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Chris­toph Grimpe

Head of Department

Emner
Innovation Iværksætteri Strategi

Primary research areas

In­nov­a­tion strategy

I ex­plore how firms man­age in­nov­a­tion stra­tegic­ally, in­clud­ing open in­nov­a­tion mod­els, links between in­dustry and sci­ence, and ap­proaches to pro­tect­ing and lever­aging in­tel­lec­tu­al prop­erty.

Stra­tegic hu­man cap­it­al

I study the role of hu­man cap­it­al in firm strategy, ana­lyz­ing how the skills of sci­ent­ists, in­vent­ors, and oth­er ex­perts com­ple­ment or­gan­iz­a­tion­al re­sources to drive value cre­ation.

Stake­hold­er strategy

I in­vest­ig­ate how firms and stake­hold­ers, in­clud­ing ad­vo­cacy groups, can learn from one an­oth­er, in­nov­ate to­geth­er, and tackle grand chal­lenges through stra­tegic col­lab­or­a­tion.

Mer­gers and ac­quis­i­tions

I ex­am­ine how firms use mer­gers and ac­quis­i­tions to build com­pet­it­ive ad­vant­age, fo­cus­ing on the role of know­ledge and tech­no­logy in shap­ing out­comes.

Christoph Grimpe is a Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Head of the Department of Strategy and Innovation at CBS. Prior to joining CBS in 2010, he worked as a Senior Researcher at the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim (Germany). He holds a PhD from WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management – in Vallendar (Germany) and master degrees in management and political sciences. His research has been published in journals such as the Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Strategy Science, Journal of International Business Studies, Research Policy, as well as in Nature Biotechnology. He is affiliated with DRUID – the Danish Research Unit on Industrial Dynamics and with the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW). He serves on the council of the Independent Research Fund Denmark. 

Se­lec­ted pub­lic­a­tions

  • Cleckx, Robin, Christoph Grimpe, Bart Leten and Mark Vancauteren (2026), Offshoring’s hidden toll: mental distress among onshore employees, Journal of International Business Studies (forthcoming).
  • Distel, Andreas P., Christoph Grimpe and Marion Poetz (2026), From Evidence to Impact: The Use of Scientific Research in Policy Documents. Research Policy, 55(3), Article 105426.
  • Sofka, Wolfgang, Christoph Grimpe and Ulrich Kaiser (2026), Gender wage discrimination and the attractiveness of foreign MNC subsidiaries as employers for women, Journal of International Business Studies, 57, 173-196.
  • Nijstad, Bernard, Goran Calic, Pedro de Faria, Christoph Grimpe and Olli-Pekka Kauppila (2026), Connecting creativity and innovation research: Building bridges to cross divides, Research Policy, 55, 105391.
  • Lie, Haakon Thue, Knut Jørgen Egelie, Christoph Grimpe and Roger Sørheim (2025), The Fine Print of Collaboration : How Contractual Provisions Govern IP and Disclosure in Publicly Funded Research, Research Policy, 54, 105336.
  • Conti, Annamaria, Christoph Grimpe, Elisa Operti and Jan-Michael Ross (2025), Sports as a Context in Strategy and Innovation Research: Promises, Challenges, and Broader Implications, Industry and Innovation, 32, 965-978.
  • Arroyabe, Marta F., Christoph Grimpe and Katrin Hussinger (2025), Safeguarding Secrets, Shaping Acquisitions: Trade Secret Protection and the Role of Distance Between Acquirer and Target, Strategy Science, 10, 148-165.
  • Grimpe, Christoph, Wolfgang Sofka and Ulrich Kaiser (2023), Competing for Digital Human Capital – The Retention Effect of Digital Expertise in MNC Subsidiaries, Journal of International Business Studies, 54, 657-685. 
  • Kaiser, Ulrich, Wolfgang Sofka and Christoph Grimpe (2023), Creating marketing innovation abroad: The value of marketing professionals in foreign MNC subsidiaries, Industrial Marketing Management, 112, 145-159.
  • Grimpe, Christoph, Katrin Hussinger and Wolfgang Sofka (2023), Reaching beyond the acquirer-target dyad in M&A – Linkages to external knowledge sources and target firm valuation, Long Range Planning, 56, 102321.
  • Grimpe, Christoph, Wolfgang Sofka and Andreas Distel (2022), SME Participation in Research Grant Consortia – The Emergence of Coordinated Attention in Collaborative Innovation, Small Business Economics, 59, 1567-1592.
  • Sofka, Wolfgang, Christoph Grimpe, Fuad Hasanov and Reda Cherif (2022), The Effects of Host-Country R&D Subsidies on R&D Investments and Innovation Performance of MNC Subsidiaries, Journal of International Business Policy, 5(3), 296-327.
  • Sofka, Wolfgang, Christoph Grimpe and Ulrich Kaiser (2022), Understanding the Unwritten Rules of the Game: Government Work Experience and Salary Premiums in Foreign MNC Subsidiaries, Journal of International Business Studies, 53, 1110-1132. 
  • Grimpe, Christoph, Timo Minssen, W. Nicholson Price II, Ariel D. Stern (2022), Will mRNA Technology Companies Spawn Innovation Ecosystems? Harvard Business Review (online), April 18, 2022. https://hbr.org/2022/04/will-mrna-technology-companies-spawn-innovation…
  • Beck, Susanne, Carsten Bergenholtz, Marcel Bogers, Tiare Brasseur, Maria Louise Conradsen, Diletta Di Marco, Andreas Philipp Distel, Leonhard Dobusch, Daniel Dörler, Agnes Effert, Benedikt Fecher, Despoina Filiou, Lars Frederiksen, Thomas Gillier, Christoph Grimpe, Marc Gruber, Carolin Haeussler, Florian Heigl, Karin Hoisl, Katie Hyslop, Olga Kokshagina, Marcel LaFlamme, Cornelia Lawson, Hila Lifshitz-Assaf, Wolfgang Lukas, Markus Nordberg, Maria-Theresa Norn, Marion Poetz, Marisa Ponti, Gernot Pruschak, Laia Pujol Priego, Agnieszka Radziwon, Janet Frances Rafner, Gergana Petrova Romanova, Alexander Ruser, Henry Sauermann, Sonali K. Shah, Jacob Friis Sherson, Julia Suess-Reyes, Christopher L. Tucci, Philipp Tuertscher, Jane Bjørn Vedel, Theresa Velden, Roberto Verganti, Jonathan Wareham, Andrea Wiggins, and Sunny Mosangzi Xu (2022), The Open Innovation in Science Research Field: A Collaborative Conceptualisation Approach, Industry and Innovation, 29(2), 136-185.
  • Belderbos, René and Christoph Grimpe (2020), Learning in Foreign and Domestic Value Chains: The Role of Opportunities and Capabilities, Industrial and Corporate Change, 29(6), 1431-1450.
  • Egelie, Knut J., Haakon Tue Lie, Christoph Grimpe and Roger Sørheim (2019), Access and Openness in Biotechnology Research Collaborations Between Universities and Industry, Nature Biotechnology, 37, 1413-1419.
  • Grimpe, Christoph, Martin Murmann and Wolfgang Sofka (2019), Organizational Design Choices of High-Tech Startups – How Middle Management Drives Innovation Performance, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 13, 359-378.
  • Grimpe, Christoph, Ulrich Kaiser and Wolfgang Sofka (2019), Signaling Valuable Human Capital: Advocacy Group Work Experience and its Effect on Employee Pay in Innovative Firms, Strategic Management Journal, 40(4), 685-710.
  • Olsen, Anders Ørding, Wolfgang Sofka and Christoph Grimpe (2017), Solving Environmental Problems: Knowledge and Coordination in Collaborative Search, Long Range Planning, 50, 726-740.
  • Grimpe, Christoph, Wolfgang Sofka, Mukesh Bhargava and Rabikar Chatterjee (2017), R&D, marketing innovation, and new product performance: A mixed methods study, Journal of Product Innovation Management, 34(3), 360-383.
  • Goel, Rajeev, Devrim Göktepe and Christoph Grimpe (2017), Who Instigates University-Industry Collaborations? University Scientists versus Firm Employees, Small Business Economics, 48(3), 503-524.
  • Olsen, Anders Ørding, Wolfgang Sofka and Christoph Grimpe (2016), Coordinated Exploration for Grand Challenges: The Role of Advocacy Groups in Search Consortia, Academy of Management Journal, 59, 2232-2255.
  • Grimpe, Christoph and Wolfgang Sofka (2016), Complementarities in the Search for Innovation: Managing Markets and Relationships, Research Policy, 45, 2036-2053.
  • Waldner, Florian, Marion K. Poetz, Christoph Grimpe and Markus Eurich (2015), Antecedents and Consequences of Business Model Innovation: The Role of Industry Structure, Advances in Strategic Management, 33, 347-386.
  • Czarnitzki, Dirk, Christoph Grimpe and Maikel Pellens (2015), Access to Research Inputs: Open Science versus the Entrepreneurial University, Journal of Technology Transfer, 40, 1050-1063.
  • Czarnitzki, Dirk, Christoph Grimpe and Andrew Toole (2015), Delay and Secrecy: Does Industry Sponsorship Jeopardize Disclosure of Academic Research?, Industrial and Corporate Change, 24, 251-279.
  • Ketata, Ihsen, Sofka, Wolfgang and Christoph Grimpe (2015), The Role of Internal Capabilities and Firms’ Environment for Sustainable Innovation: Evidence for Germany, R&D Management, 45, 60-75.
  • Grimpe, Christoph and Katrin Hussinger (2014), Resource Complementarity and Value Capture in Firm Acquisitions: The Role of Intellectual Property Rights, Strategic Management Journal, 35, 1762-1780. 
  • Grimpe, Christoph and Katrin Hussinger (2014), Pre-empted Patents, Infringed Patents, and Firm’s Participation in Markets for Technology, Research Policy, 43, 543-554.
  • Aschhoff, Birgit and Christoph Grimpe (2014), Contemporaneous Peer Effects, Career Age and the Industry Involvement of Academics in Biotechnology, Research Policy, 43, 367-381.
  • Grimpe, Christoph and Katrin Hussinger (2013), Formal and Informal Technology Transfer from Academia to Industry: Complementarity Effects and Innovation Performance, Industry and Innovation, 208, 683-700. 
  • Goel, Rajeev K. and Christoph Grimpe (2013), Active versus Passive Academic Networking: Evidence from Micro-Level Data, Journal of Technology Transfer, 38, 116-134.
  • Grimpe, Christoph (2012), Extramural Research Grants and Scientists’ Funding Strategies: Beggars Can’t Be Choosers? Research Policy, 41, 1448-1460. 
  • Köhler, Christian, Wolfgang Sofka and Christoph Grimpe (2012), Selective Search, Sectoral Patterns, and the Impact on Product Innovation Performance, Research Policy, 41, 1344-1356.
  • Edler, Jakob, Heide Fier and Christoph Grimpe (2011), International Scientist Mobility and the Locus of Knowledge and Technology Transfer, Research Policy, 40, 791-805.
  • Grimpe, Christoph and Ulrich Kaiser (2010), Balancing Internal and External Knowledge Acquisition: The Gains and Pains of R&D Outsourcing, Journal of Management Studies, 47, 1483-1509.
  • Sofka, Wolfgang and Christoph Grimpe (2010), Specialized Search and Innovation Performance – Evidence Across Europe, R&D Management, 40, 310-323.
  • Grimpe, Christoph and Heide Fier (2010), Informal Technology Transfer from Academia to Industry: A Comparison between Germany and the U.S, Journal of Technology Transfer, 35, 637-650.
  • Grimpe, Christoph and Wolfgang Sofka (2009), Search Patterns and Absorptive Capacity: Low- and High-Technology Sectors in European Countries, Research Policy, 38, 495-506.
  • Grimpe, Christoph and Katrin Hussinger (2008), Pre-empting Technology Competition Through Firm Acquisitions, Economics Letters, 100, 189-191.
  • Grimpe, Christoph (2007), Successful Product Development after Firm Acquisitions: The Role of Research and Development, Journal of Product Innovation Management, 24, 614-628.

Recent research projects

Outside activities

Uni­ver­sity of Zurich, 2010–present

Ex­ec­ut­ive edu­ca­tion

In­de­pend­ent Re­search Fund Den­mark, 2025–present

Coun­cil mem­ber

ZEW - Leib­n­iz Centre for European Eco­nom­ic Re­search, Man­nheim, 2010–present

Re­search as­so­ci­ate

De­loitte, Copen­ha­gen, 2021–present

Jury mem­ber of the com­pet­i­tion “Den­mark’s Best Man­aged Com­pan­ies”

Pat­ent­Plus, Ber­lin, 2021–present

Mem­ber of the Ad­vis­ory Board