Hans Berends

Hans Berends is a Full Professor of Innovation and Organization at the KIN Center for Digital Innovation within the School of Business and Economics at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He holds concurrent roles at the Amsterdam Business Research Institute and serves as the Head of the KIN Center. Berends holds a PhD from Eindhoven University of Technology, with expertise spanning philosophy and industrial engineering. His research focuses on digital innovation ecosystems, interorganizational collaboration, and process-based approaches to understanding innovation dynamics. He teaches innovation management across bachelor, master, and executive programs, and supervises doctoral students in process research methods.

Education:

• PhD in Industrial Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology
• Background in Philosophy and Industrial Engineering

Research Interests:
Berends examines digital innovation through process research, exploring platforms, ecosystems, and emerging collaboration forms. He emphasizes temporal coordination, complementarity in innovation ecosystems, and organizational responses to technological change. His work bridges qualitative methods with strategic management, addressing challenges like platform governance, data sharing compliance, and circular economy transitions.

Awards & Grants:

• Journal of Business Venturing / Lazaridis Best Paper Award (2022)
• SO! WHAT Best Paper Award (2021)
• €1.5M NWO Grant for Regional Innovation Systems (2022)
• EGOS Max Boisot Award (2018)

Advising & Projects: Supervised 9 PhD theses and leads projects like the €1.5M "EXTRA: Transformative Methodologies" initiative. Active in the EDIH NWNL digitalization project for SMEs. Serves on editorial boards of Strategic Organization and Journal of Product Innovation Management.

Labs & Teams: Leads the KIN Center for Digital Innovation, fostering research on digital transformation, innovation ecosystems, and organizational dynamics.