Prof. Dr. Markus Reihlen

21335 Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, C6.416
Fon +49.4131.677-2350, markus.reihlen@leuphana.de
Professor, Professorship of Business Management, in particular Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship
Research Center for Digital Transformation
Research Center for Entrepreneurship Evidence
Associated member, Leuphana Center for Organization & Social Transformation

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Vita

Markus Reihlen is Professor of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship and Vice President of Entrepreneurship, Transfer, and Internationalization at Leuphana University of Lüneburg. From 2010 to 2012, he was the Graduate School Dean of Studies, and from 2012 until 2020, and from 2023 to 2024, he was Vice President in different roles. 

After his studies of Business Administration at the Universities of Giessen, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Cologne, Professor Reihlen received his doctorate (1996) and post-doctorate qualification degree (Habilitation) (2007) at the University of Cologne. Before joining Leuphana University of Lüneburg, he held various visiting professor and guest researcher positions, including the University of St. Gallen, the University of Mannheim, the University of Technology Aachen, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the University of Oxford, the Copenhagen Business School, and McGill University. He has received awards in research and teaching, including eight Best Paper Awards from the Academy of Management, the Strategic Management Society, the Academy of Marketing, and the Gold Star Teaching Award from the University of Wisconsin. 

Professor Reihlen is the author and co-editor of 10 books on innovation, process management, networks and alliances, internationalization of professional services, entrepreneurship in professional services, and university management. Together with Cristina Neesham and Dennis Schoeneborn, he edited the Handbook on the Philosophy of Management (over 1,000 p.). His academic work has been published in such journals as Accounting, Organization and Society, Journal of Management Studies, and Organizational Research Methods. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Management Studies and the Journal of Professions and Organization and regularly reviews for several international journals.  

His research interests are in the field of corporate and digital entrepreneurship, strategic management, and organization theory, focusing notably on applications within professional organizations. Additionally, his expertise includes the philosophy of social sciences and qualitative research methodologies, particularly qualitative meta-studies.

Most significant journal publications:

  • Habersang, Stefanie; Reihlen, Markus (2024) Advancing Qualitative Meta-Studies (QMS): Current Practices and Reflective Guidelines for Synthesizing Qualitative Research, Organizational Research Methods (accepted for publication).
  • Reihlen, Markus; Schlapfner, Jan-Florian; Seeger, Monika; Trittin-Ulbrich, Hannah (2022) Strategic Venturing as Legitimacy Creation: The Case of Sustainability, Journal of Management Studies 59(2), 2022, 417-459.
  • Habersang, Stefanie; Küberling-Jost, Jill; Reihlen, Markus; Seckler, Christoph (2019) A Process View on Organizational Failure: A Qualitative Meta-Analysis, Journal of Management Studies, 56(1), 19-56.
  • Seckler, Christoph; Gronewold, Ulfert; Reihlen, Markus (2017) An Error Management Perspective on Audit Quality: Toward a multi-level model, Accounting, Organization and Society, 62, 21-42.
  • Ringberg, Torsten; Reihlen, Markus (2008) Towards a Socio-Cognitive Approach to Knowledge Transfer, Journal of Management Studies, 45(5), 912-935.

You can find the members of his chair here.

Projects

  1. ESU Conference 2026
    Markus Reihlen (Project manager, academic)
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    Project: Scientific event

  2. ScienceStartupLab
    Andrea Japsen (Coordination) , Markus Reihlen (Project manager, academic)
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    Project: Transfer (R&D project)

  3. Promotion and Intensification of the Scotland - Lower Saxony Academic Region
    Markus Reihlen (Project manager, academic) , Sarah Wilewski (Project manager, academic)
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    Project: Teaching

  4. Holistic Impact Incubator 2.0 - hands on impact
    Markus Reihlen (Project manager, academic) , Andrea Japsen (Coordination) , Steffen Farny (Co-Projectmanager, academic) , Ele Jansen (Project staff)
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    Project: Transfer (R&D project)

  5. TrICo Subproject: Community Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship
    Robert Hoyer (Project staff) , Matthias Wenzel (Project manager, academic) , Markus Reihlen (Project manager, academic) , Steffen Farny (Project manager, academic) , Boukje Cnossen (Project manager, academic) , Jacob Hörisch (Project manager, academic) , Ursula Weisenfeld (Project manager, academic) , Frederic Penz (Project staff) , Lillan Lommel (Project staff) , Charlotte Wulffen (Project staff)
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    Project: Transfer (Scientific Services)

View all projects

Publications

Books and anthologies

  1. Hochschulen im Wandel: Entwicklungsprozesse im Netzwerk gestalten
    Markus Reihlen (Editor) , Roland Brünken (Editor) , Joachim Härtling (Editor) , Stefan Löhrke (Editor) , 2023 1st ed. ed. Wiesbaden , 151 p.

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

  2. Handbook of Philosophy of Management
    Markus Reihlen (Editor) , Dennis Schöneborn (Editor) , Cristina Neesham (Editor) , 2022 Cham , 1089 p.

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

  3. Gründung einer Unternehmensberatung
    Markus Reihlen (Author) , Sebastian Göse (Author) , 2017 Berlin , 82 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Monographs › Transfer

  4. Multi-Level Governance in Universities: Strategy, Structure, Control
    Markus Reihlen (Editor) , Jetta Frost (Editor) , Fabian Hattke (Editor) , 2016 1 ed. Cham , 256 p.

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

  5. Mehrebenen-Steuerung in Universitäten: Von der professionellen Bürokratie zu kollaborativen Wissensnetzwerken
    Markus Reihlen (Author) , Jetta Frost (Author) , Fabian Hattke (Author) , Ferdinand Wenzlaff (Author) , 2015 Köln , 123 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Monographs › Research › peer-review

View all publications

Journal contributions

  1. Futures Imagined: Navigating Sustainability, Digitalization, and Entrepreneurship in Business and Management Research
    Markus Reihlen (Author) , Matthias Wenzel (Author) , Thomas Gehrig (Author) , Monika Imschloss (Author) , 01.12.2025 , in: Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, 77, 4 , p. 585-596 , 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Other (editorial matter etc.) › Research

  2. Navigating (In)Visibility: Exploring Political Dynamics in Future-Making
    Stefanie Habersang (Author) , Markus Reihlen (Author) , Johanne Düsterbeck (Author) , 01.07.2025 , in: Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings, 2025, 1 , 6 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Conference article in journal › Research › peer-review

  3. Advancing Qualitative Meta-Studies (QMS): Current Practices and Reflective Guidelines for Synthesizing Qualitative Research
    Stefanie Habersang (Author) , Markus Reihlen (Author) , 01.04.2025 , in: Organizational Research Methods, 28, 2 , p. 210-244 , 35 p.

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

  4. Pivot to Persevere: Temporary Pivots as a Response to Exogenous Shocks
    Markus Reihlen (Author) , Thomas Gegenhuber (Author) , Clara Scheve (Author) , 01.03.2024 , in: Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research (SBuR), 76, 1 , p. 113-149 , 37 p.

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

  5. Digitale Geschäftsmodellinnovationen implementieren: eine Fallstudie bei Henkel
    Markus Reihlen (Author) , Kourosh Bahrami (Author) , Johanne Düsterbeck (Author) , 01.01.2024 , in: Zeitschrift für Führung und Organisation, 93, 1 , p. 61-67 , 7 p.

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

View all publications

Contributions to collected editions/anthologies

  1. Vertrauen in Organisationen
    Matthias Wenzel (Author) , Markus Reihlen (Author) , 12.08.2025 , p. 39-50 , 12 p.

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

  2. Lernen in Netzwerken: Qualitätsentwicklung am Beispiel des Verbundprojekts Quality Audit
    Markus Reihlen (Author) , Judith Braun (Author) , Miriam Garve (Author) , 28.12.2023 Wiesbaden , p. 1-23 , 23 p.

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

  3. Die Lehrstrategie am Beispiel der Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
    Steffi Hobuß (Author) , Markus Reihlen (Author) , Christof Schmitt (Author) , Julia Webersik (Author) , Anja Soltau (Author) , 28.12.2023 Wiesbaden , p. 49-74 , 26 p.

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

  4. Introduction to Philosophy of Management
    Markus Reihlen (Author) , Dennis Schöneborn (Author) , Cristina Neesham (Author) , 23.07.2022 Schweiz , p. 1-14 , 14 p.

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

  5. The Epistemology of Management: An Introduction
    Markus Reihlen (Author) , Dennis Schöneborn (Author) , 23.07.2022 Schweiz , p. 17-37 , 21 p.

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

View all publications

Activities

  1. Qualitative Knowledge Synthesis in Management Research: Approaches, Opportunities & Expert Insights
    Stefanie Habersang (Speaker) , Miriam Feuls (Panel participant) , Rikke Albertson (Panel participant) , Nick Berente (Panel participant) , Hans Behrends (Panel participant) , Christina Hoon (Panel participant) , Markus Reihlen (Panel participant) , Maria Rumyantseva (Panel participant)

    Activity: Conference Presentations › Research

  2. Strategic Management of Sustainability: The Struggle for Legitimacy
    Markus Reihlen (Speaker) , Monika Lesner (Speaker)
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    Activity: Conference Presentations › Research

  3. Quality Management in a Top Tier Accounting Firm: Towards a Socio-Cognitive Model
    Markus Reihlen (Speaker)

    Activity: Conference Presentations › Research

  4. Transfer Leadership and Control in Organizational Practice Transfer
    Markus Reihlen (Speaker)
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    Activity: Conference Presentations › Research

  5. Leveraging Error to Improve Audit Quality: Towards a Socio-Cognitive Model
    Markus Reihlen (Speaker) , Christoph Seckler (Speaker)

    Activity: Conference Presentations › Research

View all activities

Press / Media

Prizes

  1. SAP Best Paper Award Finalist, Academy of Management 2025
    Stefanie Habersang (Recipient) Markus Reihlen (Recipient) Johanne Düsterbeck (Recipient) ,

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

  2. Transfer- und Impact Award der Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
    Lillan Lommel (Recipient) Frederic Penz (Recipient) Robert Hoyer (Recipient) Charlotte Wulffen (Recipient) Matthias Wenzel (Recipient) Boukje Cnossen (Recipient) Steffen Farny (Recipient) Markus Reihlen (Recipient) Ursula Weisenfeld (Recipient) ,

    Prize: Leuphana internal Prize, Scholaships, distinctions, appointments › Transfer

  3. Outstanding Article Award - Runner up, Industrial Marketing Management (together with Torsten Ringberg and Pernille Rydén)
    Markus Reihlen (Recipient) ,

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

  4. Best Paper Award - Runner up – Journal of Professions and Organization 2021/2022
    Markus Reihlen (Recipient) ,

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

  5. Nomination Best Student Paper Award, EGOS 2019
    Stefanie Habersang (Recipient) Markus Reihlen (Recipient) ,

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

View all prizes

Courses

1st Phase WiSe 26/27 - Reihlen: Strategic Management
Markus Reihlen
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The Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship professorship supervises conceptual and qualitative empirical theses in strategy, entrepreneurship, management, and organizational theory. Current areas of interest include:

- Strategic Management
- Organization theory and design
- New forms of organization
- Entrepreneurship (corporate, digital, social entrepreneurship)
- Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
- New forms of working and organizing (Agile, Holacracy, Coworking, etc.)
- Integration of corporate and sustainability strategy
- Digitalization and digital transformation

In general, you can also contribute your own conceptual and empirical ideas as long as they roughly fall within the professorship's thematic areas and methodological orientations.





Next appointment:
Lectures for this semester ended.
Philosophy of Social Science (PhD Course open for Complementary Studies)
Cristina Neesham, Markus Reihlen
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*** IMPORTANT INFORMATION: COURSE REGISTRATION VIA EMAIL (SEE BELOW) ***

This course provides you with insights into how to do more engaging and useful research. So what can philosophy contribute to social science? The answer is straightforward: it helps to construct more interesting research problems by challenging taken-for-granted assumptions. The philosophy of social science raises fundamental questions relevant to the practicing researcher, such as what is the nature of social phenomena? Should we see organizations as accumulations of autonomous individuals, collective actors with goals of their own, or systems embedded into society? What is the appropriate form of investigation? Should we rely on empirical facts, on our reason, on action, or on intuition? Can we investigate society by studying individuals or via their social structures? What values and norms of social actions are appropriate? Should we see the individual's freedom (maximization of individual benefit) or his/her responsibility to the community at large (maximization of collective benefit) as the primary goal of social action?

This course blends specific perspectives from the philosophy of social science with controversies in social studies. Our use of the term social studies is broad; it includes all disciplines that study social systems of different kinds and of different levels such as economics, sociology, political science, culturology, social psychology, and the respective socio-technologies such as management. This course will enable students to explain how philosophy could contribute to the improvement and interestingness of social research. More specifically, students will be made familiar with general philosophical controversies in social science such as individualism versus holism, idealism versus materialism, the positivism versus postmodernism debates. Finally, we address the relation between science and praxis and reflect upon the different statuses of science and technology.
Next appointment:
Monday, 2026-07-13 at 09:00
Room: intern
Philosophy of Social Science (PhD)
Cristina Neesham, Markus Reihlen
⌄
This course provides you with insights into how to do more engaging and useful research. So what can philosophy contribute to social science? The answer is straightforward: it helps to construct more interesting research problems by challenging taken-for-granted assumptions. The philosophy of social science raises fundamental questions relevant to the practicing researcher, such as what is the nature of social phenomena? Should we see organizations as accumulations of autonomous individuals, collective actors with goals of their own, or systems embedded into society? What is the appropriate form of investigation? Should we rely on empirical facts, on our reason, on action, or on intuition? Can we investigate society by studying individuals or via their social structures? What values and norms of social actions are appropriate? Should we see the individual's freedom (maximization of individual benefit) or his/her responsibility to the community at large (maximization of collective benefit) as the primary goal of social action?

This course blends specific perspectives from the philosophy of social science with controversies in social studies. Our use of the term social studies is broad; it includes all disciplines that study social systems of different kinds and of different levels such as economics, sociology, political science, culturology, social psychology, and the respective socio-technologies such as management. This course will enable students to explain how philosophy could contribute to the improvement and interestingness of social research. More specifically, students will be made familiar with general philosophical controversies in social science such as individualism versus holism, idealism versus materialism, the positivism versus postmodernism debates. Finally, we address the relation between science and praxis and reflect upon the different statuses of science and technology.
Next appointment:
Monday, 2026-07-13 at 09:00
Room: C 6.320 Seminarraum