4 BI Norwegian Business School
4.3 Research group: Leadership and Organisational Productivity
The overall aim of the research group Leadership and Organisational Productivity is to contribute to research in organisational behaviour (OB) and human resource management (HRM) that focuses on predicting individual, team and organisational productivity by publishing in top international journals within these fields.
4.3.1 Organisation, leadership and strategies
The group has previously functioned as an informal research group that has shared the responsibilities for PhD students and where different members have co-authored numerous international peer-reviewed articles and book chapters together. They are now in the process of formalising the cooperation by establishing a formal research group.
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BI has a vibrant experimental research environment, with investments in the facilities for lab research.
New facilities were scheduled to be in place by December 2017.
External funding only includes Norwegian public and private sources, and no international sources.
Several of the group members have received external funding from a wide range of sources, but not as a group. The group intends to apply for a national research centre. The Research Administration Office (RMO) at BI Norwegian Business School assists researchers who want to apply for external funding. BI also charges tuition fees.
The group has top international research and publications. It wants to attract more PhD scholars and create new partnerships for the private sector. Several measures have been implemented in order to further increase the quality of the doctoral programme.
4.3.2 Research personnel
New recruits are mostly at associate professor level, or, in exceptional cases former PhD students.
Following the BI policy, assistant professors have 50% teaching time, 50% research time, with an evaluation every year. Decisions on tenure positions are made after 3.5 years.
PhD students have been recruited nationally and internationally. In recent years, recruitment from academic institutions in other countries has increased. PhD positions are always advertised in easily accessible international channels.
The group members act as supervisors for PhD students in a PhD programme dedicated to Leadership and Organisational Behaviour. The group’s leader is associate dean for this programme. All the group members have extensive experience of advising doctoral candidates.
PhD students are encouraged to spend time at international institutions.
4.3.3 Research production and scientific quality
A particular strength of the group is the mix of quantitative and qualitative research, field and laboratory research, mixed methods and novel research. The list of publications in high-ranking international journals is impressive.
The group members are mainly members of the largest research department at BI Norwegian Business School and have also been among the most productive professors in terms of research publications (one of the members received the 2016 BI Norwegian Business School research award for outstanding research, an award that is handed out every third year), research knowledge dissemination and teaching (especially at the MSc, PhD and executive levels both nationally and internationally).
The group has stars: A prominent group member has been the second most productive psychology researcher in the world and is cited as the most productive European Psychologist from the 1990s to the present; the second most productive psychologist in the world, 1985-2005, and listed among the top 200 psychologists of all time in 2015.
4.3.4 Networking
The group members are very well connected both in terms of national and international research collaborations, as well as with corporate partners. Examples of international research collaborations are provided, as well as a list of international universities with which members of the group collaborate, and national research collaborations. Members of the group are popular collaborators among corporate, public and non-profit organisations nationally and internationally.
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The group is more a sum of individual members and the new structure should enable them to develop their reputation as a group.
4.3.5 Interplay between research and education
The group is among the Norwegian Business School’s most productive researchers, but also among the most active teachers, teaching at all academic levels from bachelors to PhD, with excellent teachers and excellent student evaluations. The courses are attractive, with 400 to 600 applicants to the MSc programme in Leadership and Organisational Psychology every year. Last year, they had 130 applicants from all over the world to three positions as PhD students. The group and the department of Leadership and Organisational Behaviour have their own PhD programme and typically employ 4-6 new candidates every other year.
4.3.6 Societal relevance and impact
The group has several projects with societal and real organisational implications. The group cooperates with organisations and disseminates knowledge to practitioners by (a) holding invited professional talks (several of the group members do this several times a month), (b) writing in the popular press and newspapers (several of the group members are regular columnists in printed media such as Dagens Næringsliv (the largest business newspaper in Norway) and Kapital (the largest business magazine in Norway), and (c) through international press coverage (research by two of the group members was recently covered in the New York Times, research by two other group members was also recently widely covered, including in The Independent and in Metro, and research by two other members was covered in Psychology Today.
4.3.7 Overall assessment and feedback
So far, the group has been more a collection of individuals. The new structure should enable the group to create a brand and a reputation as a group.
Excellent list publications, good research, linked to societal issues and good teaching.
Assessment of research group: 5 - excellent
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