Melanie Wiener

Melanie Wiener is a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute for Strategic Marketing (ISM) at Johannes Kepler University (JKU) Linz and holds a marginal employment position at WU Vienna. Her research focuses on open foresight, sustainability-oriented innovation, and circular economy strategies. She holds a PhD from JKU Linz, with guest research at Aalborg and Aarhus Universities, where her work explored the organizational contexts influencing open foresight success. Her academic achievements include the Tudor Rickards and Susan Moger CIM Best Paper Award (2018) and the Karl Leitl Partnership Award for contributions to inter-organizational collaboration.

Education: Melanie earned dual master's degrees in Business Education and Business & Economics from JKU Linz, specializing in Entrepreneurship, Supply Chain Management, and International Business. She studied abroad at Växjö University (Sweden), completed a Comenius teaching internship in Italy, and volunteered with 'Make me Smile' in Kenya.

Research Themes: Her work bridges strategic foresight methodologies with organizational behavior, emphasizing cultural prerequisites for innovation, top management roles, and team dynamics. She investigates circular economy frameworks integrating informal waste pickers and explores smart-circular service systems.

Key Publications: Her 2020 articles in Resources, Conservation and Recycling and Technological Forecasting & Social Change highlight her contributions to circular plastics economies and open foresight innovation. Earlier work in R&D Management and Creativity and Innovation Management establishes her expertise in organizational contexts for collaborative foresight.

Awards & Impact: Recognized for advancing inter-organizational collaboration theory and sustainability-driven innovation frameworks. No formal grants or advising roles are listed, but her research projects align with industry partnerships in circular economy initiatives.

Labs/Teams: Active in the ISM research group at both JKU and WU, contributing to interdisciplinary projects on strategic foresight and sustainability innovation.