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Research Interests

  • Design and creativity in innovation management (Watch here my TEDx talk along with a knowledge article for a preview on this line of research)
  • Innovating with AI
  • Creative spaces
  • Social networks in innovative organizations
  • On-line reviews in operations management
  • Architecture of complex products

Refereed journal articles

  1. Sosa, M., S. Eppinger, M. Pich, D. McKendrick, S. Stout. 2002. Factors that influence technical communication in distributed product development: an empirical study in the telecommunications industryIEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 49(1): 45-58.
  2. Sosa, M., S. Eppinger, C. Rowles. 2003. Identifying modular and integrative systems and their impact on design team interactionsASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 125(2): 240-252.
  3. Sosa, M., S. Eppinger, C. Rowles. 2004. The misalignment of product architecture and organizational structure in complex product developmentManagement Science, 50(12): 1674-1689.
  4. Sosa, M., S. Eppinger, C. Rowles. 2007. A network approach to define modularity of components in complex productsASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 129(11): 1118-1129.
  5. Sosa, M. 2008. A structured approach to predicting and managing technical interactions in software developmentResearch in Engineering Design, 19(1): 47-70.
  6. Sosa, M. 2011. Where do creative interactions come from? The role of tie content and social networksOrganization Science, 22(1):1-21 (lead article).
  7. Sosa, M., J. Mihm, and T. Browning. 2011. Degree Distribution and Quality in Complex Engineered SystemsASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 133(10): 101008:1-15.
  8. Sosa, M., J. Mihm, and T. Browning. 2013. Linking Cyclicality and Product QualityManufacturing & Service Operations Management 15(3): 473–491.
  9. Sosa, M., F. Marle. 2013. Assembling creative teams in new product development using creative team familiarityASME Journal of Mechanical Design 135(8): 081009:1-13.
  10. Sosa, M. 2014. Realizing the need for rework: From task interdependence to social networksProduction and Operations Management 23 (8): 1312–1331.
  11. Sosa, M., M. Gargiulo, C. Rowles. 2015. Can informal communication networks disrupt coordination in new product development projects? Organization Science 26(4): 1059–1078.
  12. Gargiulo, M. and M. Sosa. 2016. Common third parties and coordination disruptions
    in new product development organizationsJournal of Product Innovation Management 33(2): 132-140. (Special issue on social networks in new product development)
  13. Chan, T. H., J. Mihm, M. Sosa. 2018. On styles in product design: An analysis of US design patentsManagement Science 64(3): 1230-1249. (Winner of 2015 POMS College of Product Innovation and Technology Management’s Best Student Paper Award)
  14. Liu, H., J. Mihm, and M. Sosa. 2018. Where do stars come from? The role of star versus non-star collaborators in creative settings. Organization Science 29(6): 989-1236. (Published in the Best Paper Proceedings of the 2013 Academy of Management Meeting. Finalist for TIM Division’s Best Student Paper Award)
  15. Chan, T. H., J. Mihm, M. Sosa. 2020. Revisiting the role of collaboration in creating breakthrough inventions. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, in press. (Finalist for 2018 INFORMS TIMES Best Working Paper Award. Featured in Harvard Business Review’s Idea Watch March-April 2020).
  16. Cho, H., M. Sosa, S. Hasija. 2022. Reading between the stars: Understanding the effects of online customer reviews on product demandManufacturing & Service Operations Management (in press).
  17. Lee, S. and M. Sosa. 2026. Spaces for Creativity: Unconventional Spaces and Divergent Thinking. Management Science 72(1): 1072-1094. Featured on LinkedIn by Management Science and as INFORMS TIMES paper of the month in May 2025.
  18. Carrera, C., Martínez-de-AlbénizV. and M. Sosa. 2026. The Bright Side of Lower Quality: Evidence from Restaurant Exploration. Management Science 72(5): 3847-3864.

Working papers

     19. Sosa, M. and M. Maoret. 2026. Close to Me: The Interplay of Intraorganizational Social Networks and Physical Proximity on Dyadic Collaboration Effectiveness. INSEADWorking paper.

     20. Cho, H., S. Hasija, and M. Sosa. 2019. How important is design for the automobile value chain? INSEAD Working paper. Accepted for presentation at the Academy of Management conference 2016 and MSOM conference 2018. (Dormant).

     21. Sosa, M., H. Park, R. Basole. 2017. Bicentric diagrams: A novel approach to manage design changes of interdependent components in complex systems. INSEAD Working paper 2017/47/TOM. (Dormant).

Research in progress

     22. Spaces for Creativity 2.0: Unconventional Spaces and Creative Collaboration (with S. Lee and E. Huang). Research design completed. Experiments in progress.

     23. Idea Abandonment (with T. Chan and K. Sheng). Research design, data collection, and analysis in progress.

     24. Idea Evaluation with AI (with T. Evgeniou). Research design, data collection, and analysis in progress.

     25. Managing the Feedback Loop: Congestion, Triage, and Responsiveness in Healthcare Operations (with Y. Zheng and M. Freeman). Research design completed. Data analysis in progress.

     26. Survival in restaurant networks (with C. Carrera). Data collection completed. Further analysis in progress.

     27. Creative Experiments (with J. Mihm and J. Wooten). Research design completed. Digital game design for experiments in progress.

     28. Architectural Decisions and Organizational Culture (with C. Galunic and S. Winter). Literature review and research design in progress.

Managerial journal and book chapters

     29. Sosa, M., S. Eppinger, C. Rowles. 2007. Are your engineers talking to one another when they should? Harvard Business Review (November).

     30. Sosa, M., J. Mihm. 2007. Organization design for new product development. In C. Loch and S. Kavadias (eds.), Handbook of New Product Development Research.

     31. Sosa, M. 2009. Coordination networks in product development. In P. Kleindorfer and Y. Wind (eds.), The Network Challenge.

     32. Sosa, M. 2012. Organization and domain mapping examples based on Pratt & Whitney jet engine design. In T. Browning and S. Eppinger (eds.), Applications and Methods of Design Structure Matrix (DSM).

     33. Browning, T., J. Mihm, and M. Sosa. 2015. Using hubs and cyclicality to relate software architecture and quality. CrossTalk July/August: 27-31.

     34. Sosa, M. 2018. The value of good design: How design can boost social impact and business results. IESE Insight 37 (2): 24-31. Special issue on Transformation Through Design Thinking (Also published in IESE Business Magazine Fall 2018)

     35. Chan T., J. Mihm, M. Sosa. 2019. When Individuals Are More Innovative Than Teams Harvard Business Review (online)

Papers on refereed conference proceedings

      36. Chan, T. H., J. Mihm, M. Sosa. 2012. A structured approach to identifying styles in design. Proceedings of the 24th ASME Design Theory and Methodology Conference.

      37. Sosa, M., M. Danilovic. 2009. A structured approach to re-organize for creativity. Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED’09).

      38. Sosa, M., T. Browning, J. Mihm. 2007. Studying the dynamics of software architectures. Proceedings of the 19th ASME Design Theory and Methodology Conference. (“Best Paper” award nomination)

Selected INSEAD Knowledge posts and Webinars

Selected media references

Editorial work

  • Co-chair of TIE SIG Day at MSOM Conference (July 2026)

  • Associate Editor for Management Science (since February 2024)

  • Associate Editor for Manufacturing & Service Operations Management (since January 2021)

  • Senior editor for the New Product Development department of POM (2010-2025)

Contact

Manuel Sosa
Professor of Technology and Operations Management
Director of the Heinrich and Esther Baumann-Steiner Fund for Creativity and Business
Director of the creativity-business learning platform
Director of the INSEAD-ArtCenter Collaboration

INSEAD Europe Campus
Boulevard de Constance (Office: PMLS 0.14)
Fontainebleau 77305 France

Email: [email protected]

Assistant: Samyra Ouedraogo

Email: [email protected]