Research Focus

Research at the Department of Management focuses on competent managerial conduct: how to make good decisions, how to design and run organisations, and how to take responsibility for their decisions.

We study these questions in three interconnected research areas and in a number of research and applied projects. What they share is an emphasis on empirical research, practical relevance and the use of methods that make it possible not only to describe organisational problems, but also to test their causes and potential solutions.

Studies by members of the department are published in leading journals such as Science, Academy of Management Perspectives, Artificial Intelligence, Perspectives on Psychological Science, Psychological Science, Judgment and Decision Making, Review of Managerial Science, Journal of Research in Personality, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, European Journal of Social Psychology, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, Journal of Management Inquiry and others.

Prospective PhD students are welcome to contact the supervisors in these areas.

Research Area	Brief Description	Area Lead
Managerial Decision-Making, Data and AI	How can managers and organisations make better decisions? Our research focuses on human decision-making in organisational settings and on ways to improve it through evidence, data, experimentation and digital technologies. We focus in particular on: judgment and decision-making, decision-making under uncertainty and risk, cognitive biases and systematic errors in judgment, evidence-based management, experimentation and behavioural interventions in organisations, information quality and how managers work with data, human interaction with artificial intelligence, the impact of AI on judgment, confidence, control and decision quality. Decision Lab Prague is a key part of our research infrastructure, enabling laboratory, online and field experiments and bringing together researchers in management, economics and psychology.	Assoc. Prof. Štěpán Bahník, Ph.D.
Organisational Design, Coordination and Resilience	How can we build organisations that are able to function, coordinate and cope with change? Our research focuses on the architecture of organisations and on the managerial mechanisms that shape their performance, coordination capacity and resilience. We focus in particular on: organisational design and management practices, roles, processes, responsibilities and incentives in organisations, process and operations management, project and programme management, organisational change and transformation, crisis decision-making and crisis management, organisational resilience and risk management, coordination of people, teams and technologies, management of healthcare, public and other complex organisations. Research in this area combines the analysis of organisational processes with case studies, field research and the diagnosis of real organisational problems.	Klára Vítečková, Ph.D., and Jana Valentová, Ph.D.
Ethical Management, Responsibility and Trust	When is managerial conduct not only effective, but also responsible and legitimate? Our research focuses on the ethical dimension of managing organisations and on the factors that support or undermine trust, cooperation and responsible decision-making. We focus in particular on: behavioural and business ethics, moral decision-making in organisations, dishonest and opportunistic behaviour, trust, reciprocity and cooperation, power and power asymmetries, conflicts of interest and moral hazard, stakeholders and organisational responsibility, ethical implications of the use of data, algorithms and AI, the legitimacy of managerial decisions, education in ethics and responsible management. Beyond the normative question of what managers should do, we focus primarily on the empirical question of how people actually make decisions in ethically relevant situations and how the organisational environment shapes their conduct.	Prof. Petr Houdek, Ph.D.

Research Area

Brief Description

Area Lead

Managerial Decision-Making, Data and AI

How can managers and organisations make better decisions?

Our research focuses on human decision-making in organisational settings and on ways to improve it through evidence, data, experimentation and digital technologies.

We focus in particular on:

judgment and decision-making,
decision-making under uncertainty and risk,
cognitive biases and systematic errors in judgment,
evidence-based management,
experimentation and behavioural interventions in organisations,
information quality and how managers work with data,
human interaction with artificial intelligence,
the impact of AI on judgment, confidence, control and decision quality.

Decision Lab Prague is a key part of our research infrastructure, enabling laboratory, online and field experiments and bringing together researchers in management, economics and psychology.

Assoc. Prof. Štěpán Bahník, Ph.D.

Organisational Design, Coordination and Resilience

How can we build organisations that are able to function, coordinate and cope with change?

Our research focuses on the architecture of organisations and on the managerial mechanisms that shape their performance, coordination capacity and resilience.

We focus in particular on:

organisational design and management practices,
roles, processes, responsibilities and incentives in organisations,
process and operations management,
project and programme management,
organisational change and transformation,
crisis decision-making and crisis management,
organisational resilience and risk management,
coordination of people, teams and technologies,
management of healthcare, public and other complex organisations.

Research in this area combines the analysis of organisational processes with case studies, field research and the diagnosis of real organisational problems.

Klára Vítečková, Ph.D., and Jana Valentová, Ph.D.

Ethical Management, Responsibility and Trust

When is managerial conduct not only effective, but also responsible and legitimate?

Our research focuses on the ethical dimension of managing organisations and on the factors that support or undermine trust, cooperation and responsible decision-making.

We focus in particular on:

behavioural and business ethics,
moral decision-making in organisations,
dishonest and opportunistic behaviour,
trust, reciprocity and cooperation,
power and power asymmetries,
conflicts of interest and moral hazard,
stakeholders and organisational responsibility,
ethical implications of the use of data, algorithms and AI,
the legitimacy of managerial decisions,
education in ethics and responsible management.

Beyond the normative question of what managers should do, we focus primarily on the empirical question of how people actually make decisions in ethically relevant situations and how the organisational environment shapes their conduct.

Prof. Petr Houdek, Ph.D.

Connecting Research, Teaching and Practice

We bring our research findings into teaching, doctoral studies, management simulations and cooperation with companies and public institutions.

Conversely, we draw on organisational problems as a source of new research questions, data and field experiments. Our aim is to create an environment in which research, education and management practice reinforce one another.

Interested in research cooperation, doctoral studies or a joint project?
Contact the management of the Department of Management.