About
Katja-Maria is an Associate Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Oslo Business School, Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet), Norway. She holds a joint Doctorate from Zeppelin University (Germany), Aarhus University (Denmark), and the University of Exeter (UK) which highlights her outstanding international profile.
Katja-Maria`s scholarly work is driven by a profound interest in how individuals spark, shape, and sustain transformative processes within organizations and societies. Her pioneering contributions to the study of personal absorptive capacity and entrepreneurial failure have positioned her as a leading voice in understanding the human dynamics of innovation. Complementing this deep theoretical expertise, she is equally acclaimed for her thought leadership in innovation management, particularly regarding sustainability and circularity, as well as the rapidly evolving fields of digitalization and artificial intelligence.
Her research has been published in prominent international journals, including R&D Management and the International Journal of Innovation Management, and her insights have been featured at some of the world’s most prestigious academic conferences, among them AOM, IPDMC, RADMA, and ISPIM. Beyond her research excellence, she has spearheaded several major international academic collaborations and has demonstrated remarkable success in securing significant third-party funding which gives further evidence of her academic influence and strategic vision.
Equally impressive is Katja-Maria`s ability to translate scholarly knowledge into transformative practical impact. Renowned for her work with international start-ups and firms, she exemplifies a rare and powerful duality: the capacity to operate at the highest levels of academic inquiry while simultaneously shaping real-world entrepreneurial and managerial practice. Her unwavering dedication to reinventing business education, particularly at the intersection of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship, places her at the forefront of cultivating the next generation of innovation leaders and designing academically rigorous solutions with immediate business relevance.
Guided by her inspiring motto, “Bridging science and business to co-create the future,” Katja-Maria stands out as a scholar of exceptional talent, a visionary educator, and an influential shaper of the innovation and entrepreneurship landscapes of tomorrow. Her work not only advances academic discourse but also actively shapes the future of sustainable, human-centered, and technology-driven innovation across sectors and borders.
Bridging science and business to co-create the future!
Research groups
Publications and research
Scientific publications
Laudien, Sven M.; Heinrichs, Bettina;
Prexl, Katja-Maria
;
Breunig, Karl Joachim
(2024).
Veganism as Factor Influencing the Diffusion of Nourishing Cosmetics Products.
LUT Scientific and Expertise Publications - Tutkimusraportit.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/5046038
Gonera, Antje; Milford, Anna Birgitte;
Prexl, Katja-Maria
; Berget, Ingunn; Varela-Tomasco, Paula Alejandra
(2023).
Design-led innovation for more plant-based food: An interdisciplinary approach to more consumer-centric product development.
International Journal of Food Design.
https://doi.org/10.1386/ijfd_00057_1
Gonera, Antje; Milford, Anna Birgitte;
Prexl, Katja-Maria
; Romm, Jonathan; Berget, Ingunn; Varela, Paula
(2023).
Design-led innovation for more plant-based food: An interdisciplinary approach to more consumer-centric product development.
International Journal of Food Design.
Vol. 9.
https://doi.org/10.1386/ijfd_00057_1
Prexl, Katja-Maria
; Gonera, Antje
(2021).
Understanding new corporate innovation strategies: Hybrid high-involvement approaches and the increasing importance of individual absorptive capacity.
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management.
Vol. 25.
https://doi.org/10.1504/IJEIM.2021.119199
Gonera, Antje; Svanes, Erik;
Bugge, Annechen Bahr
; Hatlebakk, Malin Myrset;
Prexl, Katja-Maria
; Ueland, Øydis
(2021).
Moving Consumers along the Innovation Adoption Curve: A
New Approach to Accelerate the Shift toward a More
Sustainable Diet.
Sustainability.
Vol. 13.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084477
Prexl, Katja-Maria
; Hubert, Marco; Hubert, Mirja; Gonera, Antje
(2020).
EXPLORING THE INDIVIDUAL: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DIMENSIONS OF ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY.
International Journal of Innovation Management.
Vol. 24.
https://doi.org/10.1142/S1363919620500772
Prexl, Katja-Maria
(2019).
The intrapreneurship reactor: how to enable a start-up culture in corporations.
E & I. Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik.
Vol. 136.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00502-019-0727-7
Prexl, Katja-Maria
(2019).
Hybrid High-Involvement in Marketing and Communication: How to Enable a Start-up Culture in Corporations to Enhance Innovation.
Transfer Zeitschrift für Kommunikation und Markenmanagement.
Vol. 65.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2616662
Gonera, Antje;
Prexl, Katja-Maria
(2019).
Increasing Openness in Industry-Academia Collaboration through Cocreation and experience-based Working.
WOIC, 2019 (Ed.).
6th Annual World Open Innovation Conference.
University of California Press.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/4353540
Prexl, Katja-Maria
; Hubert, Marco; Beck, Susanne; Heiden, Christian; Prugl, Reinhard
(2019).
Identifying and analysing the drivers of heterogeneity among ecosystem builder accelerators.
R&D Management.
Vol. 49.
https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12352
