The Research Centre for Organisation Studies is an interdisciplinary group of scholars with backgrounds in economics, sociology, psychology, anthropology and political science, studying contemporary issues in organizations. Its main research topics are:
Strategic human resources management
Current research in the field of (strategic) HRM is clustered around four central themes: the prerequisites for and importance of effective HRM implementation by line managers; the effect of differentiating HR practices (e.g. variable pay, idiosyncratic deals) on employee and co-worker attitudes and behaviors; the impact of demographic changes, voluntary and natural turnover on operational and financial firm performance; the differential impact of growth-oriented versus adaptation-oriented HR practices on older workers’ engagement and career scripts.
Career transitions and employability
Until recently, climbing the hierarchical ladder within the same organization was the most common and favored way of making a career. Nowadays, changing employers and professions – either voluntary or forced – is no longer considered a rarity. This change in the career landscape has brought research on career transitions and employability, i.e. the chance to get or maintain a job, to the fore. Research in this area is centered on the nature and impact of career transitions, career management, career success and the meaning, antecedents and consequences of employability. With the workforce becoming increasingly older, special attention is given to the late-career and the issue of active aging.
Talent management and leadership
The goal of the research programme on leadership is to advance our understanding of how specific forms and dimensions of leadership, such as authentic leadership behavior, behavioral integrity or inclusive leadership, relate to desired behaviors at the team (e.g. psychological safety, team learning effectiveness) or team member (e.g. engagement, work performance) level. The talent management programme focuses primarily on the processes by which high potentials and (future) leaders are identified, selected and developed, as well as on the phenomenon of career derailment in leadership pipelines.
Social issues in organisations
Social issues in organisations is centered on the study of diversity in organizations and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The study of diversity aims to advance our understanding of diversity and diversity management by uncovering the social processes through which diversity (management) is infused with specific meanings and related to power relations. The study of CSR aims to uncover the social and communicative nature of CSR within organizations, focusing on leadership sensegiving and legitimacy strategies as well as its relation with HRM practices.
International and cross-cultural management
Recent and on-going research on international management is clustered around the topics of global teams, language and translation in international business, and new forms of international mobility. It addresses these issues from a variety of theoretical insights from multi-disciplinary literature with particular emphasis on the social, cultural and political processes involved in crossing borders.
