Pioneering work in strategy research: Honorary doctorate for Paula Jarzabkowski!

Pioneering work in strategy research: Honorary doctorate for Paula Jarzabkowski!

On July 9, 2025, Paula Jarzabkowski, one of the leading scientists in the field of management and organization research, was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Management and Technology at Leuphana University. Jarzabkowski is significantly involved in the development of the research field “Strategy as practice”. Her work has contributed to a deeper understanding of organizational and strategy processes and inspired an entire generation of researchers. Her ethnographic studies represent a gold standard in qualitative empirical research, as evidenced by her over 70 published journal articles and three books. Her research activities also include the area of ​​action orientation and sustainability, where she has provided significant insights into catastrophes and catastrophe insurance that have improved the understanding of mechanisms of action in organizations.

${name_der_Quelle_1} reports that Jarzabkowski is listed among the “top 1%” of scientists in “Economics and Business” in the “Essential Science Indicators” and has had over 22,300 citations for her work. Their achievements were recognized at the awards ceremony at dies academicus, where other outstanding researchers such as Prof. Dr. Karina Frick and Prof. Dr. Ben Trott were awarded. The student initiative “Take Initiative!” also received an award for her commitment.

Results and implications of their research

Jarzabkowski is currently a professor of strategic management and has placed a clear research focus on strategy as practice in complex contexts. These contexts include regulated companies and the third sector as well as financial services, particularly in the areas of insurance and reinsurance. Her qualitative research uses various methods, including longitudinal and cross-sectional case studies, and combines multiple data sources such as interviews and observations. Particularly noteworthy is her first-ever global ethnography of the reinsurance industry, which she conducted using video methods, as shown on bayes.citystgeorges.ac.uk is executed.

She has received significant fellowships throughout her career, including the AIM Ghoshal Fellowship and the EC Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship, which enabled her computing research projects addressing strategic change in regulated industries. Her publications in leading specialist journals such as the Academy of Management Journal and the Strategic Management Journal testify to the international recognition of her work. Most recently, she published the book “Making a Market for Acts of God: The Practice of Risk-Trading in the Global Reinsurance Industry,” which is based on a three-year ethnographic study.

The future of strategic management

Jarzabkowski's influence extends beyond academia. She plays a key role in developing research questions for industry and presents her research results at various industry events. Her commitment was recognized in 2013 with the ESRC Outstanding Impact on Business Award. Her area of ​​expertise includes the insurance industry, particularly non-life insurance and reinsurance, as well as strategic management at a global level, with extensive knowledge of North America, Asia, Australia and Europe.

The developments in qualitative methodological research, as presented in their latest publication and in the application-oriented guidelines for qualitative organizational and management research, show the dynamic and practical orientation of their research. This methodology promotes a better understanding of the complexity of organizations and their management, as well as the challenge for students to design seminar and final theses in a meaningful way, he emphasizes Beck eLibrary.