Skip to menu Skip to content Skip to footer
Honorary Professor Tyrone Pitsis
Honorary Professor

Tyrone Pitsis

Email: 

Overview

Background

Professor Pitsis is a globally renowned expert in the strategic design and management of complex and high-risk projects. These projects range from Olympic infrastructure, deep tech quantum computing, and, most recently, AI adoption and its role in decision-making under extreme conditions. He is an ideal person to speak on making the impossible possible, and the strategic and managerial constraints of opportunities of engaging and investing in high-risk, but high-reward, projects.

He is the recipient of several awards for his research, including the Emerald Science Citation of Excellence and, Sage Paper of the Year award for Human Relations. Most recently, he and his co-authors were Finalists for the 2025 Responsible Research in Management Award, co-sponsored by the Academy of Management Fellows Group and the Community for Responsible Research in Business and Management (RRBM) at The Academy of Management Annual Conference for their research on ColaLife, a temporary organisation that successfully eradicated childhood mortality due to diarrhoea in Zambia.

He has published in several FT50 and other highly regarded academic and practitioner journals (including Academy of Management Learning and Education, Organization Science, Organization Studies, Long Range Planning, Journal of Management Studies, Human Relations, California Management Review, amongst others. He is also a co-author of critically acclaimed and best-selling texts in management and innovation.

He has appeared on radio (ABC) and television (BBC), in addition to podcasts. He has also provided strategic advice and leadership development for several major projects and organisations, including the Royal Air Force (Plan Astra), Royal Australian Air Force (Air Force Improvement Program), Reserve Bank of Australia, Reserve Bank of India, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, BorgWarner (Sevcon), TNT, KONNE, just to name a few.

Availability

Honorary Professor Tyrone Pitsis is:
Available for supervision

Research interests

  • The Study of Rare and Risky Projects

    I research and advise of the strategic design and management of complex, highly risky and projects that rely on rare resources and capabilties. My projects vary from deep technology (Quntum), and AI, all the way to complex medical and social change projects.

Works

Search Professor Tyrone Pitsis’s works on UQ eSpace

38 works between 2002 and 2025

1 - 20 of 38 works

2025

Journal Article

Social entrepreneurs as ecosystem catalysts: the dynamics of forming and withdrawing from a self‐sustaining ecosystem

Savaget, Paulo, Ozcan, Pinar and Pitsis, Tyrone (2025). Social entrepreneurs as ecosystem catalysts: the dynamics of forming and withdrawing from a self‐sustaining ecosystem. Journal of Management Studies, 62 (1), 246-278. doi: 10.1111/joms.13055

Social entrepreneurs as ecosystem catalysts: the dynamics of forming and withdrawing from a self‐sustaining ecosystem

2022

Journal Article

In search of scholarly impact

Haley, Usha C. V., Cooper, Cary L., Hoffman, Andrew J., Pitsis, Tyrone S. and Greenberg, Danna (2022). In search of scholarly impact. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 21 (3), 343-349. doi: 10.5465/amle.2022.0327

In search of scholarly impact

2022

Conference Publication

How fear can affect the pursuit of novel technologies in incumbent firms

Golding, Christopher, Pitsis, Tyrone and Mount, Matthew (2022). How fear can affect the pursuit of novel technologies in incumbent firms. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, United States, 5-9 August 2022. Briarcliff Manor, NY, United States: Academy of Management. doi: 10.5465/ambpp.2022.17110abstract

How fear can affect the pursuit of novel technologies in incumbent firms

2020

Journal Article

From ideas of power to the powering of ideas in organizations: reflections from Follett and Foucault

Carlsen, Arne, Clegg, Stewart R., Pitsis, Tyrone S. and Mortensen, Tord F. (2020). From ideas of power to the powering of ideas in organizations: reflections from Follett and Foucault. European Management Journal, 38 (6), 829-835. doi: 10.1016/j.emj.2020.03.006

From ideas of power to the powering of ideas in organizations: reflections from Follett and Foucault

2020

Journal Article

Conceptualizing the de–materializing characteristics of internal inclusion in crowdsourced open strategy

Mount, Matthew P., Clegg, Stewart R. and Pitsis, Tyrone S. (2020). Conceptualizing the de–materializing characteristics of internal inclusion in crowdsourced open strategy. Long Range Planning, 53 (5) 101986, 1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.lrp.2020.101986

Conceptualizing the de–materializing characteristics of internal inclusion in crowdsourced open strategy

2020

Journal Article

Identifying the antecedents of megaproject crises in China

Wang, Aimin and Pitsis, Tyrone S. (2020). Identifying the antecedents of megaproject crises in China. International Journal of Project Management, 38 (6), 327-339. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2019.05.003

Identifying the antecedents of megaproject crises in China

2020

Journal Article

We are projects: narrative capital and meaning making in projects

Carlsen, Arne and Pitsis, Tyrone S. (2020). We are projects: narrative capital and meaning making in projects. Project Management Journal, 51 (4), 357-366. doi: 10.1177/8756972820929479

We are projects: narrative capital and meaning making in projects

2020

Journal Article

Design thinking inspired crowdsourcing: toward a generative model of complex problem solving

Mount, Matthew, Round, Heather and Pitsis, Tyrone S. (2020). Design thinking inspired crowdsourcing: toward a generative model of complex problem solving. California Management Review, 62 (3), 103-120. doi: 10.1177/0008125620918626

Design thinking inspired crowdsourcing: toward a generative model of complex problem solving

2020

Journal Article

Designing the Future: Strategy, Design, and the 4th Industrial Revolution—An Introduction to the Special Issue

Pitsis, Tyrone S., Beckman, Sara L., Steinert, Martin, Oviedo, Luciano and Maisch, Bettina (2020). Designing the Future: Strategy, Design, and the 4th Industrial Revolution—An Introduction to the Special Issue. California Management Review, 62 (2), 5-11. doi: 10.1177/0008125620907163

Designing the Future: Strategy, Design, and the 4th Industrial Revolution—An Introduction to the Special Issue

2019

Journal Article

Organizational creativity as idea work: Intertextual placing and legitimating imaginings in media development and oil exploration

Håkonsen Coldevin, Grete, Carlsen, Arne, Clegg, Stewart, Pitsis, Tyrone S and Antonacopoulou, Elena P (2019). Organizational creativity as idea work: Intertextual placing and legitimating imaginings in media development and oil exploration. Human Relations, 72 (8), 1369-1397. doi: 10.1177/0018726718806349

Organizational creativity as idea work: Intertextual placing and legitimating imaginings in media development and oil exploration

2016

Journal Article

Clash of the Titans: Temporal Organizing and Collaborative Dynamics in the Panama Canal Megaproject

van Marrewijk, Alfons, Ybema, Sierk, Smits, Karen, Clegg, Stewart and Pitsis, Tyrone (2016). Clash of the Titans: Temporal Organizing and Collaborative Dynamics in the Panama Canal Megaproject. Organization Studies, 37 (12), 1745-1769. doi: 10.1177/0170840616655489

Clash of the Titans: Temporal Organizing and Collaborative Dynamics in the Panama Canal Megaproject

2016

Journal Article

The Transformative Power of Network Dynamics: A Research Agenda

Clegg, Stewart, Josserand, Emmanuel, Mehra, Ajay and Pitsis, Tyrone S. (2016). The Transformative Power of Network Dynamics: A Research Agenda. Organization Studies, 37 (3), 277-291. doi: 10.1177/0170840616629047

The Transformative Power of Network Dynamics: A Research Agenda

2015

Journal Article

Temporality in organization studies: implications for strategic project management

Biesenthal, Christopher, Sankaran, Shankar, Pitsis, Tyrone and Clegg, Stewart (2015). Temporality in organization studies: implications for strategic project management. Open Economics and Management Journal, 2 (Suppl 1: M7), 45-52. doi: 10.2174/2352630001502010045

Temporality in organization studies: implications for strategic project management

2014

Journal Article

Governing projects under complexity: Theory and practice in project management

Pitsis, Tyrone S., Sankaran, Shankar, Gudergan, Siegfried and Clegg, Stewart R. (2014). Governing projects under complexity: Theory and practice in project management. International Journal of Project Management, 32 (8), 1285-1290. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2014.09.001

Governing projects under complexity: Theory and practice in project management

2014

Journal Article

“I Used to Care but Things Have Changed”: A Genealogy of Compassion in Organizational Theory

Simpson, Ace V., Clegg, Stewart and Pitsis, Tyrone (2014). “I Used to Care but Things Have Changed”: A Genealogy of Compassion in Organizational Theory. Journal of Management Inquiry, 23 (4), 347-359. doi: 10.1177/1056492614521895

“I Used to Care but Things Have Changed”: A Genealogy of Compassion in Organizational Theory

2014

Journal Article

Normal Compassion: A Framework for Compassionate Decision Making

Simpson, Ace Volkmann, Clegg, Stewart and Pitsis, Tyrone (2014). Normal Compassion: A Framework for Compassionate Decision Making. Journal of Business Ethics, 119 (4), 473-491. doi: 10.1007/s10551-013-1831-y

Normal Compassion: A Framework for Compassionate Decision Making

2014

Journal Article

Doing compassion or doing discipline? Power relations and the Magdalene Laundries

Simpson, A. V., Clegg, S. R., Lopes, M. P., e Cunha, M. P., Rego, A. and Pitsis, T. (2014). Doing compassion or doing discipline? Power relations and the Magdalene Laundries. Journal of Political Power, 7 (2), 253-274. doi: 10.1080/2158379X.2014.927684

Doing compassion or doing discipline? Power relations and the Magdalene Laundries

2013

Journal Article

Uncertainty reduction through everyday performative language work

Nikolova, Natalia, Clegg, Stewart, Fox, Stephen, Bjørkeng, Kjersti and Pitsis, Tyrone (2013). Uncertainty reduction through everyday performative language work. International Studies of Management and Organization, 43 (3), 74-89. doi: 10.2753/IMO0020-8825430305

Uncertainty reduction through everyday performative language work

2013

Book

Handbook of organizational and managerial innovation

Pitsis, Tyrone S., Simpson, Ace and Dehlin, Erlend (2013). Handbook of organizational and managerial innovation. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.. doi: 10.4337/9781781005873

Handbook of organizational and managerial innovation

2013

Journal Article

Making strategy matter: Social theory, knowledge interests and business education

Clegg, Stewart R., Jarvis, Walter P. and Pitsis, Tyrone S. (2013). Making strategy matter: Social theory, knowledge interests and business education. Business History, 55 (7), 1247-1264. doi: 10.1080/00076791.2013.838033

Making strategy matter: Social theory, knowledge interests and business education

Supervision

Availability

Honorary Professor Tyrone Pitsis is:
Available for supervision

Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.

Media

Enquiries

For media enquiries about Honorary Professor Tyrone Pitsis's areas of expertise, story ideas and help finding experts, contact our Media team:

communications@uq.edu.au