Photo: alexbach.de

Organizing in Times of Crisis

I am a Postdoctoral Researcher at Leuphana University of Lüneburg in the structural program Embracing Transformation.

My research explores how organizations navigate tensions and paradoxes as they address complex global challenges and engage in transformation efforts. I study organizing processes in crisis contexts across public, nonprofit, and private sectors.

Adopting a process and practice lens, I am especially interested in the unintended consequences and dark sides of addressing paradoxical tensions, exploring how well-intentioned responses to societal and environmental challenges can produce new dilemmas.

My work has been published in Organization Theory, Public Management Review, Public Administration Review, and the Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management.

Beyond research, I am passionate about teaching and mentoring. I have over six years of experience designing and delivering management and organization courses at the bachelor’s, master’s, and executive levels.

Google Scholar

Dr. Iris Seidemann

News

New publication in the Journal of Contingencies & Crisis Management
I am pleased to share that our paper “Early Warnings, No Actions: A Practice Perspective on Barriers to Anticipatory Action Approaches” (with Pia Geisemann, Dorcas Olawuyi, and Daniel Geiger) has been published in the Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management. The paper explores barriers to the effective implementation of anticipatory action, an approach that seeks to act before disasters occur. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in flood-prone regions of Nigeria, we show how misalignments between actors’ temporal frames, priorities, and structures undermine early action efforts. Adopting a practice perspective, we highlight how these barriers are co-constructed in everyday coordination and call for more systemic, governance-oriented solutions beyond technical fixes.

EGOS 2025: Creativity that Goes a Long Way
It was a pleasure to join EGOS as a convenor for the first time. In Sub-theme 40: Practicing ‘Natural’ Disasters: Creating, Managing, and Reconstructing the ‘Natural’ Disasters Ecosystem within Everyday Practices, together with Paula Jarzabkowski (University of Queensland) and Fannie Couture (HEC Montréal), we explored and problematized the everyday practices that underlie so-called “natural” disasters. A heartfelt thank you to our participants for their inspiring contributions and for bringing their ideas to life through such creative and compelling posters.

New Publication in Public Administration Review on Network Governance in Crisis
Together with Kristina Weißmüller and Daniel Geiger, I explore how legitimacy and crisis governance are tightly connected. Our study, based on the 2015 refugee crisis in Berlin, shows how legitimacy erodes gradually and how network leadership plays a crucial role in either stabilizing or undermining crisis response. We highlight both the promise and the perils of networks, including risks like accountability gaps and “network drift” that can accelerate legitimacy loss.

AOM 2025: Join Our PDW on the Ethical Challenges of Grand Challenges Research
Together with Daniel Geiger, I am organizing a PDW at AOM 2025 titled "Race to Extremes? Unpacking Ethical Questions and Dilemmas in Grand Challenge Research."
We invite scholars to critically reflect on the ethical risks and tensions that arise when researching crises, extreme contexts, and societal “grand challenges.”
Through an expert panel and interactive roundtables, we will explore dilemmas around academic impact, research risks, and the responsibilities of scholars in sensitive or autocratic environments.
Join us in this timely conversation on how to navigate the ethics of doing research that matters.

Social Impact & Valorization

I actively engage in valorization and knowledge transfer as part of my work, ensuring that research findings are effectively translated into practical applications and policy impact. I focus on bridging academia and real-world applications through dissemination, stakeholder engagement, and strategic collaborations.

These activities include:

Collaboration with Red Cross Societies in Uganda (2021–2022) and Nigeria (2023–2025), in partnership with IFRC
Workshop on the 121 Platform for Cash Aid Delivery with The Netherlands Red Cross (2025, Lomé)
Research for Impact Approaches in CLARE, 2024: Focus on citizen science
12th Global Dialogue Platform on Anticipatory Action, 2024, Berlin: Panel Anticipatory Action: Explorations of Who Is Left Behind and How to Close the Gap
Climate Adaptation & Resilience (CLARE) Knowledge Brokering Workshop, 2024, Nairobi: Translating climate adaptation knowledge for policymakers
Panelist at the Adaptation Futures, 2023, Montreal: Climate Adaptation & Resilience
The Benefits of Acting Early in Disasters, 2021: Cost-Benefit Analysis on the Effectiveness of Forecast-based Finance versus Emergency Response

Ethnography in East and West Africa

My research focuses on the emergence and management of tensions and paradoxes within organizations and systems, particularly in the context of tackling grand challenges. Through ethnographic fieldwork in West and East Africa, I study how the Red Cross engages in climate adaptation practices, specifically focusing on innovative technologies like forecast-based financing. This qualitative, practice-based approach allows me to observe firsthand how actors navigate challenges through everyday routines and sense-making. Working in extreme and complex environments has strengthened my cultural competence, resilience, and deep understanding of the humanitarian aid sector.

Community Engagement

I am an active member of the organization and management studies community, particularly within the paradox community, where I foster dialogue and collaboration. I emphasize organizational and community citizenship, actively supporting scholarly exchange, mentorship, and the advancement of collective knowledge.

This engagement includes:

Co-convenor EGOS Subtheme 40 “Practicing Natural Disasters” (with Paula Jarzabkowski & Fannie Couture)
Organizer of PDWs at the Academy of Management,
Co-organizer of the Paradox Mentoring Program
Co-organizer of the PREP (Paradox Research Education Practice) Conference
Postdoc Representative on the Board of the Graduate School, University of Hamburg
Facilitator at the EGOS Paper Development Workshop (East Africa, 2023)
Member of EGOS and the Academy of Management (OMT, PNP, SAP)
Reviewer for Organization Studies, Organization & Environment, Journal of Management Studies, Organization Theory, Journal of Management Inquiry, Public Management Review, Information and Organization