Staff profile

Professor Tyrone Pitsis is Professor of Strategy &Technology at Durham University Business School. 

He is the Director of the Centre for Innovation and Technology Management at Durham University.

He is currently external examiner at Oxford University's Said Business School (2020-2023)

Tyrone is also a member of the UKRI's Future Leaders Fellowships (FLF) Peer Review College (PRC).

He is currently co-guest Editor-in-Chief of The Academy of Management Learning & Education (4*).

He joined Durham in 2018 from Leeds University where he was Pro-Dean of the Faculty of Business. Tyrone was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of New South Wales (BSoc.Sc. Honours, majoring in Psychology) and PhD (Management) from The University of Technology, Sydney. He was previously Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour at The University of Technology, Sydney. He has also held appointments at The University of Sydney; EDHEC; and Newcastle University.

He has held several strategic leadership positions including Chair of the Practice Theme Committee of the Academy of Management, Academic Advisor to The International Association for Contract and Commercial Management, and chair of the Academy of Management’s New Doctoral Theme Committee. He has also served on expert panels such as the Awards Committee for Australian Institute of Project Management, and Oxford University’s Expert Panel on Benefits Realisation of ICT Projects in the National Health Service. He is also an assessor on the Newton Foundation grant scheme and ESRC international projects. In 2016 Tyrone was awarded The Practice Theme Committee of the Academy of Management leadership award for his contribution to leadership in promoting AOM’s strategic aims of promoting and recognizing the impact AOM’s members make through their scholarship and in enhancing scholarly/practitioner collaboration and engagement at AOM.

Professor Pitsis publishes in several FT top 50 journals including Organization Science, Organization Studies, Human Relations, Journal of Business Ethics, and other high-quality outlets such as California Management Review, Long Range Planning,Journal of Management Inquiry, Management Learning, European Management Journal, International Journal of Project Management and Project Management Journal.  He is also founding editor of the new SAGE/IACCM Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiations, and currently guest editor of The Academy of Management Learning and Education . He also has published critically acclaimed texts (the latest being Clegg, Kornberger, Pitsis and Mount (due 2019) Managing and Organizations, 5^th Edition, Cal.:Sage). He has been recipient of a number of best paper awards at major conferences including the Emerald Science Citation of Excellence award.

Tyrone has held several large research grants funded by the Australian Research Council and has supervised several PhD students to completion from Australia, Germany, India and USA in the area of innovation, power, creativity and collaboration.

He is a sought-after speaker and workshop facilitator using design thinking and has worked with several public/private and third sector organizations in assisting them in strategy formulation. This has included, The Australian Air Force, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, PwC, Reserve Bank of India, Sevcon, National Health Service, DELFT University just to name a few.

Students interested in a PhD should contact Professor Pitsis via email.

Mini Biography

Other appointments

Oxford University, Said Business School, External Examiner (2020-Current)

Member of the UKRI's Future Leaders Fellowships (FLF) Peer Review College (PRC)

Short Bio:

I study and write about ideas and creativity, and how these are transformed into usable and valuable products or services (i.e., innovation), with an emphasis on design inspired and creative methods used for strategy formulation. The context of my research is on innovation through complex forms of collaboration (for example, mega-projects), with a core focus on creative processes.

Awards and recognition:

• Fellow of the World Commerce & Contracting (www.iaccm.com)
• 2019 Human Relations Paper of the Year Award
• 2019 MOC Division of the Academy of Management: Outstanding Reviewer Award
• The Emerald Science Citation of Excellence Award

Roles

Director - The Centre for Innovation & Technology Management

Member of the UKRI's Future Leaders Fellowships (FLF) Peer Review College (PRC)

External Examiner, Oxford University

• complex transformational projects
• Innovation
• Prototyping and Design Thinking
• Creativity and ideas
• Technology and social impact
• Complex forms of collaboration

• Innovation and Technology Management
• Management & Marketing Department

• 2020: Co-Guest Editor, AMLE: Guest editor of thee Academy of Management Learning and Education journal (4*)
• 2019: Fellow of World Commerce and Contracting: Elected fellow of World Commerce & Contracting: The largest and most prestigious association representing strategic commercial management, negotiations and contracting.
• 0000: Chair of the Strategic Management Society Conference : Co-Chair of the SMS Specialised Conference at University of California, Berkeley, Haas.

Authored book

• Clegg, S. R., Kornberger, M., Pitsis, T. S. & Mount, M. (2018). Managing and Organizations: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Sage.
• Clegg, S. R., Kornberger, M. & Pitsis, T. S. (2016). Managing and Organizations: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
• Pitsis, T. S., Simpson, A., & Dehlin, E (2014). The Handbook of Organizational and Managerial Innovation. New Jersey: Edward-Elgar.

Chapter in book

• Zaman, T., Mount, M., Pitsis, T. S., O’Connor, R. & Dean, S. (2018). A Socio-Cognitive Model of Innovation Adoption and Implementation. In Cognition and Innovation. Sund, K. J., Galavan, R. & Brusoni, S. Emerald Group Publishing. 3.
• Pitsis, T. S. (2018). Leadership. In The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology. Ritzer, G. Blackwell.
• Pitsis, TS, Clegg, SR,, Marosszeky, M, & Rura-Polley, T (2014). Constructing the Olympic Dream: A Future Perfect Strategy of Project Management. In Megaproject Planning and Management: Essential Readings. Flyvbjerg, B Edward Elgar. vols. 1-2 574 - 590.
• Clegg, S. R., Bjorkeng, K., & Pitsis, T. S (2011). Innovating the practice of control. In The Oxford Handbook of Project Management. Morris. P.W.G., Pinto, J.K. & Soderlund, J Oxford University Press: Oxford.
• Carlsen, A. & Pitsis, T. S. (2009). Experiencing hope in organizational life. In Exploring Positive Identities and Organizations: Building a Theoretical and Research Foundation. J. E. Dutton & L. M. Roberts New York: Psychology Press.
• Carlsen, A., & Pitsis, T. S. (2008). Projects for Life: Building Narrative Capital for Positive Organizational Change. In Handbook of Organizational and Managerial Wisdom. Kessler, E & Bailey,J Sage.
• Pitsis, T. S. (2007). Positive Psychology at Work. In International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies. Clegg, S. R & Bailey, J Sage.
• Pitsis, T. S (2007). Theory X, Y, and Z. In International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies. Clegg S. R. & Bailey, J. Sage.
• Josserand, E., & Pitsis, T. S. (2007). Interorganizational Collaboration and Alliances. In International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies. Clegg, S. R & Bailey, J Sage.
• Clegg, S. R., Kornberger, M., & Pitsis, T. (2007). McDonaldization. In Organization Science. Ybema, S & Bijlsma-Frankema, K Sage. 48-50.
• Clegg, S. R., Kornberger, M., & Pitsis, T (2007). Whose meaning? In Organization Science. Sierk Ybema, S, & Bijlsma-FrankemaK Sage. 48-50.
• Clegg, S. R., Kornberger, M., & Pitsis, T. (2007). Conformance and obedience and groupthink. In Organization Science. Ybema, S & Bijlsma-Frankema, K Sage. 48-50.
• Anandakumar, A., & Pitsis, T (2007). Everybody hurts, sometimes: The Language of Emotionality and the Dysfunctional Organization. In Dysfunctions in Organizational Behaviour. Langan-Fox, J & Cooper, C. L Sage.
• Clegg, S. R., Kornberger, M., & Pitsis, T (2007). Managing power and politics in organisations. In Organization Science. Ybema, S & Bijlsma-Frankema, K Sage. 478-496.
• Clegg, S. R., & Pitsis, T. S. (2007). The Art of Alliancing: From Imperative Control to Concerted or Collaborative Coordination. In How Organisations Connect: Investing in Communication. Ville,S, Boyce, G & Macintyre,S Palgrave. Melbourne. Melb University Press.
• Clegg, S. R.,, Pitsis, T. S., & Marosszeky, M. (2006). Making the future perfect? Constructing the Olympic Dream. In Making Projects Critical. Hodgson D Palgrave: London.

Conference Paper

• Savaget, P. & Pitsis, T.S. (2022), Towards a Theory of Ecosystem Catalyst, 22: 82nd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Seattle, WA, Academy of Management.
• Golding, C., Pitsis, T. S. & Mount, M. (2022), How fear can affect the pursuit of novel technologies in incumbent firms, 2022: 82nd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Seattle, WA, Academy of Management.

Edited Journal

• Haley, U. C. V, Cooper, Sir C. L, Hoffman, A. J & Pitsis, T. S (2023). Learning and Education Strategies for Scholarly Impact: Influencing Regulation, Policy and Society through Research. Academy of Management Learning & Education, Academy of Management.

Journal Article

• Haley, Usha, Cooper, Cary, Hoffman, Andrew, Pitsis, Tyrone & Greenberg, Danna (2022). From the Editors: In Search of Scholarly Impact. Academy of Management Learning & Education 21(3): 343-349.
• Carlsen, A. & Pitsis, T. S. (2020). We are projects: Narrative capital and meaning making in projects. Project Management Journal 51(4): 357-366.
• Mount, M, Round, H & Pitsis, T.S (2020). Design Thinking Inspired Crowdsourcing: Towards a generative model of complex problem-solving. California Management Review 62(3): 103-120.
• Mount, M., Clegg, S. R. & Pitsis, T. S. (2020). Conceptualizing the ‘de’–materializing characteristics of internal inclusion in crowdsourced open strategy. Long Range Planning 53(5): 101986.
• Carlsen, A., Clegg, S. R., Pitsis, T. S. & Mortensen, T. 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.
• Pitsis, T., Beckman,S., Steinert, M., Oviedo, L. & Maisch, B. (2020). Designing the future: strategy, design and the 4th Revolution: an introduction. California Management Review 62(2): 5-11.
• Håkonsen Coldevin, G., Carlsen, A., Clegg, S., Pitsis, T. & Antonacopoulou, E. (2019). Organizational creativity as idea work: Intertextual placing and legitimating imaginings in media development and oil exploration. Human Relations 72(8): 1369-1397.
• van Marrewijk, A., Ybema, S., Smits, K., Clegg, T. S. & Pitsis, T. S. (2016). Clash of the Titans: Temporal Organizing and Collaborative Dynamics in the Panama Canal Megaproject. Organization Studies 37(12): 1745-1769.
• Clegg, S., Josserand, E., Mehra, A. J. & Pitsis, T. S. (2016). The Transformative Power of Network Dynamics: A Research Agenda. Organization Studies 37(3): 277-291.
• Biesenthal, C., Sankaran, S., Pitsis, T. S. & Clegg, S. (2015). Temporality in Organization Studies: Implications for Strategic Project Management. Open Economics and Management Journal 2(Suppl 1: M7): 42-52.
• Pitsis, T. S., Sankaran, S., Gudergan, S. & Clegg, S. R. (2014). Governing Projects under complexity: Theory and practice in project management. International Journal of Project Management 32(3): 1285-1290.
• Simpson, A., Clegg, S. R. & Pitsis, T. S. (2014). “I Used to Care but Things Have Changed” A Genealogy of Compassion in Organizational Theory. Journal of Management Inquiry 23(4): 347-359.
• Simpson, A.V., Clegg, S.R. & Pitsis, T.S. (2014). Normal compassion: a framework for compassionate decision making. Journal of Business Ethics 119(4): 473-491.
• Clegg, S.R., Jarvis, W. & Pitsis, T.S. (2013). Making strategy matter: Social theory, knowledge interests and business education. Business History 55(7): 1247-1264.
• Nikolova, N., Fox, S., Clegg, S., Bjorkeng, K. & Pitsis, T.S. (2013). Uncertainty Reduction Through Everyday Performative Language Work: The Case of Coaching. International Studies in Management and Organization 43(3): 74-89.
• Chelliah, J. & Pitsis, T. S. (2010). Power Sharing in Progressive Discipline: New Rules of Engagement Arising from an Australian Perspective. Contemporary Management Review 6(2): 91-110.
• Pitsis, T.S. & Gudergan, S. (2010). Know How? Challenges in knowledge and innovation management in alliances: an introduction. International Journal of Knowledge Management Studies 4(2): 109-113.
• Bjørkeng, K., Pitsis, T. S. & Clegg, S. R (2009). Becoming a Practice. Management Learning 40(2): 145-159.
• van Marrewijk, A., Clegg, S.R., Pitsis, T.S. & Veenswijk, M. (2008). Managing public-private megaprojects: paradoxes, complexity, and project design. International Journal of Project Management 26(6): 561-600.
• Pitsis, T. S. & Clegg, S. R (2006). Managerial Wisdom. Leadership Excellence 23(10): 2-20.
• Pitsis, T. S., Clegg, S. R. & Kornberger, M (2004). The Art of Managing Relationships in interorganizational Collaboration. Management 7(3): 47-67.
• Josserand, E., Clegg, S.R., Kornberger, M. & Pitsis, T.S (2004). Friends or foes? Practicing collaboration - an introduction. Management 7(3): 37-45.
• Pitsis, T.S., Clegg, S.R., Marosszeky, M. & Rura-Polley, T. (2003). Constructing the Olympic dream: A future perfect strategy of project management. Organization Science 14(5): 574 - 590.
• Clegg, S.R., Pitsis, T.S., Rura-Polley, T. & Marosszeky, M. (2002). Governmentality matters: designing an alliance culture of inter-organizational collaboration for managing projects. Organization Studies 23(3): 317-337.

Report

• Haley, U., Page, M. C., Pitsis, T. S., Rivas, H. L. & Yu, F. K. (2017). Measuring and achieving impact. Report from the Academy of Management's Practice Theme Committee. Academy of Management.
• Lundberg, M. Simpson, A, & Pitsis, T. S. (2011). ISIS: Draft report on methods and tools for facilitating business transformations. Creative Industries Innovation Centre.
• Nikolova, N., Pitsis, T. S., Kornberger, M, & Clegg, S. R. (2011). Report on the process of Business Review Processes in the Creative Industries. Enterprise Connect.
• Green, R. Lyenage, S. Pitsis, T., Kemenis, S., & Agarwal, A (2010). Report into Developing Managerial and Entrepreneurial talent. OECD.