Warren Nilsson

Biography

I am currently an Associate Professor focusing on Social Innovation at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town. I hold a Ph.D. in Management from McGill University where I studied under Henry Mintzberg. My research focuses on the organizational dimensions of deep institutional transformation with a particular emphasis on institutional shifts related to social and environmental sustainability. I collaborate with social purpose organizations of various kinds to explore the relationship between unusually engaging organizational practices and broader patterns of social change. I have received multiple awards for my teaching and have taught close to 40 courses at the undergraduate, graduate, and executive levels in subjects ranging from organizational strategy and development to social innovation and sustainability. I have worked with very diverse, international groups of students. I have significant professional experience in community development and a passion for connecting my academic research to practitioner-driven social initiatives. Most recently I spent the second half of 2010 and the first half of 2011 pursuing my research in residence at Kufunda Learning Village, a grassroots sustainability project in Zimbabwe, and then extending that research stream by visiting various social change organizations in India.

Research Interest

Institutional shifts related to social and environmental sustainability, organizational practices, social innovation