In this bi-monthly newsletter, we showcase our research activities, Centres of Expertise and researchers.

In this spring issue of 2024, we present our third Impact case: Professor Dirk Bezemer's research, that has changed the Dutch public debate on financialization. In his research, Bezemer highlights financialization in the Dutch economy and its consequences for the housing market and the pension system. Also, assistant Professor Iina Ikonen introduces herself. She started working at FEB past February and is excited to take the next steps in her academic career in Groningen, within the Department of Marketing. And we share one of our interdisciplinary PhD projects: Georgios Fraros talks about his PhD research into the additive bias in the context of sustainable change.

Acceleration grants and new impact cases

Creating societal impact is one of the ambitions of the Faculty of Economics & Business. In order to support the academic staff to achieve impact, the Board has installed acceleration grants and grants for impact cases. The acceleration grants are awarded to research projects that are potentially impactful, but need additional resources to reach their full potential. Impact cases are research projects that have proven to have societal impact.

For 2024, six acceleration grants and two impact cases have been awarded.

The acceleration grants are for:

Marijke Leliveld and Hans Risselda: enhancing data-driven decision-making for Dutch charity organizations
Milena Nikolova: Work Meaning and Motivation: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Work Wellbeing
Claire Stein: Fostering new collaborations through a workshop on lessons learned from culturally-responsive intervention development in Vietnam
Jenny van Doorn and Jana Holthöwer: Robots to the Rescue! Implementing Robots in Health and Elderly Care.
Iris Vis, Thao Nguyen, Niels Wouda, Imke Hakkens: Educational Logistics for Personalised Learning: pilot studies on planning elective hours.
Katrin Heucher: How to catalyze positive social change from within organizations – Practitioner Workshops

And the two new impact cases are:

Annika Mueller and Shan Ahmad: Financial Inclusion in Pakistan
Konstantin Wacker: Building capacity for policy analysis of economic growth

In the next issues of our research newsletter, we will highlight these research projects.

Impact case: Changing the Dutch public debate about financialization

Professor Dirk Bezemer's research highlights the financialization of the Dutch economy and its consequences for the housing market and the pension system. He proposes policies to address these issues and has changed the Dutch debate on financialization through public engagement. His research has influenced policymaking on income inequality, housing markets and pension funds. Learn more about his research.

New in Groningen: Iina Ikonen

Iina Ikonen recently joined the Faculty of Economics and Business as an assistant professor within the Department of Marketing. Before coming to Groningen, she obtained her PhD in Amsterdam and worked as an assistant professor at the University of Bath. She likes the collegial and friendly atmosphere of her new department in Groningen and is excited to take the next steps in her academic career here. “At work, the people around you are what makes the difference.” Read further

Fostering a holistic understanding of complex issues, such as sustainable change

In the past years, several PhD candidates started interdisciplinary projects that are a collaboration between the Faculty of Economics and Business and other faculties of the University of Groningen. Georgios Fraros' project on the additive bias in the context of sustainable change involves FEB’s Department of Human Resource Management and Organizational Behaviour and the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences."The discourse on sustainable innovation is still dominated by a 'more is more' mindset that focuses on additive transformations, instead of on subtractive solutions." Read further

FEB's research master rated as 'excellent programme'

The research master in economics and business at FEB has been named an ‘excellent programme’ in the latest Keuzegids Masters. FEB’s research master received a mention of ‘very good’ on the following components: material, lecturers, exams, career preparation, and atmosphere. It is one of seventeen “excellent” programmes at Dutch universities. Read more here

Tri Tran receives a British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grant
Assistant Professor Tri Tran, together with Dr Peng Xu from the University of Essex, received the British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grant. The grant will facilitate research visits and data collection for their research project that explores the advantages of risk-seeking behaviour, particularly in supplier selection problems during disruptions in the context of the healthcare supply chain .Read more here.

HorizonEU research project on skills shortages, migration and global development (GS4S) kicks off
A new research project seeking to understand how to mitigate skills shortages has recently kicked off. The project is titled ‘Global Strategy for Skills, Migration, and Development’ (GS4S) and is led by Radboud University, with the University of Groningen as one of the partners. In the project, assistant professor Daniël Speldekamp represents the University of Groningen. Read more here.

Project on sustainable urban logistics (GLEAM NSR) kicks off
All partners in the project GLEAM NSR, led by the University of Groningen, met in January for the official kick-off. The project focuses on the role of governance towards just and green urban logistics. In the project, Associate Professor Paul Buijs is one of the representatives of the University of Groningen. Read more here.

Maria Cristina Sestu wins EIBA Best Paper Award
Maria Cristina Sestu has won the Best Paper Award in the track International Finance, Accounting and Corporate Governance at the EIBA conference. She received the award for her paper titled ‘Joint venture growth and goal congruence of ultimate owners’. Read more here.

Recent publications

Below we list a few examples of recent publications.

Czura, K., A. Menzel, and M. Miotto (2024). Improved Menstrual Health and the Workplace: An RCT with Female Bangladeshi Garment Workers. Journal of Development Economics, 166, 103174.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103174

Heucher, K., E. Alt, S. Soderstrom, M. Scully, and A. Glavas (2024). Catalyzing Action on Social and Environmental Challenges: An Integrative Review of Insider Social Change Agents. Academy of Management Annals, 18 (1), 295-347.

https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2022.0205

Huisman, H.M., E. de Haan, M. Mulder, and J.E. Wieringa (2024) The Combined Effect of Regulators’ and Retailers’ Actions to Stimulate Consumer Participation in Retail Energy Markets. Energy Policy, 184, 113890.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113890

Liu, Z., M. Luan, H. Li, J.I. Stoker, and J. Lammers (2024). Psychological Power Increases the Desire for Social Distance but Reduces the Sense of Social Distance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 110, 104528.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2023.104528

Rouyre, A., A.S. Fernandez, and I. Estrada (2024). Co-evolution of Governance Mechanisms and
Coopetition in Public-Private Projects. Journal of Operations Management, 70 (1), 50-79.
https://doi.org/10.1002/joom.1281

Steinberg, P.J., J.C. Hennig, J. Oehmichen, and J. Heigermoser (2023). How the Country Context Shapes Firms' Competitive Repertoire Complexity. Global Strategy Journal, 13 (3), 552-580.
https://doi.org/10.1002/gsj.1458

Recent PhD Graduates

Eda Aral-Kilic
Title: The Productivity Puzzle, Management Practices and Leadership
Promotores: Prof. J.H. Garretsen and Prof. J.I. Stoker
Defended on 15 February 2024
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Tobias Grohmann
Title: Measurement, Drivers, and Consequences of International Migration: Essays in Migration Economics
Promotor: Prof. B.W. Lensink, co-promotor: Dr. H.C. Fromell
Defended on 29 February 2024
Download

Nevena Ivanovic
Title: Communication Markers of Resilience: Activity, Timing, and Mechanisms of Effective Communication Amidst Adverse Events
Promotores: Prof. G.S. van der Vegt and Prof. D.P. van Donk, co-promotor: Dr. T.A. de Vries
Defended on 18 March 2024
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Lennard Rekker
Title: Economics of Hydrogen Markets: An Analysis of Supply, Demand and Market Conditions
Promotor: Prof. M. Mulder, co-promotor: Dr. M. Kesina
Defended on 7 March 2024
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Ruben Tarne
Title: Housing cycles and their regulation: an agent-based analysis
Promotor: Prof. D. Bezemer, co-promotor: Dr. T. Theobald
Defended on 8 April 2024
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Arlinde Vrooman
Title: Here to Heal? The Effect of Colonial Rule on Disease and Health Care in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire: ca. 1900-1955
Promotores: Prof. J. Bolt and Prof. H.J. de Jong
Defended on 28 March 2024
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Lina Xie
Title: The Role of Public Financial Institutions in Reducing CO2 Emissions and Countries' Vulnerability to Climate Risks
Promotor: Prof. L.J.R. Scholtens, co-promotor: Dr. S. Homroy
Defended on 19 February 2024

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