PhD Spotlight on LOST
09.12.2024 We proudly present PhD students who took on the challenge of becoming LOST. The so-called Leuphana Center for Organization & Social Transformation (LOST) is an innovative, open and creative community which dives into the study of organizations and all that comes with it - be it management, the organization of crisis and resilience or how to successfully shape up organizations for sustainability. Svenja Rehwinkel kicks off our series.
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Name: Svenja Rehwinkel
Favourite Netflix show: How I Met Your Mother - proof that even the most chaotic and entangled stories can eventually lead to something beautiful and meaningful. Much like my qualitative research process.
Motivation: I am fascinated by organizations that make you believe in and crave a better tomorrow.
I choose LOST because: I have spent way too much time deciding on a a career in either sustainability or management – all to realize that the key was to integrate both.
This is what I investigate: Individuals can be confronted with a paradox between mission and market, efficiency and innovation, stability and change, control and flexibility – and many more. So, I research how actors grapple with paradoxical demands while driving sustainability in organizations. Because I am engaging a mostly inductive ethnographic research approach, I remain open to what my ongoing data collection brings to the forefront of my research.
My PhD matters because: We must move away from either deciding for planet or profit, and instead find solutions that nourish both. I hope my work will contribute to this challenge.
How I cope with a work-life-balance: Let's just say, I'm in the 'trial and error' phase of this balancing act - mostly error, but I am learning. Being blessed with wonderful friends really helps though!