Technology and Innovation Management (TIM)
The Institute
The Institute for Technology and Innovation Management at RWTH Aachen University (RWTH TIM) is a leading European institution in the fields of strategic, behavioral, and computational technology and innovation management. The Institute is the result of a longstanding partnership between RWTH's Innovation, Strategy & Organisation Group and RWTH's Technology & Innovation Management Group. Under the leadership of David Antons, Frank Piller and Oliver Salge, an interdisciplinary team of about 30 doctoral researchers, 5 post-docs and more than 20 student researchers conducts research and teaching on topics such as strategic technology management, open innovation, innovation culture, organizational change, business model development, and customer centric value creation.
The Institute is a proud part of the TIME Research Area of RWTH's School of Business and Economics, a department with more than 100 senior and junior researchers focusing on innovation at the intersection with technology management, marketing, and entrepreneurship.
Our Research Priorities
Embedded in the cross-disciplinary and entrepreneurial nature of RWTH Aachen University, we closely cooperate with the RWTH’s engineering schools as well as with the humanities and social sciences, allowing us to cover a broad spectrum of topics and methods. The objective of our research is to build profound knowledge that matters for academia, business practice, and society more generally.
Thematic priorities of our current work are…
- the transformation of established organizations in the face of disruptive technological innovation, such as Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, Smart Products & Services, or Additive Manufacturing;
- the systematic development and evaluation of new business models;
- the preconditions for and practices of organizational learning, organizational search, and problem-solving;
- the development and maintenance of an organizational culture conducive to learning and innovation;
- the development and improvement of tools and metrics for effective technology management and policy;
- the integration of external partners into the research and development process (open innovation and customer co-creation);
- the patterns and strategies of technology legitimation, adoption, and payoff;
- the promotion of corporate sustainability and economic development through technological innovations as well as research on the broader societal challenges associated with new technologies (Responsible Innovation).
Most of our work is conducted in form of interdisciplinary research consortia with partners from academia and industry. Our research projects can be clustered into three domains and their intersections: (1) strategic, (2) behavioral, and (3) computational technology and innovation management.
Recognition and Awards for our Research
We are proud of the external recognition our research has received in form of many international awards, including the Knult Holt Award for the Best Conference Paper of the International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM), several best paper awards of the Academy of Management as well as frequent inclusions into the AOM Best Paper Proceedings, PDMA's Co-Creation Award, or a nomination to the Harvard Business Review and McKinsey's "Innovating Innovation award". We are also part of leading research clusters in Germany's most prestigious funding schemes, including a national cluster of excellence and several graduate schools supported by DFG.
Our junior faculty (post docs and assistant professors) have been recognized by various RWTH Lecturer Fellowships and StartUp grants. We also received an award for the "most family friendly work environment" (FAMOS) by RWTH's president, and several "best teaching" awards for our innovative teaching formats.
Research findings are regularly published in leading international journals including the top technology and innovation management journals Journal of Product Innovation Management, Research Policy, R&D Management, and MIS Quarterly, premier management journals such as Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Perspectives, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management, Journal of Operations Management, Journal of Organizational Behavior, and Journal of Service Research as well as practitioner outlets such as California Management Review and MIT Sloan Management Review.
Collaboration
Outside RWTH Aachen University, we collaborate closely with scholars from Europe (e.g., Cambridge, Oxford, St. Andrews, IE Business School, Vlerick) and elsewhere (Atlanta, Auckland, Berkeley, Cambridge, Boston, Buenos Aires, Philadelphia, San Diego, Washington).
A large practicioners group and many event formats as well as our strong commitment to executive training & coaching ensure an intensive transfer of our research into practice.
Teaching
The Institute for Technology and Innovation Management offers courses in the fields of innovation and technology management, strategy and organisation. They are targeted primarily at bachelor and master students in business administration as well as business administration and engineering with a strong interest in research-oriented and highly interactive courses in English language.
Executive Education
In the field of executive education and training, we are involved in various formats at the RWTH Business School and the RWTH International Academy. These range from the certificate course Business Model Innovation to several modules in the Executive MBA, and DBA. Furthermore the TIME Research Area offers the award-winning blended-learning MME-TIME master program at Germany´s leading technological University, RWTH Aachen, delivered in partnership with Cambridge Digital Innovation at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge.
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