Faculty of Economics and Business

All of Assistant Professor Iina Ikonen’s research focuses on societally relevant outcomes, for instance regarding how consumers respond to more inclusive marketing communications. Together with co-authors from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Ikonen examined how the size of models on online fashion shopping platforms influences consumers.  ---There is also a Dutch translation of this article available. ---

Innovative research is often a collaborative effort between multiple disciplines. 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 is one of them. His 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.

Iina Ikonen recently joined the Faculty of Economics and Business as an assistant professor within the Department of Marketing. She grew up in Finland and before coming to Groningen, 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 to her, the Netherlands feels like a familiar home away from home. “At work, the people around you are what makes the difference.”

Dirk Bezemer published his book “Een Land van Kleine Buffers: Er is genoeg geld, maar we gebruiken het verkeerd” (translated as A Land of Small Buffers: there is enough money, but we are using it the wrong way) in 2020. The book highlights financialization in the Dutch economy and its consequences for the housing market and the pension system, and proposes policies to address these issues. In his follow-up research, he continues to focus on these themes.

In her research, PhD candidate Carlotta Masciandaro focuses on the distributional consequences of climate policies. At the end of 2023, she received a PhD Grant, for PhD candidates at the University of Groningen working on topics related to sustainable development, from UG’s Rudolf Agricola School. FEB Research talked to Masciandaro about her research and the importance of fighting climate change without worsening societal inequalities.

Imagine this scenario: an older person is moving from the hospital back home, yet the process is anything but smooth. They are feeling uncertain and confused about what awaits them post-hospital discharge. Is there a way to improve this transition? This is where transitional care innovations (TCIs) come into play. TCIs are innovations aimed at coordinating and streamlining the care continuity for patients, ensuring that they receive “the right care at the right time at the right place” as they move between multiple care settings during these transitions. Yet there are currently several mechanisms in the real-world practice that impede the successful implementation of TCIs. In a recent study, Assistant Professor Amal Fakha (FEB’s Department of Innovation management & Strategy) and co-authors thus developed a novel set of implementation strategies.

PhD candidate Elena Agachi studied the potential of online preventive health programs. Her project was a cooperation between the University of Groningen and health insurance company Menzis. Elena’s research was centred around the lifestyle program SamenGezond, analyzing real world data on activities in the program, as well as healthcare costs. The project’s findings demonstrate the potential of online preventive programs to improve individual health, supporting the transition from reactive healthcare to proactive well-being.

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.

Demographic developments are at the heart of major transition processes facing countries worldwide. The recent negotiations for a new cabinet in the Netherlands also testified to this. Limiting asylum migration seems to have been at the heart of these negotiations. Recently, two interesting reports on demographic trends were published. Major demographic changes are taking place on a global scale, but these reports and further current discussions on migration and demography, on the other hand, have a strong national focus, argue Professor Steven Brakman (UG), Associate Professor Tristan Kohl (UG) and Professor Charles van Marrewijk (Utrecht University).

How can you entice supermarket customers to make healthier and more sustainable choices? This is what researchers from the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) of the University of Groningen (UG) have been researching for the past five years, in collaboration with Wageningen University & Research (WUR). Among other things, they discovered that supermarket customers are quite willing to make healthier choices, but shy away if they feel they are being patronized.