prof. dr. ir. Hans Berends

Full Professor, School of Business and Economics, Knowledge, Information and Innovation

Full Professor, Amsterdam Business Research Institute

Full Professor, KIN Center for Digital Innovation

Personal information

Hans Berends (1972) is Professor of Innovation and Organization at the KIN Center for Digital Innovation, School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He is an organization scientist with a background in philosophy and industrial engineering, and he received his PhD from Eindhoven University of Technology. His current research focuses on organizing for digital innovation, examining platforms, ecosystems, and other emerging forms of collaboration. Much of his research uses a process research approach, explaining the emergence and development of innovation over time. He teaches innovation management at bachelor, master, and executive levels and process research methods for doctoral students. He currently serves as head of the KIN Center for Digital Innovation.

Research

Hans’ research focuses on organizing and collaborating for innovation. Business and public organizations are developing new forms of collaboration to spur innovation, often aimed at complex challenges. These include platforms and ecosystems enabled by digital technology as well as field labs and living labs facilitated by physical infrastructures for experimentation. In his research, Hans examines how technological and organizational processes interact in the pursuit of innovative solutions. Topics he studies with his team include:

Innovation processes within organizations
Interorganizational collaboration for innovation
Digital innovation
Platforms and ecosystems
Data-oriented collaborations (e.g., data commons)
Qualitative process research methods
Open science and strategies for reuse of qualitative data

Teaching

Hans teaches multiple courses on technology and innovation management at bachelor's and master's level. He also contributes to various programs for professionals and executives, focused on topics ranging from digital innovation and ecosystems, to sustainability and organizing. In this teaching he connects the world of research with the world of practice. To support new generations of qualitative, process-oriented scholars, he teaches process research methods to doctoral students.

Ancillary activities