Headshot of Mary Zellmer-Bruhn, Associate Dean of MBA and MS Programs

Mary Zellmer-Bruhn

Associate Dean of MBA and MS Programs, Professor
Department of Work and Organizations

Contact

Education:

  • BBA 1987
    Marketing Univ. of Wisconsin
  • MS 1993
    Management Univ. of Wisconsin
  • PhD 1999
    Organizational Behavior Univ. of Wisconsin

Expertise:

  • Team composition and performance
  • The effects of context on team learning & performance
  • Time related effects in organizational behavior & teamwork
  • Cross-cultural teamwork and global teams
  • Team Mindfulness
  • Knowledge Processes in Teams

Biography

Dr. Zellmer-Bruhn is the Associate Dean of Graduate Programs and Professor in the Work and Organizations Department of the Carlson School of Management.  She received a bachelor's degree in marketing, a master's degree in management, and a Ph.D. in organizational behavior, all from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.  Zellmer-Bruhn was a 2025-2026 BIG10 Academic Alliance Leadership Program Fellow.

Zellmer-Bruhn teaches courses at the Carlson School on the management of teams, organizational behavior, and cross-cultural management. along with numerous executive education offerings.  She has received the Carlson School's Excellence in Teaching, Outstanding Honor's Faculty and the Carlson Executive MBA Curtis Cup Award for Excellence teaching awards. 

Zellmer-Bruhn's research focuses on teamwork, including the formation and design of teams, the social capital benefits of teamwork in organizations, entrepreneurial teams, knowledge management and team routines, and cross-cultural teamwork. Her research is published in Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Management Science, Organization Science, the Strategic Management Journal, the Journal of International Business Studies, Academy of Management Annals, Journal of Business Venturing, Group and Organization Management, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Management International Review, Journal of Managerial Issues, Journal of World Business, Small Group Research and The Journal of Managerial Psychology.

Zellmer-Bruhn has served as Deputy Editor and Senior Editor for Organization Science, and Area Editor for the Journal of International Business Studies. She serves on the editorial board of Journal of World Business and Management International Review, and previously served on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Review, Small Group Research, Organization Science, Journal of International Business, and Journal of Management. Zellmer-Bruhn also was on the Executive Committee of the College of Organization Science (INFORMS) from 2010 - 2013, a was a past board member of INGROUP.

Selected Works & Activities

  • Hernandez, E., Choudhury, P., Kulchina, E., Wang, D., Shaver, J. M., Zellmer-Bruhn, M., & Khanna, T. (2025) Why Should Organizational Scholars Study Migration? Guest editor essay for the Organization Science special issue on migration and organizations, O
  • Beaver, G. & Zellmer-Bruhn, M. (2025) “Employee Resource Groups: Member Experiences and the Role of Allies,” Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: An International Journal.
  • Stahl, G., Akkan, E., Reiche, S., Hajro, A., Zellmer-Bruhn, M., Lazarova, M., et al. (2024). Linking institutional context to the community and career embeddedness of skilled migrants: The role of destination and origin country identifications. Journal of
  • Zellmer-Bruhn, M.E., Forbes, D.P., Sapienza, H.J. & Borchert, P. S. (2021) “Lab,gig, or enterprise How scientist-inventors form nascent start-up teams.” Journal of Business Venturing.
  • Tenzer, H., Pudelko, M. & Zellmer-Bruhn, M. (2021). “The Impact of Language Barriers on Knowledge Processing in Multinational Teams.” Journal of World Business.
  • Zellmer-Bruhn, M, & Maloney, M. (2020). Cross-Cultural Teamwork. The SAGE Handbook of Contemporary Cross-Cultural Management.
  • Maloney, M. M., Shah, P. P., Zellmer-Bruhn, M., & Jones, S. L. (2019). The Lasting Benefits of Teams: Tie Vitality After Teams Disband. Organization Science, 30(2), 260-279.
  • Yu, L. & Zellmer-Bruhn, M.* (2018). Introducing team mindfulness and considering its safeguard role against conflict transformation and social undermining. Academy of Management Journal, 61(1), 324-347. *Authorship alphabetical.
  • Stahl, Tung, Kostova, & Zellmer-Bruhn, (2016). Widening the lens: Rethinking distance, diversity, and foreignness in international business research through positive organizational scholarship. Journal of International Business Studies, 47(6), 621-630.
  • Maloney, M., Bresman, H., Zellmer-Bruhn, M. & Beaver, G. (2016). “Contextualizing team research: A look back and a path forward.” Academy of Management Annals, 10(1), 891-942.
  • Zheng, Y., DeVaughn, M., & Zellmer-Bruhn, M. E. (2016). “Shared and shared alike? Founders’ Prior Shared Experience and Performance of Newly Founded Banks” Strategic Management Journal. 37(12), 2503-2520.
  • Bresman, H., & Zellmer-Bruhn, M. (2013). "The Structural Context of Team Learning: Effects of Organizational and Team Structure on Internal and External Learning." Organization Science, 24(4), 1120-1139
  • Zellmer-Bruhn, M. E., & Gibson, C.B. (2013) How Does Culture Matter? A Contextual View of Intercultural Interaction in Groups. In Masaki Yuki and Marilynn Brewer (Eds.) Culture and Group Processes. Oxford University Press Masaki Yuki and Marilynn Brewer,
  • Maloney, M. M. &, Zellmer-Bruhn, M. E. (2006). "Building bridges, windows, and cultures: Mediating mechanisms between heterogeneity and performance in global teams. Management International Review. 46(6):697-720.
  • Forbes, D. P., Borchert, P., Zellmer-Bruhn, M. E., & Sapienza, H.J. (2006). "Entrepreneurial team formation: An exploration of new member addition." Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, March, 225-248.
  • Zellmer-Bruhn, M. E., & Gibson, C. B. (2006). "Multinational Organization Context: Implications for team learning and performance." Academy of Management Journal, 49(3): 501-518.
  • Zellmer-Bruhn, M. E. (2003). "Interruptive events and team knowledge acquisition." Management Science, 49(4), 514-528.
  • Waller, M. J., Zellmer-Bruhn, M. E. & Giambatista, R. C. (2002). "The effects of shifting deadlines on attention to time in groups." The Academy of Management Journal 45(5), 1046-1055.
  • Gibson, C. B. & Zellmer-Bruhn, M. E. (2001). "Metaphors and meaning: An intercultural analysis of teamwork." Administrative Science Quarterly, 46: 274-303.
  • Research Grants

    National Science Foundation Grant, 2003 -2006

  • Editorial Appointments

    Current Editorial Boards: Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of World Business, Management International Review

     

  • Honors and Awards
    • Carlson Executive MBA Curtis Cup Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2019, 2022
    • Carlson School of Management Outstanding Faculty Service Award, 2012
    • Outstanding Honors Faculty, 2004-2005
    • Carlson School of Management Excellence in Teaching Award, 2003-2004
  • Scholarly Service
    • 2019 Judge, INFORMS Organization Science Dissertation Proposal Competition
    • Local Arrangements Chair, INGroup Board of Directors, 2011 Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN
    • Executive Committee, College of Organization Science (INFORMS)
    • Executive Committee, College on Organization Science, INFORMS. 2010-2013
    • INFORMS Dissertation Proposal Competition Chair: 2010

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