Svenja Friess, M.Sc.
Former Research Fellow
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research
+49 89 24246-569
svenja.friess(at)ip.mpg.de
Areas of Interest:
Behavioral Foundations of Innovation, Organizational Economics, Inequality
Academic Résumé
Since 09/2024
Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute for Strategy, Technology and Organization, LMU Munich
Since 09/2020
Research Appointment at the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard (LISH), Harvard Business School
01/2022 - 06/2022
Visiting Scholar, Harvard University, Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard, Boston (MA), USA, Host: Karim R. Lakhani
07/2019 – 09/2024
Junior Research Fellow and Doctoral Candidate at Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition (Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research) and at the Munich Graduate School of Economics, LMU Munich.
Dissertation: “Behavioral Insights into Knowledge Work: Information Sourcing, Peer Dynamics, and Gender Disparities in Ideation“
07/2018 - 08/2018
Summer School, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
10/2016 - 03/2019
Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Economics, LMU Munich
08/2014 - 01/2015
Exchange Semester, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
10/2012 - 08/2016
Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Economics, Heidelberg University
Work Experience
02/2018 - 05/2019
Student Trainee, Webasto SE (Automotive Supplier, Departments: Corporate Strategy & Development, Global Business Development)
06/2017 - 03/2018
Graduate Research Assistant at the Social Sciences Experimental Lab (MELESSA), LMU Munich
04/2016 - 09/2016
Studentische Research Assistant, Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim
08/2015 - 10/2015
Internship, Deutsche Bank Research, Deutsche Bank AG
Honors, Scholarships, Academic Prizes
01/2022 - 05/2022
Fellow of the German-American Fulbright Commission (Fulbright Germany): doctoral scholarhip for a research visit at Harvard University
02/2013 - 03/2019
Fellow of the German National Academic Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes e.V., merit-based scholarship)
Publications
Contributions to Collected Editions
(2021). Women in Creative Labor: Inventors, Entrepreneurs and Academics, in: Ulla Weber (
Discussion Papers
(2025). Breaking the Ice: Can Early Peer Activity Enhance Platform Engagement and Persistence?, Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Research Paper, No. 25-09.
- How does peers’ early behavior foster cohort integration and prime future user engagement on digital knowledge exchange platforms, amplifying positive externalities of contributions? We analyze data from 12,000+ professionals participating in online upskilling across 36 cohorts to comprehend user engagement regarding general cohort activities and directed interactions. Leveraging quasi-random variation in initial user behaviors, we find that users receiving early comments or likes are more likely to engage and persist later on. NLP analyses reveal that receiving ‘elaborating and agreeing’-comments has the largest positive effect on outcomes. We further show that observing high levels of early peer activity positively impacts focal users’ future engagement of the same type. Our results highlight the benefits of encouraging individual member reciprocity versus cultivating shared norms for cohort interactions.
- Available at SSRN
(2023). Reputational Concerns and Advice-Seeking at Work, Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Research Paper, No. 23-17.
- We examine the impact of reputational concerns on seeking advice. While seeking can improve
performance, it may affect how others perceive the seeker's competence. In an online
experiment with white-collar professionals (N=2,521), we test how individuals navigate this
tradeoff and if others' beliefs about competence change it. We manipulate visibility of the
decision to seek and stereotypes about competence. Results show a sizable and inefficient
decline in advice-seeking when visible to a manager. Higher-order beliefs about competence
cannot mediate this inefficiency. We find no evidence that managers interpret advice-seeking
negatively, documenting a misconception that may hinder knowledge flows in organizations. - Available at SSRN
Presentations
25.10.2023
Unpacking Gender Gaps in Creative Performance – Experimental Evidence on the Role of Competition and Male-majority Environments
Behavioral Brown Bag Seminar, LMU
Location: Munich
19.09.2023
Harnessing the Power of Interactive Peers – Evidence form Online Learning Environments on Engagement and Performance
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Department Seminar
Location: Ringberg Castle
12.07.2023
Where Does the Gender Innovation Gap Arise? Idea Gen(d)eration, Selection or Evaluation
1st Organizational Economics Summer Symposium (OESS)
Location: Ohlstadt
16.06.2023
Peer Effects of Social Interactions in Online Education
Internal Research Seminar at Chair for Organizational Economics, LMU
Location: Munich
22.05.2023
Advice Seeking at Work: Stereotypes and Reputation Concerns
Concerns”, Internal Research Seminar at the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) – invited presentation
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
24.04.2023
Advice Seeking at Work: Stereotypes and Reputation Concerns
Internal Research Seminar at the Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST) – invited presentation
Location: Palaiseau, France
23.03.2023
Advice Seeking at Work: Stereotypes and Reputation Concerns
25th Colloquium for Personnel Economics (COPE)
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
27.02.2023
Where Does the Gender Innovation Gap Arise? Idea Gen(d)eration, Selection or Evaluation
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Department Seminar
Location: Frauenchiemsee
20.12.2022
Advice at Work: Reputation Concerns & Stereotypes
Research on Innovation, Science and Entrepreneurship Workshop (RISE5),
Location: Munich
08.12.2022
Advice at Work: Reputation Concerns & Stereotypes
Behavioral Brown Bag Seminar, LMU
Location: Munich
05.10.2022
Advice at Work: Reputation Concerns & Stereotypes
2nd Berlin Workshop on Public Economics: Gender Economics
Location: Berlin
24.06.2022
Can It Ever Hurt to Ask? Advice & Gender
LMU Munich’s Organizational Economics Chair Lunch
Location: Munich
16.06.2022
Can It Ever Hurt to Ask? Advice & Gender
Economic Science Association World Meeting
Location: Cambridge (MA), USA
11.06.2022
When does Diversity in Peer Interactions help Online Learning?
Strategy Science Conference
Location: New York City (NY), USA
10.12.2021
Digital Peer Interactions & Knowledge Transfers – Evidence from Online Business Education
Lunchtime Seminar, Organizational Economics Chair, LMU
Location: Munich
01.10.2021
Advice & Gender – First Pilot Data Evidence
Research Seminar
Location: Feldkirchen-Westerham
25.06.2021
Digital Peer Interactions & Knowledge Transfers – First Empirical Evidence & Paths Forward
LMU Applied Micro Summer Seminar
Location: Ohlstadt
24.03.2021
Digital Peer Interactions & Knowledge Transfers – First Empirical Evidence
Research Seminar
Location: online
19.11.2020
The Contingent Effect of Alliance Design on Alliance Dynamics and Performance: An Experimental Study
Discussant, TIME Colloquium
Institute for Strategy, Technology & Organization (LMU), Chair in Technology & Innovation Management (TUM), Max-Planck-Institut für Innovation und Wettbewerb
Location: online
07.-11.09.2020
Peer Interactions & Learning on a Platform / Updates on Advice Seeking
Research Seminar
Location: online
04.06.2020
Can It Ever Hurt to Ask? Advice Seeking and Gender
Behavioral Brownbag Seminar, LMU
Location: Munich
02.-05.03.2020
Can It Ever Hurt to Ask? Advice Seeking and Gender
Research Seminar
Location: Zugspitze