InnovaSus
InnovaSus
Strategy | Organization | Sustainability
Co-creating impact for companies through science
Frithjof E. Wegener
Profile
Frithjof E. Wegener
I am Assistant Professor of Strategic Management at Northumbria University and a research fellow at Innovation North. I finished my Ph.D. on Pragmatism and Organization Design at the Warwick Business School. Besides academia, I founded Innovasus - a consultancy for innovation, sustainability and organization design.
My research combines design, organizing, and sustainability, exploring topics such as
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Designing organizations
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Organizing design
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Designing strategies for sustainability.
Central to my work is the philosophy of pragmatism and combining theoretical relevance with practical impact.
My research has been published across organization and design studies at Strategic Organization, Design Issues, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and MIT Press.
Contact
InnovaSus
Händelstrasse 14 | 40822 Mettmann | +49 (0)157 3192 9694 | frithjof.wegener@innovasus.com
InnovaSus
Your consultancy for strategy, organisation & sustainability
Are you tired of the cycle? Every five years, businesses find themselves back at the drawing board, seeking strategy consultancy to navigate the ever-changing landscape of the market. But what if there was a different approach? What if you could break free from this repetitive pattern and embark on a journey of continuous growth and adaptation?
Our strategy consultancy is part of a paradigm shift built on the latest research and insights. We understand the frustration of traditional consultancy models that only scratch the surface. In today's dynamic environment, sustainability is key. That's why we delve deeper, offering a holistic approach that combines strategy with organization design, to create lasting change that has a positive impact on society.
Our methodology isn't just about quick fixes; it's about creating enduring structures and processes that stand the test of time. By integrating organization design into our strategy development, we ensure that your business is not only agile but also resilient in the face of challenges. Remember, organization is more than just the design of an organigram. It's about creating a culture of excellence, aligning people, and processes, and towards a purpose goal.
But we don't stop there. We recognize that innovation is the lifeblood of success. That's why we support our clients in their strategic innovation endeavors, helping them stay ahead of the curve and seize new opportunities.
Break free from the cycle. Embrace a new era of consultancy that is dynamic, innovative, and sustainable. Partner with us and unlock the full potential of your business. Let's shape a sustainable future together.
Publications
From Impact to Impacting: A Pragmatist Perspective on Tackling Grand Challenges
Wegener, F. E., Lee, J. Y., Mascena Barbosa, A., Sharma, G. & Bansal, P. (Tima)
Strategic Organization (2024)
Abstract: Scholars have long sought to impact management practice. However, the current conceptualization of impact is grounded in dualisms, separating researchers from managers, means from ends, and thought from action. Such a dualistic understanding of impact hampers researchers' and managers' ability to achieve impact. Nowhere is this issue more acute than in the context of grand challenges, which require researchers and managers to work together closely. As a way forward, we propose a pragmatist perspective on impact, where impact is not seen as a one-time, unidirectional event, but rather as a relational and recursive process. By overcoming dualisms in traditional approaches to impact, pragmatist impacting can help advance progress on grand challenges and our current understanding of cocreation. In this paper, we illustrate pragmatist impacting and reflect on its opportunities and challenges through our experience at Innovation North, an innovation lab that brought together researchers and managers to cocreate a systems innovation process.
Pre-Reflection-in-Action: Rethinking Schön’s Reflective Practice Through the “Habits of Design Artistry"
Rylander, A., Dixon, B. & Wegener, F.E.
Design Issues (2023)
Abstract: This article examines Donald Schön's positioning of reflective practice in relation to design. In particular, the focus is directed toward his presentation of the acting–thinking relationship. Questioning this presentation we turn to the work of philosopher John Dewey, who acted as one of Schön's key inspirational sources. Here, we consider Dewey's presentation of thought-in-action, artistry, and importantly, habit. We argue that a wider referencing of this material—most especially the art–habits relationship—holds the potential to expand the Schönian presentation of design, providing the field with a more nuanced modeling of what it means both to design and to become a designer.
Introduction: Pragmatism, Dewey, and Design Inquiry
Dixon, B., Eklund, A. R. & Wegener, F.E.
Design Issues (2023)
Abstract: This article introduces the special issue on Design Pragmatism and Design Inquiry by drawing attention to the key design-orientated principles found in pragmatism, detailing the content of the articles and, from this, mapping the direction for future research.
Design & Routine Dynamics
Wegener, F.E. & Glaser, V.
Cambridge Handbook of Routine Dynamics, Cambridge University Press (2022)
Abstract: Organizational actors spend a tremendous amount of time and energy trying to intentionally change their routines. We conceptualize these intentional changes as routine design—intentional efforts to change one or more aspects of a routine to create a preferred situation. We review existing routines research on intentional change by showing how different perspectives on routines have generated different insights about the relationship between intentional change and design. We highlight a cognitive perspective, a practice perspective, and an ontological process perspective on routine design. We then draw on two perspectives inspired by design studies. Simon’s scientific perspective on design suggests that routines scholars study the effects and implications of designing artifacts. Schön’s reflective practice perspective on design suggests that routines scholars can examine how actors set the problem, engage in (re)framing, and in reflection-in-action. These design studies perspectives offer routines scholars a better understanding of efforts to intentionally change routines. Based on these insights from design studies, we develop a future research agenda for routine design.
In Feldman M. S., Pentland B. T., D’Adderio L., Dittrich K., Rerup C., & Seidl D. (eds.).
Capturing the Experience of Living Forward from Within the Flow:
Fusing ‘Withness’ Approach & Pragmatist Inquiry
Wegener, F.E. & Lorino, P.
Time, Temporality, and History in Process Organization Studies, Oxford University Press (2021)
Abstract: In this chapter, we explore a methodology for “process as withness” (Fachin and Langley, 2018). The goal is to study the experience of “living forward” by creating “narratives of prospect” (Weick, 1999). The chapter builds on Shotter’s work (2006; 2009) on a withness approach, which helps in understanding the struggles of living forward experienced by practitioners and researchers alike. Withness until now has remained philosophical with a few vignettes by Shotter (2006; 2009). We operationalize withness through embedding it within pragmatist inquiry (Farjoun, Ansell, and Boin, 2015; Lorino et al., 2011; Martela, 2015). For this, we propose to build on the existing links between a withness approach and pragmatist inquiry in the work of James, Dewey, and Mead, but to extend these to fuse a withness approach and pragmatist inquiry into “pragmatist withness inquiry.” We end with a call for other researchers to learn from, criticize, and build on our attempts to develop “pragmatist withness inquiry.” The challenges are dialogue, access to doubtful situations, and creating “narratives of prospect.”
In J. Reinecke, R. Suddaby, A. Langley, & H. Tsoukas (Eds.)
The Future of Design Process Research? Exploring Process Theory and Methodology
Wegener, F.E. & Cash, P.
DRS International Conference (2020)
Abstract: Design processes are at the heart of design research. Current design research at the micro- and macro-level has led to profound insights about designing. However, missing are design process research approaches that are able to theorize between (meso-level) and beyond levels of analysis. This fragmentation of process research and theory across levels hampers research synthesis and theory development. In this paper we illustrate the limitations of current design research methodologies to analyse and theorize process. Specifically, the issue lies in the challenge of analysing and theorizing the temporal embeddedness of data in the overall design process. We introduce a Process Theory agenda for future design process research focused on the meso-levels as the mediator of interactions between design processes across levels. As such, this paper contributes a novel characterisation of a critical challenge in design research, proposing process theory for addressing this.
In Boess, S., Cheung, M. and Cain, R. (eds.), Synergy
Grappling with Diversity in Research Through Design
Boon, B., Baha, E., Singh, A., Wegener, F.E., Roozendaal, M.C. & Stappers, P.J.
DRS International Conference (2020)
Abstract: Since its introduction, Research through Design (RtD) has taken on a wide variety of forms. Currently, there is a lack of clarity about what connects and separates different RtD approaches. Several attempts have been made to clarify these matters, often in the form of a top-down categorization. Here we start on a different path, one that is open for different points of view and grounded in the ongoing concerns and needs of RtD practitioners. Over a two-month period, we engaged a local research community in weekly discussions about RtD in their work. Thoughts and questions were posted on a dedicated wall-space, maintained, and clustered over the weeks. As a result, we identified 11 themes that indicate concerns among participants about RtD. We suggest the themes can help in articulating different RtD ‘styles’ and ‘genres’, and believe this should be a collaborative and bottom-up effort that crosses disciplinary and institutional boundaries.
In Boess, S., Cheung, M. and Cain, R. (eds.), Synergy
Strengthening the Design Capabilities of Professional Organisations in a Complex World
Van Der Bijl-Brouwer, M., Price, R., Wegener, F.E. & Smulders, F.
Conference Proceedings of the Academy for Design Innovation Management (2020)
Abstract: In Hong Kong of the year 2017, a new academic community convened to attend to pressing issues regarding design as source of innovation. The inaugural Academy for Design Innovation Management Conference (nee Design Management Academy) attended to a sense of urgency regarding the adoption of design capabilities within organisations as source of innovation. The title of the conference, Research perspectives on creative intersections was therefore pertinent, with papers exploring how design and designers were intersecting with new business challenges. Two years later in London (2019), rhetoric has notably shifted from matters of adoption to strengthening design capabilities within organisations, thereby enabling those organisations to unlock the possibilities and subsequent benefits of design. These possibilities include but are not limited to strategic and cultural renewal, design of new processes and meaningful engagement with hard-to-reach stakeholders. To address the complex nature of today’s societal and economic problems, professional organisations now recognize that traditional tools and approaches may not provide the required solutions. To address complex challenges, many managers and business leaders have consciously turned to design approaches over the past decade, including both public and private sectors. To increase design capabilities, these organisations have established innovation labs with designers, have recruited designers in strategic positions, and/or have started building the design competence of existing staff through educational programs, often provided by design consultancies. Yet to date, describing the resultant impact of teaching. Individual design competencies on organisational design capabilities has proven elusive.
Engaging Employees with their Organisation's Vision: Using Visual Storytelling Through Sketching
Dankfort, Z., Guerreiro Gonçalves, M., & Wegener, F.E.
Visual Proceedings of E&PDE (2019)
Abstract: This paper explores the use of visual storytelling, for instance sketching, in organisational strategy practices. It contributes to an understanding of how design education has to change in order to broaden the skillset of design students, for them to be able to redesign organisations.
Reflection-in-Action When Designing Organizational Processes:
Prototyping Workshops for Collective Reflection-in-Action.
Wegener, F.E., Guerreiro Gonçalves, M., & Dankfort, Z.
Proceedings of the Design Society: International Conference on Engineering Design (2019)
Abstract: In this paper on designing organizational processes, we combine insight on reflection-in-action with the role of reflection and experimenting from the organizational routine dynamics literature. Illustrated through a case at a strategy consultancy, we show how a prototyped workshop can elicit reflection-in-action when designing organizational processes. The artifacts used in the prototyped workshop made previous implicit assumptions about the work more explicit. This led to on the spot reflection-in-action of how to improve the prototype. This shows how collective reflection-action can be created by creating a space for reflection, that simultaneously allows for experimentation. Future research between design science and organizational science would thus be fruitful when studying the role of collective reflection-in-action when prototyping organizational processes.