Faculty of Economics and Business

Professors Harry Garretsen and Janka Stoker reach large and diverse audiences with their expertise and research on leadership. In 2018, their first Dutch book ‘Goede leiders zweven niet’ (translates to English as: ‘Good leaders don’t levitate’) was published. They were then also asked to become columnists at Het Financieele Dagblad (the Dutch Financial Times). These columns formed the basis of their second book, written for managers, policymakers and the general public, called ‘Goede leiders in onzekere tijden’ (Good leaders in turbulent times). This book, published in 2022, got lot of attention in the Dutch media, and was the reason to start a podcast on leadership in turbulent times. Till now they have mainly focused on Dutch audiences, but they are branching out to reach an international audience, as an English book is also in the making.

Concerns over climate change are more pressing than ever. More and more firms are taking actions to improve corporate environmental sustainability (CES), such as appointing governance actors with assigned roles and responsibilities to improve the environmental sustainability of the corporation. For example, Royal Dutch Shell appointed clean energy leaders to manage Shell's transition from brown to green energy. However, only weeks before Shell was set to announce the strategy for the transition, its clean energy leaders left the firm. Intrigued by such developments, PhD scholar Ina Karn and co-authors wondered why improving CES remained a challenge, even though firms take actions such as appointing relevant actors.

In today’s business landscape, corporate environmental performance transcends mere metrics; it is a strategic imperative. The question then arises: How can organizations prepare themselves to approach environmental challenges, embedding sustainability into the core of business strategies? A recent study by Professors Asad, Hennig and Oehmichen shows reconfiguring boardrooms to include environmental expertise is one solution.

In the face of societal and environmental challenges, organizations need to do more than just make symbolic gestures or resort to greenwashing. The real change-makers are often found within the organizations themselves. They are the insider social change agents. These individuals are driving change and have the potential to significantly impact societal transformations. However, their efforts need to extend beyond isolated wins within their organizations.In a recent review in the Academy of Management Annals, Assistant Professor Katrin Heucher, along with a team of international co-authors, delves into how these individual efforts can aggregate and lead to broader, more impactful change.