Formerly Rector of the University of Trento, Massimo Egidi is adjunct professor of Behavioral Economics and psychology at Luiss Guido Carli University, Rome, where he served as Rector from October 2006 to October 2016. He was President of FBK – the Bruno Kessler Foundation in Trento, Italy serving from December 2010 to December 2014.
He is a member of the Università Italo Francese, as well as a founding member of the Ateneo Italo Tedesco. With Jean Paul Fitoussi he was co-chairman of the Herbert Simon Society and director, with Axel Leijonhufvud, of the Laboratory of Experimental and Computational Economics (CEEL, Trento).
He was responsible for the National Research Programme in the sector of Economics and Social Sciences 2009-13. He is a member by right of the Scientific Committee of Confindustria.
He is associate editor of a number of Italian and foreign journals, including Industrial and Corporate Change, and Mind and Society.
As a scholar, his main research interests are related to the study of boundedly rational behaviour in organizations and institutions. In particular, he is the author of over 50 scientific publications on topics such as behavioural economics, theory of organisation and organisational learning, and theory of decisions, under the umbrella of the scientific approach developed by Herbert Simon (Nobel prize 1980) from the 1950s onwards, which today is summarised as the “bounded rationality” approach.
A parallel line is represented by the collaboration with Reinhardt Selten (Nobel prize 1994), again on themes of bounded rationality and by the research carried out in recent years in the area of Behavioral Economics.
In the framework of his academic activity, he has been invited speaker within a number of national and international conferences on issues related to university governance, relations between research and industry as well as on the European policies for technology transfer and innovation. Furthermore, he took part in the activities of the European University Association (EUA), which performs a leader role in the creation of a European space for research and training. He was the representative of the conference of Italian rectors in the EUA, authorized to speak on issues related to university governance, the relationship between industry and research, technology transfer, and research and innovation policies. Following his participation in the European debate on the reform of the university system (“Bologna process”) he is the author of publications in the field of Higher Education policies.
Selected Publications
(2014) “The economics of wishful thinking and the adventures of rationality”, Volume 13, Issue 1, pp 9-27 , In Mind & Society, Cognitive studies in economics and social sciences – Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg – ISSN 1593-7879 – (DOI) 10.1007/s11299-014-0146-8
(2013) Egidi, M. “Experiments in business organizations” in The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management, Edited by Mie Augier and David J. Teece (DOI: 10.1057/9781137294678.0222)
(2012) “The cognitive explanarion of economic behavior: from Simon to Kahneman”In “Handbook of knowledge and economics” p.183-210., Edited by R. Arena, Agnès Festré, Natalie Lazaric, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK-Northampton, MA, USA, 2012 – ISBN 978-1-84376-404-5
(2011) “Braitenber Vehickel: altruistich, egoistich, opportunistich” in Inga Hosp, Almut Schutz, Zeno Breitenberg Tentakel des Geistes – Begegnungen mit Valentin Breitenberg (pp 236-242), Edition Raetia-Arunda 81, 2011 – ISBN 978-88-7283-403-9
(2008) & Ajmone Marsan, and Bellomo. Towards a mathematical theory of complex socio-economical system by functional subsystems representation. Kinetic and related Models, American Institute of Mathematical Sciences, p. 249-278, ISSN: 1937-5093
(2008) De la racionalidad limitada a la economia comportamental. In: Viale R.. Las nuevas economias. p. 189-218, Mexico: Flacso, ISBN/ISSN: 978-970-9967-23-4.
(2008). Le processus dual du raisonnement: origines, problèmes et perspectives. In: Walliser B.. Economie et Cognition. p. 11-54, Paris: Ophrys / Maison des Sciences de l’Homme,, ISBN/ISSN: 978-2-7080-1159-5.
(2008) “Organizational Learning, Problem Solving and the Division of Labour”. In Economics, Bounded Rationality and the cognitive revolution, Simon, H.A., Egidi, M., Marris, R., and Viale, R., editors. Elgar,(Reprinting).
(2008) “Introduzione” in Bonini N. F Del Missier Rumiati R. (editor) Psicologia del giudizio e della decisione Il Mulino
(2007) “Decomposition patterns in problem solving” , in Cognitive Economics: New Trends, Contributions to Economic Analysis, volume 280, Chapter 1, Part I, Decisions and Beliefs : edited by Richard Topol &Bernard Walliser, Elsevier. Anche su Economics Working Paper Archive at WUSTL URL http://econpapers.hhs.se/paper/wpawuwpex/0309003.htm.
(2006) « From Bounded Rationality to Behavioral Economics », in Storia del Pensiero Economico: Nuova Serie, January-June 2006 anche in Social Science Research Network, El. Paper Collection, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=758424
(2006) “Cognitive Economics” in Raffaelli T, Becattini G., Dardi M., The Elgar companion To Alfred Marshall , Cheltenham: Elgar pp 672-678 ISBN:9781843760726
(2005) “Dalla razionalità limitata all’economia comportamentale”. In Le Nuove Economie, Viale, R., editor. Milano, Edizioni il Sole 24 Ore.
(2005) “Prefazione”. In Economia Cognitiva e Sperimentale, Guala, V., Motterlini, M., editors, Milano: Università Bocconi Editore.
(2005) “How Uncritical Is the Standard Mentality of Academic Economists?” in History of Economic Ideas, 2005, v. 13, iss. 3, pp. 107-11
(2005). From Bounded Rationality to Behavioral Economics in Social Science Research Network, http://www.ssrn.com/en/.
(2004).(Reprint) ‘Creative Destruction’ in Economic and Political Institutions. In: Egidi;M. Rizzello; S., Cognitive Economics, Cheltenham: Elgar. vol. 169. ISBN:9781840647808
(2004) “Distorsioni nelle decisioni razionali”. In Rivista Italiana degli Economisti. Anno IX (1), 33-76.
(2004) & Rizzello, S., “Cognitive Economics: foundations and historical roots”. In Cognitive Economics, Egidi, M., Rizzello, S., editors. Aldershot U.K.: Elgar,1-22.
(2004) & Narduzzo A. (Reprint) The Emergence of Path-Dependent Behaviors in Cooperative Contexts. In: Egidi, M., Rizzello, S., editors, Cognitive Economics, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. vol. 2, p. 237 – 269. ISBN:9781840647808
(2004) & Marengo, L., (2004) “Cognition, institutions, near decomposability: rethinking Herbert Simon’s contribution”. In Models of A Man: Essays in Memory of Herbert A. Simon, Augier M., March, J. J., editors. Cambridge: MIT Press.
(2003) “Decomposition Patterns in Problem Solving”. In Economics Working Paper Archive at WUSTL URL
(2003) & Rizzello, S. (2003) “Economia Cognitiva: fondamenti ed evoluzione storica”. In Sistemi Intelligenti, Bologna: Il Mulino, Anno XV (2), 221-246.
(2003) “Razionalità Limitata”. In Sistemi Intelligenti, Bologna: Il Mulino, Anno XV (1), 67-72.
(2003) “Discrepancies: competing theories and ideologies as cognitive traps”. In, Cognitive Developments in Economics, Rizzello, S., editor. London: Routledge.
(2003) Con Marengo L Near-Decomposability, organization and Evolution: Some Notes on Herbert Simon’s Contribution. In: Augier M.; March J., Models of a Man: Essays in Memory of Herbert A. Simon, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. p. 459 – 482. ISBN:0262012081
(2001) “Biases in Organizational Behavior”. In The Economics of Choice, Change and Organization: Essays in Memory of Richard M. Cyert, Augier M., March J. J., editors. Aldershot U.K.: Elgar, 190-242.
(2001) “Herbert Alexander Simon’s Contribution to the Sciences of Artificial”. In Proceedings EAPE 2001 Conference, Siena, 8-11 Novembre 2001.
(2000) “‘Bias’ cognitivi nelle organizzazioni”. In Sistemi Intelligenti, Bologna: Il Mulino. Anno XII (2), 237-269.
(1999) con Bonini, N “Cognitive Traps in Individual and Organizational Behavior: some empirical evidence”. In Revue d’economie industrielle, Paris:C.N.R.S. (88), 153-186.
(1998 ) ” Georg von Charasoff ”. In The Elgar Companion to Classical economics. Kurz, H., Salvatori, N., editors. Aldershot U.K: Elgar, 96-100. –
(1997) “Technological and organizational innovations as problem solving activities”. In Economic of Structural and Technological Change, Antonelli, G., De Liso N., editors, London: Routledge. –
(1997) & Ricottilli, M., “Coordination and Specialization as coevolutionary processes”. In Simulating Social Phenomena: Lectures Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, Conte, R., Hegselmann, R., Terna, P., editors, Springer-Verlag. (456), 345-64.
(1997) “Comment: Adverse Selection within Organizations“. In Simon, H. A.: An Empirically Based Microeconomics, Raffaele Mattioli Lectures, Cambridge University Press. 111-132. –
(1997) & Narduzzo, A., “The Emergence of Path Dependent Behaviors in Cooperative Contexts”. In International Journal of Industrial Organization. 15(6), 677-709.
(1996) & Bonini, N., “La decisione di squadra: un’ analisi di alcuni aspetti cognitivi”. In Sistemi Intelligenti, Bologna: Il Mulino. Anno VIII (3), 439-468.
(1996) M., Cohen, M., Burkhart, R., Dosi, G., Marengo, L., Warglien, M., Winter, S., “Routines and Other Recurring Action Patterns of Organizations: Contemporary Research Issues”. In Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press. 5(3), 653-98.
(1996) ” ‘Creative Destruction’ in Economic and Political Institutions”. In: Economic institutions, markets and competition: Centralization and decentralization in the transformation of economic systems, Dallago, B.; Mittone, L., editors, Aldershot U.K: Elgar, 33-62.
(1996) “Routines, Hierarchies of Problems, Procedural Behaviour: Some Evidence from Experiments”. In: The rational foundations of economic behaviour , Arrow, Kenneth J., et al., editors, St. New York: Martin’s Press, London: Macmillan Press, in association with the International Economic Association. (114), 303-33.
(1995) & Messori, M., “Teoria economica e Teoria dell’Organizzazione”. In Relazioni pericolose – L’avventura dell’economia nella cultura contemporanea, Rodano, G., editor, Bari: Laterza. –
(1995) & Marengo, L., “Division of Labour and Social Coordination Modes”. In Artificial Societies: the computer simulation of social life, Nigel Gilbert, N., Conte, R., editors, London: UCL press. Vol.XIII.
(1994) “Prospettive per l’Economia”. In Le Ragioni delle Organizzazioni Economiche, Egidi, M., Turvani, M., editors, Torino: Rosemberg e Sellier.
(1994) “Mercato e democrazia: il processo di distruzione creatrice: introduzione”. In Schumpeter: Capitalismo Socialismo e Democrazia, Milano: Etas.
(1992) “Il Dilemma As If”, in Sistemi Intelligenti, Bologna: Il Mulino. Anno IV (3).
(1992) “Organizational Learning, Problem Solving and the Division of Labour”. In Economics, Bounded Rationality and the cognitive revolution, Simon, H.A., Egidi, M., Marris, R., and Viale, R., editors.Aldershot, U.K.: Elgar, 148-73.
(1992) “Stability and Instability in Sraffian Models”. In Italian economic papers, Pasinetti, L., editor. Bologna: il Mulino; Oxford; New York; Toronto and Melbourne: Oxford University Press, (1), 215-50.
(1991) & Dosi, G., “Substantive and Procedural Uncertainty: An Exploration of Economic Behaviours in Changing Environments”. In Journal of Evolutionary Economics. 1(2), 145-68.
Papers and presentations on Higher Education
“Higher Education Facing Global Challenges. An Italian Perspective”, IE Business School, 30 Aprile 2010, Segovia
“Managing the tensions of business schools: some open questions”, 2008 Academy of Management Meetings, 11 Agosto, Anaheim, Los Angeles
“Governance and management in a context of change. Considerations in the Italian perspective” EUA Conference at University of Coimbra , September 2008
“Universities: Education providers or market players?”, EAIE Conference “The role of the universities in the European Research Area”, Torino, 15-18 settembre 2004
“University autonomy and governance” , European Commission, DG Research: “The Europe of knowledge 2020″, Liegi, 25-28 aprile 2004.-
“Culture and changes: Approaches and implementation – the role of the rector”, Seminario EUA-EQUIS: “Governance and Leadership: Developing new policies and skills”, Lovanio, 5-6 dicembre 2003.-
“The career of a researcher in the European Research Area”, European Conference, Badia Fiesolana (FI), 17-18 luglio 2003.-
“Revisiting the links between higher education and research”, EUA Convention of European Higher Education Institutions,
Graz, 29-31 maggio, 2003.-
“Managing change and innovation. Case Study: The University of Trento (Italy)”, IV Conferenza dell’EUA e II Assemblea Generale – “The Role of Universities in the ERA”,Bristol, 28-29 marzo 2003.-
“L’internazionalizzazione della formazione universitaria nell’ambito Europeo”, Panel EUA, Torino, 6 dicembre 2002.