Univ.-Prof. Dr. Katrin Muehlfeld

Holder of the chair

Research interests

  1. Decision and learning behavior at individual and group level, esp.
    • cognitive, affective and biobehaviorist influences;
    • Influence of personality traits;
    • Influences of formal and informal institutions such as culture and (foreign) language;
    • technology-related influences (especially digitization and automation);
    • with applications especially in the areas of entrepreneurship / innovation and human resources;
  2. Organizational theory, in particular organizational learning and diversity; Effects of demographic change and digitization on organizational structures and processes;
  3. (International) Human Resource Management (HRM);
  4. Corporate strategy, especially change of strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and institutional influences in international comparison.

Short CV

Prof. Dr. Katrin Muehlfeld studied Business Administration at the University of Münster and Economics at the University of Cambridge from 1993 to 1998 and did her PhD at the University of Münster in 2003. After teaching and research activities u.a. Since 2014, she holds the Chair of Management, Organization and Human Resources at the University of Trier at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), the University of Groningen, Utrecht University, and the University of Antwerp. She has also been associated with the Utrecht University School of Economics since 2014 as a guest researcher. Since 2015 Prof. Dr. med. Muehlfeld also lecturer for HRM at the Administrative and Business Academy (VWA) Trier.

In research and teaching Prof. Dr. med. Muehlfeld with a broad range of topics in the fields of organization, human resources and human resource management (HRM) and (strategic) management. Among other things, she is dedicated to decision-making and learning behavior at the individual, team and group level, the influence of culture and foreign language on corporate organization and human resources management, the effects of demographic change and digitization on organizational structures and processes as well as strategic issues in particular international context. Prof. Dr. Muehlfeld regularly publishes in leading business and economics journals and is a member of the Editorial Review Board of the journal Cross Cultural & Strategic Management.

In addition to her work as a university teacher, Prof. Muehlfeld companies and public institutions on issues from their fields and gives practical lectures.

Selected Publications

Loderer, A., Muehlfeld, K., & Wilken, R. (in press). Implications of Foreign Language Use for Creative Self-Evaluation Bias and Creative Performance. management revue.

Schmidt, X., Muehlfeld, K., & Peter, A. (2022). Determinants of role-incongruent knowledge transfer behavior of apprentices and trainers in the context of the German apprenticeship system. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 36(4), 474–504. https://doi.org/10.1177/23970022211029291

Muehlfeld, K., Wang, M. (2022). Intellectual Property Rights in China - A Literature Review on the Public's Perspective. Frontiers in Sociology, 7. https://dx.doi.org/10.3389%2Ffsoc.2022.793165

Barth, J., Muehlfeld, K. (2021). Thinking out of the box - by thinking in other boxes: A systematic review of interventions in early entrepreneurship vs. STEM education research. Management Review Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-021-00248-3 

Geenen, N.Y., Muehlfeld, K., Urbig, D. (in press). Foundations of innovativeness in the international arena: Foreign language use and creative performance. European Journal of International Management. 

Urbig, D., Muehlfeld, K., Procher, V., van Witteloostuijn, A. (2020). Strategic Decision-Making in a Global Context: The Comprehension Effect of Foreign Language Use on Cooperation. Management International Review, 60, 351-385. 

Rigtering, C., Weitzel, U., Muehlfeld, K. (2019). Masse und Klasse: Durch Framing innovative Ideen fördern. Fachzeitschrift IM+io

Rigtering, C., Weitzel, U., Muehlfeld, K. (2019). Increasing quantity without compromising quality: How managerial framing affects intrapreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 34(2), 224-241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2018.11.002

Westbrock, B., Muehlfeld, K., Weitzel, U. (2019).Selecting Legal Advisors in M&As: Organizational Learning and the Role of Multiplicity of Mental Models. Journal of Management, 45(5), 2193-2224.

Van der Laan, G., Muehlfeld, K., Salomons, A. (2018). The Adaptive Gender – Female CEOs, Board Context, and the Completion of M&As in the U.S. Food Industry. In Lynne E. Devnew, Ronald J. Burke, Marlene Janzen Le Ber, and Mariateresa Torchia (Eds). More Women on Boards of Directors: An International Perspective (pp. 241-253). Charlotte (NC): Edward Elgar Publishing. 

Muehlfeld, K., Urbig, D., Weitzel, U. (2017). Entrepreneurs’ Exploratory Persistence in Learning Settings. Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, 41(4), 533-565.

Schmidt, X., & Muehlfeld, K. (2017). What's so special about intergenerational knowledge transfer? Identifying challenges of intergenerational knowledge transfer, Management Revue, 28(4), 375-411.

Schmidt, X., Ury, M., & Muehlfeld, K. (2017). Motivationsfaktoren zur Teilnahme am intergenerationellen Wissenstransfer im Rahmen von Mentoringprogrammen. In H. Surrey & V. Tiberius (Ed.). Die Zukunft des Personalmanagements 2025: Herausforderungen, Lösungsansätze und Gestaltungsoptionen (pp. 109-116). Zürich: vdf Hochschulverlag.

Paulus, P., Muehlfeld, K. (2017). Host country language skills and expatriates’ cross-cultural adjustment in the presence of fear of terror. Journal of Global Mobility, 5(4), 418-442.

Gargalianou, V., Muehlfeld, K., Urbig, D., van Witteloostuijn, A. (2016). Foreign Language Anxiety in Professional Contexts - A Short Scale and Evidence of Personality and Gender Differences. Schmalenbach Business Review (sbr), 17, 195-223.

Urbig, D., Terjesen, S., Procher, V., Muehlfeld, K., van Witteloostuijn, A. (2016). Come on and Take a Free Ride: Contributing to Public Goods in Native and Foreign Language Settings. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 15(2), 268-286.

Geenen, N. Y., Urbig, D., Muehlfeld, K., van Witteloostuijn, A., & Gargalianou, V. (2016). BIS and BAS: Biobehaviorally rooted drivers of entrepreneurial intent. Personality and Individual Differences, 95, 204-213.

Muehlfeld, K., Weitzel, U. van Witteloostuijn, A. (2013). Individual Differences in Investors’ Motivational Systems and Fundamental Shocks in Asset Prices. Journal of Economic Psychology, 34, 195-209.

Muehlfeld, K., Rao Sahib, P. van Witteloostuijn, A. (2012). A Contextual Theory of Organizational Learning from Failures and Successes – A Study of Acquisition Completion in the Global Newspaper Industry, 1981-2008. Strategic Management Journal, 33(8), 938-964.

Kerstan, S., Kretschmer, T., Muehlfeld, K. (2012). The Dynamics of Pre-Market Standardization. Information Economics & Policy, 24, 105-119.

Muehlfeld, K., van Doorn, J., van Witteloostuijn, A. (2011). The Effects of Personality Composition and Decision-Making Processes on Change Preferences of Self-Managing Teams. Managerial and Decision Economics, 32(5), 333-353.

Muehlfeld, K., Rao Sahib, P. van Witteloostuijn, A. (2007). Completion or Abandonment of Mergers and Acquisitions: Evidence from the Newspaper Industry, 1981-2001. Journal of Media Economics, 20(2), 107-137.