Dr. Henry Sauermann joined the College in 2008. His research examines the role of individuals’ pecuniary and nonpecuniary motives and incentives as drivers of innovative activities and performance in organizations. Dr. Sauermann’s current empirical work focuses on a comparative assessment of motives and innovative outcomes in different organizational contexts such as startups versus established firms or academic versus industrial R&D. His theoretical work considers the role of individuals’ incentives in shaping innovative capabilities of firms.

Taking a multi-disciplinary perspective, Dr. Sauermann draws on the literatures in economics, psychology, and sociology. His empirical methods include large sample econometric analyses, interviews, as well as human-subject experiments. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation supported Dr. Sauermann’s dissertation work and is also funding some of his current research projects.

In addition to holding a PhD in Management from Duke University , Dr. Sauermann holds undergraduate degrees in business and economics from the University of Potsdam, Germany.