Svenja Friess, M.Sc.
Doctoral Student and Junior Research FellowFormer Research Fellow
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research
+49 89 24246-569
svenja.friess(at)ip.mpg.de
Areas of Interest:
Behavioral Foundations of Innovation, Organizational Economics, Inequality
Academic Résumé
Since 09/2024
Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute for Strategy, Technology and Organization, LMU Munich
Since 09/2020
Research Appointment at the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard (LISH), Harvard Business School
01/2022 - 06/2022
Visiting Scholar, Harvard University, Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard, Boston (MA), USA, Host: Karim R. Lakhani
07/2019 – 09/2024
Junior Research Fellow and Doctoral Candidate at Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition (Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research) and at the Munich Graduate School of Economics, LMU Munich.
Dissertation: “Behavioral Insights into Knowledge Work: Information Sourcing, Peer Dynamics, and Gender Disparities in Ideation“
07/2018 - 08/2018
Summer School, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
10/2016 - 03/2019
Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Economics, LMU Munich
08/2014 - 01/2015
Exchange Semester, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
10/2012 - 08/2016
Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Economics, Heidelberg University
Work Experience
02/2018 - 05/2019
Student Trainee, Webasto SE (Automotive Supplier, Departments: Corporate Strategy & Development, Global Business Development)
06/2017 - 03/2018
Graduate Research Assistant at the Social Sciences Experimental Lab (MELESSA), LMU Munich
04/2016 - 09/2016
Studentische Research Assistant, Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim
08/2015 - 10/2015
Internship, Deutsche Bank Research, Deutsche Bank AG
Honors, Scholarships, Academic Prizes
01/2022 - 05/2022
Fellow of the German-American Fulbright Commission (Fulbright Germany): doctoral scholarhip for a research visit at Harvard University
02/2013 - 03/2019
Fellow of the German National Academic Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes e.V., merit-based scholarship)
Publications
Contributions to Collected Editions
(2021). Women in Creative Labor: Inventors, Entrepreneurs and Academics, in: Ulla Weber (
Discussion Papers
(2023). Reputational Concerns and Advice-Seeking at Work, Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Research Paper, No. 23-17.
- We examine the impact of reputational concerns on seeking advice. While seeking can improve
performance, it may affect how others perceive the seeker's competence. In an online
experiment with white-collar professionals (N=2,521), we test how individuals navigate this
tradeoff and if others' beliefs about competence change it. We manipulate visibility of the
decision to seek and stereotypes about competence. Results show a sizable and inefficient
decline in advice-seeking when visible to a manager. Higher-order beliefs about competence
cannot mediate this inefficiency. We find no evidence that managers interpret advice-seeking
negatively, documenting a misconception that may hinder knowledge flows in organizations. - Available at SSRN
Presentations
25.10.2023
Unpacking Gender Gaps in Creative Performance – Experimental Evidence on the Role of Competition and Male-majority Environments
Behavioral Brown Bag Seminar, LMU
Location: Munich
19.09.2023
Harnessing the Power of Interactive Peers – Evidence form Online Learning Environments on Engagement and Performance
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Department Seminar
Location: Ringberg Castle
12.07.2023
Where Does the Gender Innovation Gap Arise? Idea Gen(d)eration, Selection or Evaluation
1st Organizational Economics Summer Symposium (OESS)
Location: Ohlstadt
16.06.2023
Peer Effects of Social Interactions in Online Education
Internal Research Seminar at Chair for Organizational Economics, LMU
Location: Munich
22.05.2023
Advice Seeking at Work: Stereotypes and Reputation Concerns
Concerns”, Internal Research Seminar at the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) – invited presentation
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
24.04.2023
Advice Seeking at Work: Stereotypes and Reputation Concerns
Internal Research Seminar at the Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST) – invited presentation
Location: Palaiseau, France
23.03.2023
Advice Seeking at Work: Stereotypes and Reputation Concerns
25th Colloquium for Personnel Economics (COPE)
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
27.02.2023
Where Does the Gender Innovation Gap Arise? Idea Gen(d)eration, Selection or Evaluation
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Department Seminar
Location: Frauenchiemsee
20.12.2022
Advice at Work: Reputation Concerns & Stereotypes
Research on Innovation, Science and Entrepreneurship Workshop (RISE5),
Location: Munich
08.12.2022
Advice at Work: Reputation Concerns & Stereotypes
Behavioral Brown Bag Seminar, LMU
Location: Munich
05.10.2022
Advice at Work: Reputation Concerns & Stereotypes
2nd Berlin Workshop on Public Economics: Gender Economics
Location: Berlin
24.06.2022
Can It Ever Hurt to Ask? Advice & Gender
LMU Munich’s Organizational Economics Chair Lunch
Location: Munich
16.06.2022
Can It Ever Hurt to Ask? Advice & Gender
Economic Science Association World Meeting
Location: Cambridge (MA), USA
11.06.2022
When does Diversity in Peer Interactions help Online Learning?
Strategy Science Conference
Location: New York City (NY), USA
10.12.2021
Digital Peer Interactions & Knowledge Transfers – Evidence from Online Business Education
Lunchtime Seminar, Organizational Economics Chair, LMU
Location: Munich
01.10.2021
Advice & Gender – First Pilot Data Evidence
Research Seminar
Location: Feldkirchen-Westerham
25.06.2021
Digital Peer Interactions & Knowledge Transfers – First Empirical Evidence & Paths Forward
LMU Applied Micro Summer Seminar
Location: Ohlstadt
24.03.2021
Digital Peer Interactions & Knowledge Transfers – First Empirical Evidence
Research Seminar
Location: online
19.11.2020
The Contingent Effect of Alliance Design on Alliance Dynamics and Performance: An Experimental Study
Discussant, TIME Colloquium
Institute for Strategy, Technology & Organization (LMU), Chair in Technology & Innovation Management (TUM), Max-Planck-Institut für Innovation und Wettbewerb
Location: online
07.-11.09.2020
Peer Interactions & Learning on a Platform / Updates on Advice Seeking
Research Seminar
Location: online
04.06.2020
Can It Ever Hurt to Ask? Advice Seeking and Gender
Behavioral Brownbag Seminar, LMU
Location: Munich
02.-05.03.2020
Can It Ever Hurt to Ask? Advice Seeking and Gender
Research Seminar
Location: Zugspitze