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Victor Seidel

  • Professor
  • Metropoulos Term Chair in Innovation Management
Academic Division: Operations and Information Management
CV
781-239-4339
See above CV link for current c.v.

Victor Seidel researches topics in technology and innovation management, with an emphasis on the evolving nature of the design process. He focuses on how managers, from those running start-ups to those in large R&D organizations, can best navigate from initial concept to final innovation. Increasingly, his work investigates how design teams use online communities as sources of continuous innovation.

He completed his undergraduate engineering degree at Cornell, an MBA at Cambridge and Ph.D. at Stanford. Prior to academia, he spent ten years with IBM Microelectronics where he developed several patented semiconductor device innovations, managed the business planning department for a billion-dollar division within IBM, and expanded the product marketing organization in Europe.

A dual British-American citizen, he was a founding academic director of the entrepreneurship and innovation center at Oxford's Said Business School, where he continues to serve as a visiting scholar. In addition to his position at Babson, he is a TECH Innovation Associate of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. His areas of teaching include Technology and Innovation Management and Product Design and Development.

Academic Degrees

  • Ph D, Stanford University
  • MBA, Cambridge University
  • BS, Cornell University

Academic Interest / Expertise

Product design and development; online design communities

Publications

Journal Articles

  • Gillier, T., Seidel, V.P., Kazakci, A., Piat, G. (2024). Crafting future innovations: The network structure of ideas for visionary product concepts. Academy of Management Discoveries. link
  • Pham, C., Seidel, V.P. (2023). How innovation teams reframe problems across two dimensions of a design space. Academy of Management Proceedings. Vol: 2023, Issue: 1, Page: 11733. link
  • Riedl, C., Seidel, V.P., Woolley, A.W., Kane, G.C. (2020). Make your crowd smart: Tailoring crowdsourcing based on the complexity of the innovation challenge. MIT Sloan Management Review. Vol: 61, Issue: 4, Page: 4. link
  • Seidel, V.P., Hannigan, T.R., Phillips, N. (2020). Rumor communities, social media, and forthcoming innovations: The shaping of technological frames in product market evolution. Academy of Management Review. Vol: 45, Issue: 2, Page: 304-324. link
  • Seidel, V.P., Fixson, S.K., Marion, T.J. (2020). Innovating how to learn design thinking, making, and innovation: Incorporating multiple modes in teaching the innovation process. INFORMS Transactions on Education. Vol: 20, Issue: 2, Page: 73-84. link
  • Riedl, C., Seidel, V.P. (2018). Learning from mixed signals in online innovation communities. Organization Science. Vol: 29, Issue: 6, Page: 1010-1032. link
  • Hannigan, T.R., Seidel, V.P., Yakis-Douglas, B. (2018). Product innovation rumors as forms of open innovation. Research Policy. Vol: 47, Issue: 5, Page: 953-964. link
  • Seidel, V.P., Langner, B., Sims, J.P. (2017). Dominant Communities and Dominant Designs: Community-Based Innovation in the Context of the Technology Life Cycle. Strategic Organization. Vol: 15, Issue: 2, Page: 220-241. Sage. link
  • Sims, J.P., Seidel, V.P. (2017). Organizations coupled with communities: The strategic effects on firms engaged in community-coupled open innovation. Industrial and Corporate Change. Vol: 26, Issue: 4, Page: 647-665. Oxford University Press. link
  • Seidel, V.P., Packalen, K.A., O'Mahony, S. (2016). Help me do it on my own: How entrepreneurs manage autonomy and constraint within incubator organizations. Research in the Sociology of Organizations. Vol: 47, Page: 275-307. Emerald Group Publishing. link
  • Langner, B., Seidel, V.P. (2015). Sustaining the Flow of External Ideas: The Role of Dual Social Identity across Communities and Organizations. Journal of Product Innovation Management. Vol: 32, Issue: 4, Page: 522-538. Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc.. link
  • Seidel, V.P., Langner, B. (2015). Using an online community for vehicle design: Project variety and motivations to participate. Industrial and Corporate Change. Vol: 24, Issue: 3, Page: 635-653. Oxford University Press. link
  • Seidel, V.P., O’Mahony, S. (2014). Managing the Repertoire: Stories, Metaphors, Prototypes, and Concept Coherence in Product Innovation. Organization Science. Vol: 25, Issue: 3, Page: 691-712. link
  • Seidel, V.P., Fixson, S.K. (2013). Adopting Design Thinking in Novice Multidisciplinary Teams: The Application and Limits of Design Methods and Reflexive Practices. Journal of Product Innovation Management. Vol: 30, Issue: S1, Page: 19-33. Wiley. link

Book Chapters

  • Fixson, S.K., Seidel, V.P., Bailey, J. (2015). Creating Space for Innovation: The Role of a "Design Zone" within a Business School: Evolving Entrepreneurial Education: Innovation in the Babson Classroom. Page: 217-234. Emerald Publishing.
  • Seidel, V.P., Fixson, S.K. (2015). Design Thinking for Non-Designers: A Guide for Team Training and Implementation: Design Thinking: New Product Development Essentials from the PDMA. Page: 143-155. Wiley.

Book Reviews

  • Seidel, V.P. (2014). Review of "The Pirate Organization: Lessons from the Fringes of Capitalism" by Durand and Vergne: Administrative Science Quarterly. Vol: 59, Issue: 3, Page: 31-34. Sage Publications, Inc.. link

Conference Proceedings

  • Riedl, C., Seidel, V.P. (2016). Design myopia and vicarious learning from good versus bad examples in creative design competitions: Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings. Vol: 2016, Issue: 1. Academy of Management.
  • Marion, T.J., Fixson, S.K., Seidel, V.P. (2013). Teaching Innovation: It's not the Course, it's the Curriculum: Proceedings of the 20th International Product Development Management Conference.

Presentations

  • How innovation teams reframe problems across two dimensions of a design space Pham, C. Seidel, V. Academy of Management, Boston (2023)
  • Visualizing creative processes Seidel, V. Academy of Management, Boston (2023)
  • How innovation teams reframe problems across two dimensions of a design space Pham, C. Seidel, V. Innovation and Product Development Management Conference, Lecco (2023)
  • How innovation teams reframe problems across two dimensions of a design space Pham, C. Seidel, V. Babson Faculty Research Seminar, Babson College (2023)
  • How creative versus technical constraints affect exploring a design space: Evidence from an online innovation community Seidel, V. Riedl, C. Babson Faculty Research Seminar, Babson College (2022)
  • Designing and integrating a makerspace across the curriculum: Lessons from Babson Seidel, V. RMIT University Learning & Teaching Seminar Series, Melbourne, Australia (2022)
  • Publishing a theory paper from your dissertation: Lessons from the process at Academy of Management Review Seidel, V. RMIT University Higher-Degree by Research (HDR) Seminar Series, Melbourne, Australia (2022)
  • How creative versus technical constraints affect exploring a design space: Evidence from an online innovation community Seidel, V. Riedl, C. RMIT University Distinguished Research Seminar, Melbourne, Australia (2022)
  • The politics of forthcoming innovations: Shaping meaning within organizations and across communities Seidel, V. Journal of Product Innovation Management - Idea Development Conference, Virtual (2021)
  • How creative versus technical constraints affect exploring a design space Seidel, V. Riedl, C. Academy of Management, Virtual (2021)
  • Finishing Your Dissertation and Finding a Job from Home Seidel, V. Academy of Management, Doctoral Consortium, Virtual (2021)
  • How creative versus technical constraints affect exploring a design space Seidel, V. Riedl, C. European Group for Organisation Studies, Amsterdam (Virtual) (2021)
  • How creative versus technical constraints affect exploring a design space Seidel, V. Riedl, C. Innovation and Product Development Management Conference, Milan (Virtual) (2021)
  • The contingent effects of creative and technical constraints on creative design performance improvement: Evidence from an online innovation platform Seidel, V. Riedl, C. Oxford Platform Economy Seminar, Oxford University (Virtual) (2020)
  • A simple design exercise for a crowdsourcing platform Seidel, V. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Vancouver (Virtual) (2020)
  • How can leading creative work tap into smart crowds? Riedl, C. Seidel, V. Woolley , A. Kane, G. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Vancouver (Virtual) (2020)
  • Lessons from building a three-college collaboratory makerspace Seidel, V. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Vancouver (Virtual) (2020)
  • Ethical Leadership of Innovation by Drawing from the Past: Comparing Perspectives from Plato, Aristotle, and Machiavelli Seidel, V. Innovation and Product Development Management Conference, Antwerp, Belgium (Virtual) (2020)
  • Representations, competencies, and identity: How incumbent innovation teams use process and product representations when market logics shift Cattaneo, G. Seidel, V. West Coast Research Symposium, Stanford University (2019)
  • Rumor communities, social media, and forthcoming innovations Seidel, V. Lazaridis Institute, Wilfred Laurier University, Wilfred Laurier Unviersity (2019)
  • Rumor communities, social media, and forthcoming innovations Seidel, V. Boston College Doctoral Seminar, Boston College (2019)
  • Rumor communities, social media, and forthcoming innovations Seidel, V. UMass Boston, Organizations and Social Change Seminar, UMass Boston (2019)
  • Resolving ambiguity through symbolic representations: How innovation teams respond to organizational identity threats Cattaneo, G. Seidel, V. Organization Science Winter Conference, Phoenix (2019)
  • Innovating How We Teach Innovation: Simulations, Collaboration Labs, and Online Education Seidel, V. Fixson, S. Marion, T. Academy of Management Meeting, Chicago (2018)
  • Resolving ambiguity through symbolic representations: How product development teams respond to organizational identity threats Cattaneo, G. Seidel, V. 24th Innovation and Product Development Conference, Reykjavik (2017)
  • Convergence of Physical and Digital Innovation Processes Fixson, S. Bailey, J. Seidel, V. Mancha, R. Iyer, B. Production and Operations Management Society (POMS), Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA (2017)
  • Design myopia and vicarious learning from good versus bad examples: Evidence from creative design competitions Riedl, C. Seidel, V. Organization Science Winter Conference, Park City (2017)
  • Innovating How We Teach Innovation Seidel, V. Fixson, S. Marion, T. 2016 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Anaheim, California (2016)
  • The network structure of ideas and the evolutionary synthesis of breakthrough product concepts Gillier, T. Kazakci, A. Seidel, V. Piat, G. 2016 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Anaheim, California (2016)
  • Design Myopia and Vicarious Learning from Good versus Bad Examples: Evidence from Creative Design Competitions Riedl, C. Seidel, V. Copenhagen 20th Anniversary DRUID Innovation Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark (2016)
  • Learning Curves for Design Seidel, V. Mines Paris Tech Design & Innovation Seminar, Paris France (2016)
  • Using an Online Community for Vehicle Design: Project Variety and Motivations to Participate Seidel, V. Langner, B. 2015 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Vancouver (2015)
  • Creating Space for Innovation: The Babson Design Zone 125 Fixson, S. Seidel, V. Bailey, J. Academy of Management Annual Meeting`, Vancouver, BC (2015)
  • Innovating how we teach innovation: experiments with new forms of courses and curricula Fixson, S. Marion, T. Seidel, V. 2014 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Phialdelphia, PA (2014)
  • Taking the eyes off the prize: Recreational labor in innovation contests Seidel, V. Langner, B. Farchi, T. 2014 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Phialdelphia, PA (2014)
  • Network text analysis and the pre-history of a product market Seidel, V. Hannigan, T. Ventresca, M. Boston College: Winston Center seminar series, Chestnut Hill, MA (2014)
  • Competing with friends: A field study of community-based innovation contests at Threadless and Local Motors Seidel, V. Langner, B. 2013 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Orlando, FL (2013)
  • Creating positive social identity in firm-hosted innovation contests Seidel, V. Langner, B. 2013 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Orlando, FL (2013)
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