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
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Martela, F. (2024). Being as having, loving, and doing: A theory of human well-being. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 28(4), 372–397.
Martela, F., & Ryan, R. M. (2023). Clarifying eudaimonia and psychological functioning to complement evaluative and experiential well-being – Why basic psychological needs should be measured in national accounts of well-being. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 18(5), 1121–1135.
Martela, F., Lehmus-Sun, A., Parker, P. D., Pessi, A. B., & Ryan, R. M. (2023). Needs and Well-Being Across Europe: Basic Psychological Needs Are Closely Connected With Well-Being, Meaning, and Symptoms of Depression in 27 European Countries. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 14(5), 501–514.
Martela, F., Greve, B., Rothstein, B., & Saari, J. (2020). The Nordic Exceptionalism: What Explains Why the Nordic Countries are Constantly Among the Happiest in the World. In J. F. Helliwell, R. Layard, J. Sachs, & J.-E. De Neve (Eds.), World Happiness Report 2020 (pp. 129–146). Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
Martela, F., & Sheldon, K. M. (2019). Clarifying the concept of well-being: Psychological need-satisfaction as the common core connecting eudaimonic and subjective well-being.Review of General Psychology, 23(4), 458–474.
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 three meanings of meaning in life: Distinguishing coherence, purpose, and significance. Journal of Positive Psychology, 11(5), 531–545.
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Martela, F. (2025). Well-Being as Having, Loving, Doing, and Being: An Integrative Organizing Framework for Employee Well-Being. Journal of Organizational Behavior.
Martela, F., & Nandram, S. (2025). Buurtzorg: Scaling up an organization with hundreds of self-managing teams but no middle managers. Journal of Organization Design.
Martela, F. (2023). The social ontology of purpose—How organizations can have goals and intentions without having a mind. Academy of Management Review, 48(2), 363–365.
Martela, F. (2023). Managers matter less than we think: How can organizations function without any middle management? Journal of Organization Design, 12, 19–25.
Martela, F., Gómez, M., Unanue, W., Araya, S., Bravo, D., & Espejo, A. (2021). What makes work meaningful? Longitudinal evidence for the importance of autonomy and beneficence for meaningful work. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 131(103631), 1–15.
Martela, F. (2019). What makes self-managing organizations novel? – Comparing how Weberian bureaucracy, Mintzberg’s adhocracy, and self-organizing solve six fundamental problems of organizing. Journal of Organization Design, 8(23), 1–23.
Martela, F., & Pessi, A. B. (2018). Significant Work Is About Self-Realization and Broader Purpose: Defining the Key Dimensions of Meaningful Work. Frontiers in Psychology, 9(363), 1–15.
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Martela, F. (2023). The Normative Value of Making a Positive Contribution–Benefiting Others as a Core Dimension of Meaningful Work. Journal of Business Ethics, 185, 811–823.
Martela, F. (2022). Axiological Values Grounded in Basic Motivational Dispositions: How to Be a Subjectivist about Meaning in Life. Journal of Philosophy of Life, 12(1), 55–76.
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.
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. (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.