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Prof. Dr. Elke Schüßler

21335 Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, 6.113a
Fon +49.4131.677-2131, elke.schuessler@leuphana.de
Professor, Professorship of Business Administration, in particular Entrepreneurship and Organization Studies
Associated member, Leuphana Center for Organization & Social Transformation

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Vita

Prof. Dr. Elke Schüßler is Professor of Business Administration, in particular Entrepreneurship and Organization Studies at Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany. Since 2026 she also holds a Chair of Transformative Change at Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria. From 2016 to 2023 she served as Professor of Business Administration and Head of the Institute of Organization Science at Johannes Kepler University Linz. Before that, she was Assistant Professor of Organization Theory at Freie Universität Berlin, where she also completed her dissertation at the Pfadkolleg Research Center.

Prof. Schüßler studies dynamics of organizational and institutional change with a focus on the development of sustainable forms of work and organizing and the role of creativity and entrepreneurship in these processes. With a background in Psychology (BSc, University of Sussex) and Industrial Relations (MSc, London School of Economics) she takes an interdisciplinary approach to her research and frequently collaborates with colleagues from other disciplines, e.g. in the context of the Global Garment Supply Chain Governance Project funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, the DFG Research Unit Organized Creativity or the DFG Scientific Network Field Configuring Events.

Her research has been published in leading social science journals such as the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Perspectives, Creativity and Innovation Management, Development and Change, Human Relations, Industrial and Corporate Change, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Industry and Innovation, Information & Organization, Journal of Management Studies, Organization Science, Organization Studies, Regional Studies or Socio-Economic Review. She has received several awards, including the Academy of Management Journal Best Reviewer Award (2023), the Labor and Employment Relations Association Best International/Comparative IR Paper Award (2021), the Ideas Worth Teaching Award (2020), the Academy of Management Journal Best Article Award (2015) or the VHB Best Paper Award (2014).

Prof. Schüßler serves the national and international scientific community in various ways. She sits on the editorial/review board of Organization Studies, Socio-Economic Review, the Weizenbaum Journal of Digital Society and the Academy of Management Journal. She is a member of the advisory board of the Weizenbaum Institute in Berlin and the Momentum Institute in Vienna. Between 2022 and 2024 she chaired the Wissenschaftliche Kommission Organisation in the German Academic Association for Business Research (VHB). From 2020 to 2026 she was a member of the Executive Board of the European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS).

Projects

  1. Corporate Sustainability Communication in an Age of Polarization (CS-CAP): Why Firms Either Engage in Stakeholder Dialogue or Retract to Strategic Silence
    Hanna Pauline Börries (Project manager, academic) , Elke Schüßler (Partner) , Dennis Schöneborn (Partner)

    Project: Dissertation project

  2. Corporate Sustainability Communication in an Age of Polarization (CS-CAP): Why Firms Either Engage in Stakeholder Dialogue or Retract to Strategic Silence
    Elke Schüßler (Project manager, academic)
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    Project: Research

  3. Embracing Transformation: Organizing in Times of Crisis
    Elke Schüßler (Project manager, academic) , Matthias Wenzel (Co-Projectmanager, academic) , Iris Seidemann (Project staff) , Hanna Pauline Börries (Project staff)
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    Project: Research

  4. Research Consortium ‘Sustainability governance of global value chains’
    Jens Newig (Project manager, academic) , Andrea Lenschow (Co-Projectmanager, academic) , Franca Bülow (Coordination) , Barbara Ehbauer (Project staff) , Jelto Makris (Project staff) , Jelena Bäumler (Co-Projectmanager, academic) , Elke Schüßler (Co-Projectmanager, academic) , Stefan Schaltegger (Co-Projectmanager, academic) , Patrick Velte (Co-Projectmanager, academic) , Frank Teuteberg (Co-Projectmanager, academic) , Alexander Schall (Co-Projectmanager, academic) , Martin Franz (Project manager, academic) , Christian Busse (Project manager, academic) , Jann Lay (Project manager, academic) , Henrike Jost (Project staff) , Kathleen Evers (Project staff) , Nora Große (Project staff) , Finn Jonas Bongert (Project staff) , Sofyia Pohurskyy (Project staff) , Frederik Kamphues (Project staff) , Philip Verfürth (Project staff) , Satwant Dahiya (Project staff) , Jia Zuo (Project staff) , Frauke Steglich (Project staff) , Saumya Satishbhai Raval (Project staff)
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    Project: Research

  5. Entrainment: Temporal Structuring of Creative Projects
    Elke Schüßler (Project manager, academic) , Gernot Grabher (Project manager, academic) , Jörg Sydow (Project manager, academic) , Marie Hoop (Project staff)
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    Project: Research

View all projects

Publications

Books and anthologies

  1. Organizing Creativity in the Innovation Journey
    Elke Schüßler (Editor) , Patrick S. Cohendet (Editor) , Silviya Svejenova (Editor) , 2021 , 296 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Special Journal issue › Research

  2. Managing Interorganizational Relations: Debates and Cases
    Jörg Sydow (Author) , Elke Schüßler (Author) , Gordon Müller-Seitz (Author) , 2015 , 368 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Monographs › Research

  3. Akustisches Kapital: Wertschöpfung in der Musikwirtschaft
    Bastian Lange (Editor) , Hans-Joachim Bürkner (Editor) , Elke Schüßler (Editor) , 2013 Bielefeld , 360 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Collected editions and anthologies › Research

  4. Strategische Prozesse und Persistenzen: Pfadabhängige Organisation und Wertschöpfung in der deutschen Bekleidungsindustrie
    Elke Schüßler (Author) , 2009 , 197 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Monographs › Research

View all publications

Journal contributions

  1. Digital platforms and democratic publics: How social media platforms selectively appropriate and strategically subvert institutional logics
    Elke Schüßler (Author) , Sara Maric (Author) , Leonhard Dobusch (Author) , 01.03.2026 , in: Information and Organization, 36, 1 , 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  2. Kafka and Organization Studies
    Nora Lohmeyer (Author) , Elke Schüßler (Author) , 01.02.2026 , in: Organization Studies, 47, 2 , p. 331-345 , 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  3. The Mission (Im)possible of Climate Action through Quixotic Institutional Work
    Giuseppe Delmestri (Author) , Elke Schüßler (Author) , 01.12.2025 , in: Journal of Management Studies, 62, 8 , p. 3638-3658 , 21 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  4. The Past, Present and Future of the Corporate Actor: Ontological, Epistemological and Theoretical Considerations
    Michaela Haase (Author) , Elke Schüßler (Author) , Ute Schmiel (Author) , Günther Ortmann (Author) , Andreas Suchanek (Author) , Dennis Schoeneborn (Author) , 01.12.2025 , in: Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, 77, 4 , p. 643-680 , 38 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  5. Digital Responsibility: Building Bridges between Organization Theory and Information Systems
    Hannah Trittin-Ulbrich (Author) , Markus Philipp Zimmer (Author) , Stefanie Habersang (Author) , Leonhard Dobusch (Author) , Maren Gierlich-Joas (Author) , Elke Schüßler (Author) , Benjamin Mueller (Author) , Christina Mihale-Wilson (Author) , Julia Zeller-Lanzl (Author) , Stephan Bohn (Author) , Marc-Fabian Körner (Author) , Georg von Richthofen (Author) , Ali Aslan Gümüsay (Author) , 01.12.2025 , in: Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research (SBuR), 77, 4 , p. 597-642 , 46 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

View all publications

Contributions to collected editions/anthologies

  1. (Gegen-)Bewegungen der Digitalisierung: Feldtheoretische Perspektiven auf Plattformen und Arbeit 4.0
    Uli Meyer (Author) , Susanne Pernicka (Author) , Elke Schüßler (Author) , 10.04.2024 1 ed. Weinheim , p. 248 - 260 , 13 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research

  2. Cloud-Arbeit in Österreich: Narrative, Praxis und Gestaltungsoptionen
    Sara Maric (Author) , Elke Schüßler (Author) , 01.01.2023 Wien , p. 37-40 , 4 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Article in conference proceedings › Research

  3. How do workers gain voice on digital work platforms? Hotspots and blind spots in research on platform worker voice
    Laura Thäter (Author) , Thomas Gegenhuber (Author) , Elke Schüßler (Author) , Markus Ellmer (Author) , 11.10.2022 Cheltenham , p. 71-107 , 36 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research › peer-review

  4. Building collective institutional infrastructures for decent platform work: The development of a crowdwork agreement in Germany
    Thomas Gegenhuber (Author) , Elke Schüßler (Author) , Georg Reischauer (Author) , Laura Thäter (Author) , 29.03.2022 Bingley , p. 43-68 , 26 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research › peer-review

  5. Managing Global Production Networks: Towards Social Responsibility via Inter-organizational Reliability?
    Elke Schüßler (Author) , Jörg Sydow (Author) , Markus Helfen (Author) , 03.02.2022 Cham , p. 133-158 , 26 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research › peer-review

View all publications

Impact

Activities

  1. Keynote speaker at PDW on Desirable Futures
    Elke Schüßler (Keynote Speaker)
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    Activity: Conference Presentations › Research

  2. I am behind the screen: Understanding the invisible work of content moderators on digital platforms
    Elke Schüßler (Speaker) , Sara Maric (Coauthor)
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    Activity: Conference Presentations › Research

  3. What if Society Collapses? Re-envisioning Strategy and Organization Scholarship through Radical Hope
    Elke Schüßler (Speaker) , Stefanie Habersang (Coauthor) , Pilar Acosta (Coauthor) , Joel Bothello (Coauthor) , Giuseppe Delmestri (Coauthor) , Helen Etchanchu (Coauthor)
    →

    Activity: Conference Presentations › Research

  4. Exploring Corporate Sustainability (CS) Communication in Polarized Contexts: A Qualitative Meta Synthesis
    Elke Schüßler (Speaker) , Hanna Pauline Börries (Coauthor)
    →

    Activity: Conference Presentations › Research

  5. Towards more radical forms of collective action in global supply chain governance? Pragmatic cooperation for sustainability and human rights in times of regulatory backlash
    Elke Schüßler (Speaker) , Nora Große (Coauthor)
    →

    Activity: Conference Presentations › Research

View all activities

Press / Media

Prizes

  1. David Marsden Best Paper Prize 2024
    (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research

  2. Academy of Management Journal Best Reviewer Award
    (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research

  3. LERA 2021 James G. Scoville Best International/Comparative IR Paper Award
    (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research

  4. Aspen Award - Ideas Worth Teaching Award
    (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Education

  5. Academy of Management Perspectives Special Mention Award
    (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research

View all prizes

Courses

Empirical Research Project - Responsible Management
Elke Schüßler
This course focuses on global supply chains as a key area for responsible management. Global supply chains are implicated in some of the key grand challenges of our time including sustainable energy or food production or decent work and inequality. Global supply chains also play a key role in sustainable development. After providing a framework of different managerial and public and private governance approaches for making supply chains more sustainable, particularly with a focus on recent supply chain due diligence regulations, students will conduct their own research to analyze selected companies’ sustainable supply chain governance and assess the potential of the taken initiatives for realizing responsible management.
Next appointment:
Tuesday, 2026-10-27 at 10:15
Room: C 14.204 Seminarraum
M&E in Digital Age: Global Scaling Challenge
Elke Schüßler
The Global Scaling Challenge is an international student competition about real-life firms that currently face the challenge of scaling globally. Student teams will develop, present, and discuss their suggestion for a scaling strategy with the entrepreneurs and an expert jury. Find more information here: https://gsc.mgt.unm.edu/

Student teams are coached to compete in developing a scaling solution to real-world cases. In doing so, the course revisits key concepts of entrepreneurship such as business models, growth and scaling strategies and discusses their practical application.

What’s in it for you? As a student of IBAE you can compete with teams from around the globe and your input can make a real difference for the participating firms. You will be given mentorship and hence can develop your knowledge and skills in addressing real-life entrepreneurial challenges. Additionally, successful student teams can win a share of the price money.

Note that this course takes largely place outside of the regular semester cycle. Thus, students have to be prepared to work intensively during February and March. Usually, there is a short time between the presentation date and the publication of the case materials - this time pressure is part of the challenge. Since this is an international challenge, most sessions will be online, i.e. you do not have to be on-site during the semester break.

Please check the Syllabus for the final seminar and challenge dates.
Next appointment:
Monday, 2026-11-02 at 14:15
Room: C 40.530 Seminarraum
Management and Organization Theories (PhD)
Elke Schüßler
The course exposes students to foundational and current management and organization theories. The topics of this course are organized along key themes and challenges of organizational life, such as formal vs informal organizing, power and politics in organizations or changing institutional demands. Initially, traditional and more recent perspectives on organizations and organizing are introduced. Finally, the course will also attend to moral and ethical issues of organizing and digital and algorithmic organizational forms and practices.
Next appointment:
Wednesday, 2026-10-14 at 12:15
Room: C 14.202 Seminarraum
Management and Organization Theories (Complementary Studies)
Elke Schüßler
The course exposes students to foundational and current management and organization theories. The topics of this course are organized along key themes and challenges of organizational life, such as formal vs informal organizing, power and politics in organizations or changing institutional demands. Initially, traditional and more recent perspectives on organizations and organizing are introduced. Finally, the course will also attend to moral and ethical issues of organizing and digital and algorithmic organizational forms and practices.
Next appointment:
Wednesday, 2026-10-14 at 12:15
Room: C 14.103 Seminarraum
Research Forum EMI
Pauline Reinecke, Elke Schüßler, Hannah Trittin-Ulbrich, Matthias Wenzel
Please refer to the Syllabus under "Materials" for further details.
Note that the syllabus also contains an extended session plan!
If you want to present your project, please register for a date under "groups".
Zoom links for each session will be provided in the "seminar plan" tab - but note that the default mode is in presence and you should only opt for online participation if it is not possible otherwise.
Next appointment:
Tuesday, 2026-10-27 at 16:00
Room: C 5.019 Seminarraum