Research

Inventing new tools of thinking that can enhance people’s capability to live a better life. That’s what Frank’s research is ultimately about.

Frank has published in top journals of psychology (Personality and Social Psychology Review, Perspectives on Psychological Science, Nature Human Behaviour, Journal of Personality), organizational research (Academy of Management Review, Organization Studies, Journal of Organizational Behavior), and philosophy (Southern Journal of Philosophy, Metaphilosophy, Journal of Business Ethics).

Frank has had a rather unorthodox career, with one PhD from organizational research (2012 Aalto University) and another PhD from philosophy (2019 University of Helsinki) but most of his published articles within psychology. He was a visiting scholar at psychology department in University of Rochester 2013-2014 and at faculty of theology at University of Helsinki 2015-2017. Currently, he is an assistant professor of organizational design at Aalto University.

Frank has published 50+ scientific articles and 10+ book chapters. His work has been cited 9000+ times according to Google Scholar (h-index 38) and 2000+ on Web of Science (h-index 22).

Key research projects Frank has pursued have included:

Conceptualizing what well-being is for humans, proposing a distinction between functional well-being and arguing for the key role of psychological needs within well-being
Examining how well human psychological needs as proposed by self-determination theory explain citizen well-being across the world. And what makes some nations happier than others.
Examining beneficence - understood as a sense of prosocial impact - as a source of well-being and meaning in life, and potentially a basic psychological need
Investigating how decentralized organizations with low hierarchy and self-managing employees function, are successful, and empower employees.
Examining open and participatory strategy processes, where organizations engage employees in setting the direction of the organization
Examining what meaning in life is and how to make human life more meaningful. And what makes work meaningful.
Examining pragmatist philosophy, especially John Dewey’s philosophy, as a foundation to understand science, epistemology, morality, and the human condition

Besides these key topics, he has written scientific articles about free will, the 19th-century history of how meaning of life was invented, how governments can support voluntary compliance, and the role of compassion in organizations, among others.

Frank has given keynote speeches in, e.g., the following conferences: Self-Determination Theory Conference, Orlando, Fl (2023), First Congress of Applied Positive Psychology in Chile, Santiago de Chile (2022), International Symposium of Motivation and Human Development, Sao Paulo (2022), Self-Determination Theory Conference, Amsterdam (2019).

Frank has been a full-time researcher since 2008, when he started his PhD work. The title of his second dissertation captures nicely what Frank’s activities as a researcher amount to:
A pragmatist inquiry into the art of living.

Most up to date list of Frank’s scientifc publications can be found here:

Frank’s research site at Aalto University
Frank’s research page on Google Scholar.

Some key publications

- Martela, F., Ryan, R. M., & Steger, M. F. (2017). Meaningfulness as satisfaction of autonomy, competence, relatedness, and beneficence: Comparing the four satisfactions and positive affect as predictors of meaning in life. Journal of Happiness Studies, (Advance online publication).
- Martela, F., & Ryan, R. M. (2016). The Benefits of Benevolence: Basic Psychological Needs, Beneficence, and the Enhancement of Well-Being. Journal of Personality, 84(6), 750–764.
- Martela, F., & Steger, M. F. (2016). The meaning of meaning in life: Coherence, purpose and significance as the three facets of meaning. Journal of Positive Psychology, 11(5), 531–545.
- Martela, F., & Ryan, R. M. (2016). Prosocial behavior increases well-being and vitality even without contact with the beneficiary: Causal and behavioral evidence. Motivation and Emotion, 40(3), 351–357.
- Martela, Frank & Tuukka Kostamo (2017): Adaptive self-organizing: The necessity of intrinsic motivation and self-determination. In Knowledge Management and Complexity. Ed. Anne Eskola. Routledge
- Martela, F. (2015). Fallible inquiry with ethical ends-in-view: A pragmatist philosophy of science for organizational research. Organization Studies, 36(4), 537–563.
- Martela, F. (2014). Sharing well-being in a work community – Exploring well-being generating relational systems. In N. M. Ashkanasy, W. J. Zerbe, & C. E. J. Härtel (Eds.), Research on Emotion in Organizations: Vol. 10 (pp. 79–110). Emerald Group.
- Martela, F. (2017). Meaningfulness as Contribution. The Southern Journal of Philosophy, 55(2), 232–256.
- Martela, F. (2017). Moral Philosophers as Ethical Engineers: Limits of Moral Philosophy and a Pragmatist Alternative. Metaphilosophy, 48(1–2), 58–78. https://doi.org/10.1111/meta.12229
- Martela, F. (2015). Pragmatism as an attitude. In U. Zackariasson (Ed.), Nordic Studies in Pragmatism 3: Action, Belief and Inquiry – Pragmatist Perspectives on Science, Society and Religion (pp. 187–207). Helsinki: Nordic Pragmatism Network.