Voices of the Provost Solutions Fellows
Lauren D'Innocenzo, PhD
Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Management
LeBow College of Business
Lauren D'Innocenzo is an associate professor of organizational behavior at Drexel’s LeBow College of Business and a Provost Solutions Fellow, as well as a Senior Consortium Fellow for the Army Research Institute. Her research focuses on understanding team effectiveness by exploring compositional elements, contextual influences and emergent team dynamics. Using an applied research approach, Lauren has worked with several Fortune 500 companies, governmental agencies, and hospitals in a variety of capacities including leading data-driven research, executive education programs, interventions, executive reporting, and consulting. The current focus of Lauren’s research involves understanding the dynamics of team composition and effects on team leadership and performance. Her research has been published in leading peer-reviewed academic journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Journal of Management. Lauren holds a Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut and was named to Poets & Quants annual list of Best 40 Under 40 Professors.
If there’s one word you would use to describe your experience as a Solutions Fellow, what would it be?
Impactful.
What did you enjoy the most about being a Solutions Fellow and why?
Meeting faculty from other disciplines throughout the University. I appreciate the interdisciplinary approach and opportunity to learn from others.
What was an unexpected benefit as a Solutions Fellow?
Learning about research approaches from faculty across the University. I’ve read research stories posted in Drexel outlets, but being a part of the Fellows gave me the opportunity to see what others are doing at a more micro level, which has helped me to think about my research possibilities in new ways.
Would you recommend becoming a Solutions Fellow to a colleague?
Definitely! There is tremendous value in interdisciplinary research, and being a Solutions Fellow is a great way to get connected and think about research in new ways with colleagues at Drexel.
How would you describe working with DSI?
Working with DSI has been very intellectually stimulating. I believe one of our greatest strengths as a University is our connection to industry. DSI is the conduit that allows partnerships between research and industry to flourish. Through DSI, I’ve been connected to new industry partners and challenged with identifying new solutions through research. Problems are not one dimensional, and an interdisciplinary perspective allows us to collectively see problems from multiple angles. Being able to address these challenges with interdisciplinary colleagues has been both a growth opportunity personally and a tremendous value-add to our partners.
Can you provide an overview of something you have worked on as a Fellow?
I’m currently working on a project partnership with Comcast in which we look at the experience of gamers competing in teams. There is a large population of gamers, especially Veterans, who are gaining experience working in teams as part of their gaming experience. We want to understand more about how these individuals are working together and if there are specific teaming skills cultivated through gaming that can translate into creating better team processes in organizations.
What do you believe are some of the benefits to working with external partners?
As an academic, working with industry partners helps me to understand current challenges organizations are facing, which helps to inform and keep my research relevant. By engaging with our partners on a University scale, we can collectively develop cutting-edge research that will contribute to better performing organizations and enable them to better serve our communities in many ways.
Why would you encourage other faculty to work with external partners?
The relationship between industry and academics is mutually beneficial. The challenges organizations face are incredibly dynamic and multi-faceted. When we partner with industry, we can use our expertise as researchers to design, test and implement research to help our partners improve in ways that are very specific to their needs. In addition, as researchers, we are able to better understand the needs of organizations and develop timely and relevant research that contributes to the growing body of knowledge in the field. These partnerships allow us to not just be part of the conversation but create and direct the conversation.