Professor Obstfeld’s research examines how the knowledge-intensive social processes that result in organizational change and innovation unfold at the local and firm levels. Currently, his interests focus on how combinatorial action, knowledge articulation, creative projects, and collective action yield new insights for strategy, organization theory, and leadership.

His publications include “The role of affect in creative projects and exploratory search.” with Paul Adler (Industrial and Corporate Change, 2007); ""Social Networks, The Tertius Iungens Orientation, and Involvement in Innovation""(Administrative Science Quarterly, 2005); ""Organizing and the Process of Sensemaking,"" with Karl Weick and Kathleen Sutcliffe (Organization Science, 2005); “Social Capital by Design: Structures, Strategies, and Institutional Context,” with Wayne Baker in Corporate Social Capital and Liability; and “Organizing for High Reliability: Processes of Collective Mindfulness,” in Research in Organizational Behavior with Karl Weick and Kathleen Sutcliffe.

Professor’s Obstfeld’s 2005 Administrative Science Quarterly paper, “Social Networks, the Tertius Iungens Orientation, and Involvement in Innovation,” just won the 2007 W. Richard Scott Award from the American Sociological Association’s Organizations, Occupations and Work (OOW) division for outstanding contribution to the discipline in an article published within the last three years.

Recently, Professor Obstfeld received a $322,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study organizational innovation. Entitled “Brokerage, Social Networks, Knowledge-Based Innovation,” it is sponsored by the Innovation and Organizational Change, Sociology, and Law and Social Science directorates of the NSF.

Professor Obstfeld, in collaboration with technology pundit and Chief of Confusion, John Seely Brown (http://www.johnseelybrown.com/), recently completed the first installment of edge – a new course that explores how technology and globalization are transforming the business landscape. (See the course website at: http://edge.merage.uci.edu/)