Mark Mortensen

Mark Mortensen is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at INSEAD. Mark Mortensen is co-directing Emerging Leaders in a Digital Age.

His area of expertise is organizational collaboration, with an emphasis on two increasingly prevalent ways of organizing that do not fit traditional models of team dynamics: globally distributed (virtual) and project-based work. In his research, he has investigated the nature of conflict in distributed collaborations and its relationship to identity, context, and communication; the impact of dispersion structure – in the form of balance, imbalance, and isolation – on collaboration dynamics; and the effects of first-hand experience – gained through site visits and expatriate assignments – on trust. He has also explored the interpersonal effects of working in multiple, partially-overlapping, fluidly-shifting projects, developing a fundamentally new model of collaboration.

Professor Mortensen's research has been recognized by the academic community through awards including the William H. Newman Award, Organizational Behavior Division Best Dissertation-Based Paper Award, and Runner-up OCIS Division Best Paper Award from the Academy of Management; and the Best Paper Award Finalist nomination by the Interdisciplinary Network of Groups Researchers. His research has been published in top peer-reviewed academic journals including the Organization Science, Management Science, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Organizational Behavior, and International Journal of Conflict Management. His works has been featured in multiple edited volumes, practitioner journals such as the MIT-Sloan Management Review, Harvard Business Review Online, and IESE Insight; and in media outlets including the Economist, The Boston Globe, and The Globe and Mail.

Professor Mortensen teaches the Organizational Behavior core course in the INSEAD MBA program. He directs the Global Leadership Program for DNV GL and teaches modules on Team Dynamics and Virtual Teams; Power, Networks, and Influence; and Organizational Change. He has taught in open Executive Education programs including Consulting and Coaching for Change, Managing Global Virtual Teams, Manufacturing in a Global Network, and Strategic R&D Management, as well as in the customized programs for Associated British Foods, Astellas Pharmaceuticals, Bayer / Bayer Crop Science, HCL, KONE, Lundbeck A/S, Ma’aden, Maersk Oil, Manulife Financial, Merck KGaA, MetInvest Holdings, Oliver Wyman, pwc, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, United Technologies, and the World Economic Forum.

Professor Mortensen consults widely on issues of team dynamics, global collaboration, power and social networks, and organizational change. He has worked with companies such as First Solar, Generalized Reinsurance, Goldman Sachs/Pine Street, Maersk Oil, and Merck KGaA.

Prior to joining INSEAD, Professor Mortensen was on the faculty of the MIT-Sloan School of Management, and before that, the Desautels School of Management at McGill University. Professor Mortensen holds a PhD in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University, and an MS from Stanford University and a BA from Colby College, both in Computer Science.