age­ment the­ory, and trans­form­a­tions in work, pro­duc­tion, cap­it­al, and reg­u­la­tion.

“Form­al Or­gan­iz­a­tion – Past, Present, and Fu­ture”

The pro­ject ad­dresses form­al or­gan­iz­a­tion as a con­tested top­ic in or­gan­iz­a­tion and man­age­ment the­ory, or­gan­iz­a­tion­al so­ci­ology, and psy­cho­logy and dis­cusses the im­plic­a­tions of this dis­agree­ment.

Outside activities

CBS Executive – Teaching the “Research Management Course” (7 full days) , 2025–present