Professor - Department of Leadership and Organizational Behaviour
Biography
Dr. Kim van Oorschot is Professor Project Management & System Dynamics in the Department of Leadership and Organizational Behaviour at the BI Norwegian Business School. Her current research focuses on decision-making, trade-offs, and tipping points in dynamically complex settings, like new product development (NPD) projects. Her research projects are aimed at discovering so-called ‘decision traps': decisions that seem to be good on the short term, but have counterproductive effects on the long term. For this purpose she develops system dynamics models based on actual project data. She also teaches system dynamics and project management to executive and master students.
Before working at BI, Kim van Ooschot was an assistant professor at the Eindhoven University of Technology (The Netherlands), in the School of Industrial Engineering. Before that, she was a Post-Doc at Tilburg University at the Information Management department, and a research fellow at INSEAD, France. From 2002 until 2006 (after finishing her PhD project), she was a consultant at Minase Consulting BV, working for large international companies like ASML, DSM, KPN, NXP, and Stork Fokker on projects aimed at improving business processes.
Kim van Oorschot has published in such journals as Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Management Studies, Production and Operations Management, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Journal of the Operational Research Society, and International Journal of Operations and Production Management.
Research areas
Project Management; Systems Thinking and System Dynamics; Decision Making & Managing Complexities; Poduct Development & Innovation.
Teaching areas
Project Management; Systems Thinking and System Dynamics.
This article presents a study of two projects focusing on the relationships of two Nordic clients with suppliers in low-cost countries. It explores the interplay between trust and control when offshoring information systems development projects. The key insight reveals that trust is not a substitute for control, no matter its level. The paper offers several contributions. First, we build a conceptual model for exploring the relationship between trust and control and the role of actual project performance. Second, the study reveals that trust supports a team's willingness to share knowledge, and control facilitates its ability to do so. Furthermore, our analysis shows that the impact of trust and control on project performance is better managed through the adjustment of project goals instead of adjusting the levels of trust and control. Finally, we contribute to theory through the development of a causal model of trust, control, actual performance, and project goals.
Hansen, Morten Juel; Vaagen, Hajnalka & Van Oorschot, Kim (2020)
Team Collective Intelligence in Dynamically Complex Projects—A Shipbuilding Case
In concurrent engineering projects driven by short delivery times, team performance rests on the team’s capability to quickly and effectively handle different, emergent issues. We conducted an exploratory study of a large, dynamically complex project in which team members had a record of “good problem-solving abilities.” The study revealed how the team members demonstrated a collective ability to swiftly handle emergent issues, which again decreased the intensity of time and performance pressure. Beyond formal processes combined with lean practices, supporting this ability were situation awareness, task-based subgroups, direct lines of communication, and trust.
Akkermans, Henk & Van Oorschot, Kim (2018)
Relevance Assumed: A Case Study of Balanced Scorecard Development Using System Dynamics
kunc, martin (red.). System Dynamics - Soft and Hard Operational Research
Van Oorschot, Kim; Wang, Yan & Akkermans, Henk (2018)
Throbbing between two lives: Resource pooling in service supply chains
Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) Doi: 10.24251/hicss.2018.137
Van Oorschot, Kim; Sengupta, Kishore & Van Wassenhove, Luk N. (2018)
Under pressure: The effects of iteration lengths on agile software development performance.
van Oorschot, Kim; Solli-Sæther, Hans & Karlsen, Jan Terje (2018)
The knowledge protection paradox: imitation and innovation through knowledge sharing
International Journal of Technology Management, 78(4), s. 310- 342. Doi: 10.1504/IJTM.2018.095760
Western multinational corporations (MNCs) that want market access in China have to share knowledge with Chinese partners. This may expose them to imitation, so MNCs prefer to protect knowledge resulting in a strategic paradox: MNCs have to both share and protect knowledge. To analyse this paradox, we developed a theoretical conceptual model capturing the tensions and feedback cycles of this paradox. Next, based on data from the shipbuilding industry, a system dynamics model was developed to simulate the long-term effects of sharing and protecting strategies. The results indicate that protection is detrimental to long-term success, because it undercuts the trust of the Chinese supplier and irreparably reduces innovation rates. Knowledge protection thus reduces instead of increases the ability to share (new) knowledge in the future. A sharing strategy increases imitation, but also trust and knowledge sharing by the Chinese partner, such that it enhances the MNC's innovation rate and long-term performance.
van Oorschot, Kim; Eling, Katrin & Langerak, Fred (2018)
Measuring the Knowns to Manage the Unknown: How to Choose the Gate Timing Strategy in NPD Projects
Stage‐wise timing of new product development (NPD) activities is advantageous for a project's performance. The literature does not, however, specify whether this implies setting and adhering to a fixed schedule of gate meetings from the start of the project or allowing flexibility to adjust the schedule throughout the NPD process. In the initial project plan, managers and/or development teams often underrate the time required to complete the project because of task underestimation. Although the level of task underestimation (i.e., the unknown) is not identifiable at the start of the project, our study argues that project managers and/or teams can manage the unknown by measuring three project conditions (i.e., the knowns) during front‐end execution, and use their values to select the best gate timing strategy. These project conditions entail: (i) the number of unexpected tasks discovered during the front‐end, (ii) the willingness of customers to postpone their purchase in case the execution of these unexpected tasks would lead to a delayed market launch, and (iii) the number of unexpected tasks discovered just before the front‐end gate. Together these conditions determine whether a more fixed or more flexible gate timing strategy is most appropriate to use. The findings of a system dynamics simulation corroborate the supposition that the interplay between the three project conditions measured during front‐end execution determines which of four gate timing strategies with different levels of flexibility (i.e., one fixed, one flexible, and two hybrid forms) maximizes new product profitability. This finding has important implications for both theory and practice as we now comprehend that the knowns can be used to manage the unknown.
Walrave, Bob; Romme, A. Georges L., van Oorschot, Kim & Langerak, Fred (2017)
Managerial attention to exploitation versus exploration: toward a dynamic perspective on ambidexterity
Managerial attention to exploitation and exploration has a strong influence on organizational performance. However, there is hardly any knowledge about whether senior managers need to adjust their distribution of attention to exploitation and exploration in response to major changes in demand patterns in their industry. Drawing on the analysis of a panel data set of 86 firms in the information technology industry exposed to an economic recession and recovery, we find that successfully navigating an economic downturn demands more managerial attention to exploration, while leveraging the subsequent upswing requires more attention to exploitation. As such, this study contributes to the literature by providing a dynamic perspective on ambidexterity: that is, senior managers need to redistribute their attention to exploration and exploitation to effectively meet the changing environmental demands over time.
van Oorschot, Kim (2017)
Shared Space for Organizations: Enablers for Innovative Projects
van Oorschot, Kim; Karlsen, Jan Terje & Solli-Sæther, Hans (2017)
Del kunnskapen med kineserne. Skal du lykkes i Kina, er det bedre å dele kunnskap enn å forsøke å beskytte den
Dagens næringsliv [Kronikk]
van Oorschot, Kim; Solli-Sæther, Hans & Karlsen, Jan Terje (2014)
Lurt å dele kunnskap?
Sunnmørsposten [Kronikk]
Karlsen, Jan Terje; Solli-Sæther, Hans, van Oorschot, Kim & Vaagaasar, Anne Live (1)
Kan du stole på din utenlandske leverandør?
BI Leadership Magazine [Kronikk]
van Oorschot, Kim; Solli-Sæther, Hans & Karlsen, Jan Terje (1)
Lurt å dele kunnskap?
BI Leadership Magazine [Kronikk]
de Vries, Harwin; Jahre, Marianne, Selviaridis, Kostas, Van Wassenhove, Luk N. & Van Oorschot, Kim (2021)
Short of Drugs? Call Upon Operations and Supply Chain Management
[Report]. BI Norwegian Business School.
High-income countries are facing a significant and worsening drug shortage problem. This position paper argues that operations and supply chain management (OSCM) could (and perhaps should) be used more widely to help address this issue: 1) the problem has significant societal impacts, 2) it poses complex questions for stakeholders and finding answers is challenging due to the complex and dynamic nature of drug supply chains, 3) OSCM scholars are well positioned to provide answers, and 4) the problem introduces fundamentally new research directions for OSCM. To substantiate this, we carried out a review of key stakeholder reports from six European countries and a systematic review of academic literature. These show that there is no real agreement among stakeholders about what causes the shortages and that there are few academic studies that examine this. We also show that stakeholders have suggested many different government measures – ranging from ‘reshoring production’ to revising procurement policies and increasing stock levels – but that there is little research that provides evidence on their comparative cost-effectiveness. Based on our findings, we discuss three promising research directions to which our discipline could contribute.
Nujen, Bella B.; Solli-Sæther, Hans, Van Oorschot, Kim & Mwesiumo, Deodat Edward (2020)
The Double-Edged Dynamics of Post-acquisition Integration
[Academic lecture]. European International Business Academy EIBA.
Van Wassenhove, Luk N. & Van Oorschot, Kim (2020)
Flattering curves: Leveraging the shapes of a pandemic
[Report]. INSEAD Humanitarian Research Group.
Van Oorschot, Kim (2020)
Why countries should give away COVID-19 tests post-peak
[Popular scientific article]. BI Business Review
Van Oorschot, Kim (2019)
Deadlines help project teams face pressure
[Popular scientific article]. BI Leadership Magazine, s. 16- 17.
Van Oorschot, Kim (2018)
Throbbing between two lives: resource pooling in service supply chains
[Academic lecture]. HICSS 2018.
Van Oorschot, Kim; Karlsen, Jan Terje & Solli-Sæther, Hans Arthur (2017)
Del kunnskapen med kineserne
[Popular scientific article]. BI Business Review
van Oorschot, Kim (2017)
Managing the unknown
[Popular scientific article]. BI Leadership Magazine, s. 38- 39.
Walrave, Bob; dolmans, sharon, van Oorschot, Kim & van hellemond, stefan (2016)
Concurrent plan-driven versus sequential agile development - Keeping up appearances in embedded systems development
[Academic lecture]. International Product Development Management Conference.
van Oorschot, Kim (2016)
How do you make sense of bad news and good vibes?
[Popular scientific article]. BI Leadership Magazine, s. 26- 27.
van Oorschot, Kim (2016)
Causal loop diagramming
van der Duin, Patrick (red.). Foresight in Organizations - Methods and Tools
Vaagaasar, Anne Live; Van Oorschot, Kim & Karlsen, Jan Terje (2015)
Kan du stole på din utenlandske leverandør?
[Popular scientific article]. BI Business Review
Karlsen, Jan Terje; Solli-Sæther, Hans, Solli-Sæther, Hans, van Oorschot, Kim & Vaagaasar, Anne Live (2015)
Kan du stole på din utenlandske leverandør?
[Popular scientific article]. BI Business Review
van Oorschot, Kim (2015)
Pilot error in management decisions
[Popular scientific article]. BI Leadership Magazine
Karlsen, Jan Terje; Solli-Sæther, Hans & van Oorschot, Kim (2015)
The role of uncertainty on boundary spanning activities in offshore IS projects
[Academic lecture]. International Research Network on Organizing by Projects (IRNOP).
van Oorschot, Kim; Eling, Katrin & Langerak, Fred (2015)
Hindsight is easier than foresight: The advantages of 'hybrid' gate timing
[Academic lecture]. International Product Development Management Conference.
Walrave, Bob; van Oorschot, Kim & Romme, Sjoerd (2014)
Counteracting the suppression process
[Academic lecture]. International Conference of the System Dynamics Society.
van Oorschot, Kim; Solli-Sæther, Hans & Karlsen, Jan Terje (2014)
Sharing knowledge or not? Innovation and imitation in shipbuilding projects in China
[Academic lecture]. Academy of Management Conference.
van Oorschot, Kim; Dille, Therese & Söderlund, Jonas (2014)
Hamburgers & Broccoli - the averaging bias in project management
[Academic lecture]. Academy of Management Conference.
Solli-Sæther, Hans; van Oorschot, Kim & Karlsen, Jan Terje (2013)
When Entry Strategy Becomes Exit Strategy: Knowledge Transfer in Innovative Shipbuilding Projects in China
[Academic lecture]. SMS Special Conference Lake Geneva.
van Oorschot, Kim; Solli-Sæther, Hans & Karlsen, Jan Terje (2013)
When enter strategy becomes exit strategy: Knowledge transfer in innovative shipbuilding projects in China
[Academic lecture]. 11th edition of IRNOP (International Research Network on Organizing by Projects).
Solli-Sæther, Hans; Vaagaasar, Anne Live, van Oorschot, Kim & Karlsen, Jan Terje (2013)
The organizing of offshoring projects: Copying with control mechanisms and trust
[Academic lecture]. 11th edition of IRNOP (International Research Network on Organizing by Projects).
Solli-Sæther, Hans; Karlsen, Jan Terje & van Oorschot, Kim (2013)
Knowledge sharing in innovative shipbuilding projects: An international case study of a triad
[Academic lecture]. 11th edition of IRNOP (International Research Network on Organizing by Projects).
Walrave, Bob; van Oorschot, Kim & Romme, Sjoerd (2013)
Fighting the bear and riding the bull
[Academic lecture]. Academy of Management Conference.
van Oorschot, Kim; Sengupta, Kishore, Van Wassenhove, Luk N. & Akkermans, Henk (2013)
Bad news & Good vibes: rational & emotional information in complex new product development projects
[Academic lecture]. Academy of Management Conference.
Pieters, Angele; van Oorschot, Kim, Akkermans, Henk & Brailsford, Sally (2013)
Care and cure: combine or collaborate? Evaluating interorganizational designs in healthcare
[Academic lecture]. Academy of Management Conference.
Solli-Sæther, Hans; Karlsen, Jan Terje, Vaagaasar, Anne Live & van Oorschot, Kim (2013)
Offshoring i partnerskap
[Popular scientific article]. Prosjektledelse, s. 8- 14.
Smets, Lydie; van Oorschot, Kim & Langerak, Fred (2012)
Don’t trust trust – A dynamic approach to controlling outsourced engineering
[Academic lecture]. 19th International Product Development Management Conference.
Smets, Lydie; van Oorschot, Kim & Langerak, Fred (2012)
Don’t trust trust – A dynamic approach to controlling outsourced engineering
[Academic lecture]. 19th International Product Development Management Conference.
Pieters, Angele; van Oorschot, Kim & Akkermans, Henk (2012)
Care & cure combined: Using simulation to develop organization design theory for health care processes
[Academic lecture]. The 30th International Conference of the System Dynamics Society.
van Oorschot, Kim; Sengupta, Kishore, Akkermans, Henk & Wassenhove, Luk N. van (2012)
Bad news & good vibes - rational and emotional decision making in complex new product development projects
[Academic lecture]. 2nd Tilburg Conference on Innovation.
Akkermans, Henk & van Oorschot, Kim (2012)
Pilot error? Managerial decision biases against concurrency as explanation for delays in new aircraft development programmes
[Academic lecture]. 3rd International Air Transport and Operations Symposium.
van Oorschot, Kim & Akkermans, Henk (2012)
Pilot Error? Managerial decision biases against concurrency as explanation for delays in new aircraft development programmes
[Academic lecture]. The 30th International Conference of the System Dynamics Society.
van Oorschot, Kim (2012)
Planning for creativity
[Academic lecture]. Prosjekt 2012.
van Oorschot, Kim (2012)
Hamburgers & Broccoli
[Academic lecture]. BI Alumni Dag.
van Oorschot, Kim (2012)
Causale diagrammen
van der Duin, Patrick (red.). Toekomstonderzoek voor organisaties - Handboek methoden en technieken
Smets, Lydie; van Oorschot, Kim & Langerak, Fred (2011)
Things Get Worse Before Getting Better: Outsourcing NPD Activities
[Academic lecture]. 18th International Product Development Management Conference.