Matthias graduated from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg with a Master in business administration (Dipl.-Kfm.). His majors were information systems, strategic management, and health care management. During his studies, he worked as a student research assistant at the department of information systems and gained practical experience in internships and projects with firms like Horváth & Partners Management Consultants, BayTech, Noris Markt AG, and several others. For his diploma thesis on the determinants of innovation team performance, he received the Hermann Weiler Foundation best thesis award. Matthias' current research focuses on open innovation and social capital.
Contact
matthias [dot] rass+49 (0) 911 5302-458
Room 4.252
Lange Gasse 20
90403 Nürnberg
Upcoming Events
Publications
03. Journal Papers
04. Conference Papers
07. Book Chapters
Dissertation Topic
In the past years, the Internet has seen the emergence of an increasing number of open innovation communities. They have been initiated for different reasons. On the one hand, more and more users are organizing themselves in order to collaboratively find solutions to a wide range of existing problems and to fulfill needs that are not met by commercial offerings. On the other hand, companies have discovered the potential of integrating users and other actors into the development of new products and services. In order to reach a large number of diverse and geographically dispersed people, a large portion of these open innovation initiatives uses online platforms to connect the involved individuals. Large communities and complex social networks emerge around these online platforms.
Matthias’ research builds on network theory and a knowledge-based view of the organization to investigate how the social capital that inheres in social relations and networks influences knowledge transfer and innovation performance. For his analyses of relationships between relevant variables, he studies different levels and considers the perspectives of an individual, a team, a closed organization, and an open community. Matthias mainly applies quantitative methods (e.g., structural equation modeling, social network analysis) based on survey and network data.



