Grounded in TUM’s technological and entrepreneurial ecosystem, TUM School of Management educates responsible talents and pursues rele-vant research to advance innovation-based businesses and societies in Germany, Europe, and the world. At our Garching-based Entrepreneurship Research Institute (ERI), scientists from various disciplines contribute to entrepreneurship research as an emerging and important area at the intersection of business, economics, and psychology. We aim to help develop this field and improve our understanding of entrepreneurial individuals and organizations.
Context
Startups often begin with lean structures, founder-driven vision, and cultural cohesion. But as they scale—through funding, hiring, market expansion, or process formalization, they face growing pains. The need for structure, di-verse talent, and investor alignment can strain the initial agility and coherence. Scaling introduces challenges in maintaining alignment, managing complexity, and adapting to external pressures for legitimacy. While scaling is often viewed as a strategic process, less attention has been paid to how these pressures are experienced by team members and how they reshape the venture’s internal dynamics.
Thesis objective and possible approach
This thesis aims to explore the organizational challenges faced by new ventures during the scaling phase and to develop a conceptual framework for managing internal alignment and adaptability by:
- Identifying common operational and cultural challenges that arise during venture scaling
- Analyzing how internal dynamics, such as communication, role evolution, and decision-making, shift as ventures grow
- Examining the impact of external pressures (e.g., investor expectations, market legitimacy) on internal co-herence
- Investigating how team members perceive and respond to tensions between early-stage agility and emerg-ing formalization
- Synthesizing findings into a practical model to support organizational alignment during growth transitions
Prerequisites and required skills
- Fluent in English (spoken and written)
- Solid knowledge of conducting interviews and interview coding OR solid knowledge of quantitative data analysis using survey data
- High analytical skills
- Great self-organization skills and ability to work with a large amount of data
- Willingness to work independently and reliably
Application: Please send your application (CV, current transcript of records, and motivation letter) by the 15th of September 2025 to david.nawrath(at)tum.de and dominik.welcher(at)unternehmertum.de
For further questions, please get in touch with David Nawrath via david.nawrath(at)tum.de
Technische Universität München
Entrepreneurship Research Institute
Lichtenbergstr. 6, 85748 Garching