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Dr Sam MacAulay
Dr

Sam MacAulay

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Overview

Background

My research informs and transforms how we understand the strategic organisation of innovation. I do this through research addressing the foundations of strategy and innovation. Empirically, my research focuses on complex, project-based forms of organising commonly found in infrastructure, engineering, and resources, to develop better explanations for how organisations innovate and adapt. Scholars of strategy and innovation have traditionally paid less attention to these organisational forms. And yet they are a central feature of many economies, including Australia. Theoretically, my research makes contributions to The Behavioral Theory of the Firm (e.g. developing new, more socialised models of organisational search and innovation), the Resource-based View of the Firm (e.g. how engineering and design can be used to protect innovation knowledge from imitation), and Project Organising (e.g. developing new frameworks for managing innovation in projects). I am currently bringing this research together to study the innovation in the context of artificial intelligence used in medical imaging with colleagues at UQ's ARC Training Centre for Innovation in Biomedical Imaging Technology. My research has been published or is forthcoming in a wide variety of top journals ranging from MITSloan Management Review and the Academy of Management Review through to Transportation Research Part A and EMBO Reports.

Availability

Dr Sam MacAulay is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland

Research interests

  • The Organization of Innovation

    I study how innovation is shaped by organizational design, how new products and services are created, and the role of competition in knowledge production.

  • Carnegie School organizational theory

    My research here is twofold. I study how better socialized theories of organizational search can improve explanations of organizational adaptation and learning. And I am also branching out to study how organizational slack influences this process.

  • Construction, Infrastructure, and Mining

    Construction, infrastructure, and mining, have all traditionally received little attention in mainstream research on innovation, management, and strategy. I am doing research that tries to change this.

  • Project-based organizations

    My research investigates the strategic organization of project-based organisational forms, ranging from the delivery models of complex infrastructure projects through to service providers in mining.

Research impacts

I am passionate about doing research that has a positive impact on our economy and society. My research seeks to improve what we know about how organizations work. The hope is that by better understanding organizations, we'll be better equipped to understand why they function as they do, and thus make better decisions about how they should function.

Works

Search Professor Sam MacAulay’s works on UQ eSpace

30 works between 2008 and 2023

21 - 30 of 30 works

2014

Conference Publication

Organising innovation in temporary organizations: Preliminary findings and future research directions

MacAulay, Sam, Davies, Andrew and Dodgson, Mark (2014). Organising innovation in temporary organizations: Preliminary findings and future research directions. 30th EGOS Conference, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 3-5 July, 2014.

Organising innovation in temporary organizations: Preliminary findings and future research directions

2014

Conference Publication

Innovation strategy in temporary organizations

MacAulay, Sam, Davies, Andrew and Dodgson, Mark (2014). Innovation strategy in temporary organizations. Strategic Management Society Conference, Madrid, Spain, 22 September 2014.

Innovation strategy in temporary organizations

2014

Other Outputs

Productivity in mining: Now comes the hard part, a global survey

Mitchell, Paul, Bradbrook Michael, Higgins, Louise, Steen, John, Henderson, Chris, Kastelle, Tim, Moran, Chris, MacAulay, Sam and Kunz, Nadja (2014). Productivity in mining: Now comes the hard part, a global survey. Not available:

Productivity in mining: Now comes the hard part, a global survey

2012

Book Chapter

The past, present and future of social network analysis in the study of innovation

Steen, John and Macaulay, Sam (2012). The past, present and future of social network analysis in the study of innovation. Handbook on the knowledge economy. (pp. 216-238) edited by David Rooney, Greg Hearn and Tim Kastelle. Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar.

The past, present and future of social network analysis in the study of innovation

2012

Book Chapter

The past, present and future of social network analysis in the study of innovation

Steen, John and Macaulay, Sam (2012). The past, present and future of social network analysis in the study of innovation. Handbook on the knowledge economy. (pp. 216-237) Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing. doi: 10.4337/9781781005132.00023

The past, present and future of social network analysis in the study of innovation

2011

Journal Article

InnovationXchange: A case study in innovation intermediation

Håkanson, Lars, Caessens, Petra and Macaulay, Sam (2011). InnovationXchange: A case study in innovation intermediation. Innovation: Management, Policy and Practice, 13 (2), 261-274. doi: 10.5172/impp.2011.13.2.261

InnovationXchange: A case study in innovation intermediation

2011

Journal Article

Small worlds: The best network structure for innovation?

Steen, John, Macaulay, Sam and Kastelle, Tim (2011). Small worlds: The best network structure for innovation?. Prometheus, 29 (1), 39-50. doi: 10.1080/08109028.2011.567125

Small worlds: The best network structure for innovation?

2010

Conference Publication

A review and critique of the small worlds hypothesis: The best network structure for innovation

Steen, John, MacAulay, Sam and Kastelle, Tim (2010). A review and critique of the small worlds hypothesis: The best network structure for innovation. DRUID Summer Conference 2010: Opening Up Innovation: Strategy, Organization and Technology, London, United Kingdom, 16-18 June 2010. Copenhagen, Denmark: DRUID Society.

A review and critique of the small worlds hypothesis: The best network structure for innovation

2009

Conference Publication

How do people find knowledge in complex organizations? A process perspective on problemestic search

MacAulay, S. (2009). How do people find knowledge in complex organizations? A process perspective on problemestic search. DRUID Summer Conference 2009, Copenhagen, Denmark, 17-19 June, 2009. Copenhagen, Denmark: DRUID.

How do people find knowledge in complex organizations? A process perspective on problemestic search

2008

Book Chapter

New tools to map and manage innovation networks

Steen, J., MacAulay, S. and Kastelle, T. (2008). New tools to map and manage innovation networks. Inside the innovation matrix: Finding the hidden human dimensions. (pp. 83-95) edited by C. Evans. Sydney, NSW, Australia: Australian Business Foundation.

New tools to map and manage innovation networks

Funding

Past funding

  • 2016 - 2017
    The perception and management of uncertainty in megaprojects: the role of domain decisions
    Project Management Institute, Inc
    Open grant

Supervision

Availability

Dr Sam MacAulay is:
Available for supervision

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Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Disruptive innovation: How can it be valued and priced? A case of novel theranostics in oncology

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Lisette Pregelj, Dr Anna Jenkins

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Artificial intelligence in medical imaging: understanding the frames that influence the adoption and integration of new technology

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Anna Jenkins

  • Doctor Philosophy

    How to enhance the probability of success in a complex project via Risk Leadership

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Michael Collins

Media

Enquiries

Contact Dr Sam MacAulay directly for media enquiries about:

  • collaboration
  • management of innovation
  • megaprojects
  • organisational design
  • organizational design
  • research and development
  • social networks

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