"If we truly want to understand transformation, we have to examine how people accomplish their everyday work."
Research
#strategic change
Central to my research is the question of effectively managing strategic change within organizations. With the business environment growing increasingly dynamic, the ability to swiftly recognize and respond to external changes becomes paramount. The challenge lies in adapting the organization in a manner that not only accommodates these exogenous changes but also positions it for success amidst them. Organizations that consistently achieve this can be characterized as having cultivated agility. In my research, I examine the cultivation of agility through an organization's everyday routines, facilitating their ability to navigate and adapt to external changes. Here, my focus lies on the human resources that enable or constrain change in everyday routines.
#digitalization
Another theme in my research centers on the transformation of organizational routines driven by the emergence and evolution of digital technologies. The increasing availability and adoption of artificial intelligence, for example, has the potential to significantly impact how organizations operate. Within the scope of my research, I investigate how individuals engage with these technologies in their daily routines.
#sustainability
We are confronted with a growing array of grand challenges, spanning from the urgent need to address climate change and the proliferation of microplastics to the persistent issues of inequality. In my research, I examine how organizations contribute to these grand challenges and also how they can potentially play a role in mitigating them. Central to my work is the question of how grand challenges are influenced by daily routines.
#methods
My research focuses on two different methodologies. First, I use qualitative methods such as ethnography. This approach enables me to capture the mundane, lived experiences of organizational members, including product developers, sustainability experts, and middle managers. Second, my research employs the analysis of digital trace data. When organizational members use digital tools, these tools frequently record their actions in a database. These recorded data, commonly known as digital trace data, give rise to data analytics applications. In my research, I focus on how the analysis of this data can empower researchers to gain deeper insights into transformation processes. It’s worth noting that I incorporate a critical perspective in my approach, reflecting on the limitations and potential biases inherent in this type of data.
Vita
2020 - today
Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the "University of Stuttgart."
2015 - 2019
Research Fellow and PhD-Student at the "University of Stuttgart" in Germany, including research stays at the "University of Zürich" and the "University of Warwick."
2012 - 2015
Founder and Manager of the start-up "devega Steinboxen" and several internships in high-tech manufacturing companies.
2011 - 2015
Master of Business Administration and Business Psychology at the "Private University Seeburg Castle" in Austria.
2008 - 2011
Bachelor of Business Administration and Economics at the "University of Hohenheim" in Germany.
Publications
Scientific articles
- Mahringer, C.A., Danner-Schröder, A., (In press). Autonomous, yet interdependent: Designing interfaces across routine clusters. Academy of Management Journal.
- Mahringer, C.A. (In press). Twin transformation in action: Conceptualizing the entanglement of digitalization and sustainability in organizational routines. International Journal of Innovation Management.
- Danner-Schröder, A., Mahringer, C.A., Sele, K., Feldman, M.S., Gehman, J., Gherardi, S., Huysman, M., Jarzabkowski, P., Pentland, B.T., Rouleau, L., Sergeeva, A., Sutcliffe, K.M. (In press). Tackling grand challenges: Insights and contributions from practice theories. Journal of Management Inquiry.
- Mahringer, C.A. (In press). Media review: The untapped power of discovery. Organization Studies.
- Gäckle, D., Mahringer, C.A., Renzl, B. (2025). Rethinking change in business process management: From prescriptive to explanatory research. European Conference on Information Systems Proceedings, 1-16.
- Mahringer, C.A., Schmiedle, L., Albicker, L., Mayer, S. (2025). The iceberg model of change: A taxonomy differentiating approaches to change. Heliyon, 11(2), 1-10.
- Sele, K., Danner-Schröder, A., Mahringer, C.A. (2025). Embodied connection work: The role of the lived body in routine recreation in extreme contexts. Journal of Management Studies, 62(3), 1063-1345.
- Mahringer, C.A., Danner-Schröder, A., Müller-Seitz, G., Renzl, B. (2024). How does artificial intelligence promote change and stability of organizational routines? The role of automation and augmentation. Journal of Competences, Strategy & Management, 12, 1-17.
- Sele, K., Mahringer, C.A., Danner-Schröder, A., Grisold, T., Renzl, B. (2024). We are all pattern makers! How a flat ontology connects organizational routines and grand challenges. Strategic Organization, 22, 530-549.
- Mahringer, C.A., Pentland, B.T., Renzl, B., Sele, K., Spee, P. (2024). Routine dynamics: Organizing in a world in flux. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 88, 1-15.
- Mahringer, C.A. (2024). Innovating as chains of interrelated situations. Scandinavian Journal of Management. 40(1), 1-8.
- Mahringer, C.A., Baessler, F., Gerchen, M.F., Haak, C., Jacob, K., Mayer, S. (2023). Benefits and obstacles of interdisciplinary research: Insights from members of the Young Academy at the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. iScience, 26, 1-6.
- Renzl, B., Mahringer, C.A., Rost, M. & Scheible, L. (2021). Organizational agility: Current challenges and future opportunities. Journal of Competences, Strategy & Management, 11, 1-10.
- Pentland, B.T., Mahringer, C.A., Dittrich, K., Feldman, M., & Wolf, J.R. (2020). Process multiplicity and process dynamics: Weaving the space of possible paths. Organization Theory, 1(3), 1-21.
- Mahringer, C.A., Rost, M. & Renzl, B. (2019). How individuals perform customer knowledge absorption practices – A contextual approach to open innovation. International Journal of Technology Management, 79(3/4), 274-298.
- Mahringer, C.A., & Renzl, B. (2018). Entrepreneurial initiatives as a microfoundation of dynamic capabilities. Journal of Accounting and Organizational Change, 14(1), 61-79
- Mahringer, C.A., & Gabler, M. (2018). Wie können Wissensmanagementsysteme nutzerorientiert gestaltet werden? Die Rolle organisationaler Routinen. HMD – Praxis der Wirtschaftsinformatik, 55(4), 791-800.
Scientific proceedings
- Gäckle, D., Mahringer, C.A., Renzl, B. (2025). Rethinking change in business process management: From prescriptive to explanatory research. European Conference on Information Systems Proceedings, 1-16.
- Mahringer, C.A., Dittrich, K., Renzl, B. (2024). Provisional directionality: How Scrum teams use organizational routines to accomplish agility. Academy of Management Proceedings.
- Mahringer, C.A., & Walleser, N. (2023). How process models change business processes in organizations: From planned to emergent change. European Conference on Information Systems Proceedings, 1-12.
- Mahringer, C.A. (2022). Analyzing digital trace data to promote discovery – The case of heatmapping. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, 436, 209-220.
Articles in practitioner outlets
- Mahringer, C.A., Mayer, S. (2023). Veränderung verstehen: Die Relevanz konzeptioneller Klarheit. Athene – Magazin der HAdW, 1.
- Rost, M., Peter, M., Mahringer, C.A., & Renzl, B. (2020). Rollen-Anforderungen zur Zusammenarbeit in Scrum Teams. Austrian Management Review, 10, 36-46.
- Mahringer, C.A. (2017). Scrum. WISU – Das Wirtschaftsstudium, 12, 1345.
- Mahringer, C.A., Gabler, M., & Renzl, B. (2017). Agilität in wissensintensiven Organisationen. Von der Produkt- zur Dienstleistungsorientierung. IM+io, 1, 38-42.
- Mahringer, C.A., & Renzl, B. (2016). Employer Branding 2.0 – Change Smart! Austrian Management Review, 6, 48-55.
- Gabler, M., Mahringer, C.A., Metzger, P., & Renzl, B. (2016). Medicus Adaptabilis – Wenn Fachwissen alleine nicht mehr ausreichend ist. Zeitschrift für Führung und Personalmanagement in der Gesundheitswirtschaft, 2(3), 48-56.
Books and book chapters
- Renzl, B., Gäckle, D., Mahringer, C.A. (In Press). Agility. In Grossmann-Hensel, B., Jarzabkowski, P., Kratochvil, R., Seidl, D., Spee, P., Whittington, R. (Eds.). Elgar encyclopedia of strategy as practice. Edward Elgar.
- Danner-Schröder, A., Mahringer, C.A., Sele, K. (In Press). Routine dynamics. In Grossmann-Hensel, B., Jarzabkowski, P., Kratochvil, R., Seidl, D., Spee, P., Whittington, R. (Eds.). Elgar encyclopedia of strategy as practice. Edward Elgar.
- Leybold, M., Mahringer, C.A. (In Press). Social media. In Grossmann-Hensel, B., Jarzabkowski, P., Kratochvil, R., Seidl, D., Spee, P., Whittington, R. (Eds.). Elgar encyclopedia of strategy as practice. Edward Elgar.
- Brakemeier, M., Mahringer, C.A. & Renzl, B. (2022). Wie können organisationale Routinen Intrapreneurship nachhaltig fördern? In Kraus, R., Kreitenweis, T. & Jeraj, B. (Eds.). Intrapreneurship – Unternehmergeist, Systeme und Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten (pp. 61-75). Berlin: Springer.
- Mahringer, C.A., & Pentland, B.T. (2021). Sequence Analysis in Routine Dynamics. In Feldman, M.S., Pentland, P.T., D’Adderio, L., Dittrich, K., Rerup, C. & Seidl, D. (Eds.), Cambridge Handbook of Routine Dynamics (pp. 172-183). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Mahringer, C.A. (2019). Exploring routine ecologies – A characterization and integration of different perspectives on routines. Dissertation. Stuttgart: University of Stuttgart.
- Mahringer, C.A., & Renzl, B. (2015). Internationale Personalentsendungen als strategischer Erfolgsfaktor. In Urnik, S. & Pfeil, W. (Eds.). "Internationale Personalentsendungen": Chancen und Risiken aus Management- und Rechtsperspektive (pp. 1-26). Wien: Manz.
