Professorial Faculty
Technical University of Munich

Prof. Dr. Melanie Richards

Professorship

Family Business Culture and Ownership

School

TUM School of Management

Contact Details

Business card at TUMonline

Academic Career and Research Areas

Prof. Richards' research focuses on how the values and identity of founders and owner-managers affect strategic decision-making and entrepreneurship. Her interests are: 

  • Purpose and Responsibility of New Ventures and Owner-Managed Firms
  • Entrepreneurship & Strategy
  • Legitimacy & Social Evaluation
  • Environmental & Social Challenges
  • Disruptive Change & Innovation

Prior to joining the TUM School of Management, Melanie Richards was Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Bath. She also worked for the University of Bristol as Assistant Professor in Management and for the University of St. Gallen as Postdoctoral Researcher at the Swiss Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship after receiving her PhD in Management from the University of St. Gallen in September 2015. As part of her PhD education she spent a year as Visiting Scholar at Bayes Business School in London.

Awards

  • Family Business Review (FBR) Excellent Reviewer Award (2023)
  • Family Business Review (FBR) Excellent Reviewer Award (2022)
  • IFERA Best Paper Award (2021)
  • Family Business Review (FBR) Best Article Honorable Mention (2020)
  • Konferenz der deutschsprachigen Forschungszentren und Institute für Familienunternehmen, Best Paper Award (2014)

Key Publications (all publications)

Hsueh, J. W. J., & Richards, M. (forthcoming). Business Groups after Incidents of Wrongdoing: Exploring the Effectiveness of Differentiated Versus Aligned Impression Management Tactics. Journal of Management Studies.

Abstract

Richards, M (2023). When do Non-financial Goals Benefit Stakeholders? Theorizing on Care and Power in Family Firms. Journal of Business Ethics. 184(2), 333-351.

Abstract

Richards, M., Kammerlander, N. and Zellweger, T. (2019). Listening to the heart or the head? Exploring the “willingness versus ability” succession dilemma. Family Business Review, 32 (4), 330-353.

Abstract

Kammerlander, N., König, A. and Richards, M. (2018). Why do incumbents respond heterogeneously to disruptive innovations? The interplay of domain identity and role identity. Journal of Management Studies, 55 (7), 1122-1165.

Abstract

Richards, M., Zellweger, T. and Gond, JP. (2017). Maintaining moral legitimacy through worlds and words: An explanation of firms’ investment in sustainability certification. Journal of Management Studies, 54 (5), 676-710.

Abstract

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