Adaptive Societies, Organizations and Workers
How do societies, organizations and individuals react and change in regard to challenges?
Research Focus
Societies, organizations, and individuals are subjected to profound changes. Such changes come in many forms and at different levels. Such changes may either be episodic (e.g. economic depression, inter-group conflict, divorce, unemployment, sickness) or structural and long lasting (globalization, migration, deinstitutionalization, neo-liberalization, aging, flexibilization, digitalization , and accompanying changes in values, norms, and culture), and affect the ‘life chances’ of these social actors who, as a consequence, need to deal with these changing realities they face. Adaptive reactions are diverse and challenges manifold.
Our research line firstly aims to understand the adaptive and maladaptive reactions and underlying mechanisms of social actors to these changes. Secondly, using this acquired understanding, it aims to study whether or not interventions (policies, organizational interventions, (inclusive) Human Resource Management practices, treatments, reintegration efforts, and the like) and subsystems within organizations aimed at improving actors’ adaptiveness and resilience are effective and do what they are supposed to do.
Interdisciplinary Approach
As most complex societal and organizational developments (such as migration, social inequality, aging, temporary and networked organizations, need for continuous learning, increasing flex pool of workers, shifting employment relationships, increasing work and performance pressure) affect social and work life on many levels at the same time, these two aims cannot be tackled anymore using a single monodisciplinary perspective. Cooperation between academics with backgrounds in sociology, organization studies, medical science, psychology and human resource studies is necessary to advance our knowledge into the challenges societies, organizations, teams and individuals are facing and how to adapt to these in order to maintain or increase their individual, organizational or societal resilience and well-being.
Research Networks:
Cross-cutting Theme Coordinator
Current PhD projects:
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Positivity in Captivity: A Positive Psychology Approach to Forensic Healthcare Work [PhD Project]
In this project we adopt a Positive Psychological (PP) perspective, focusing on amplifying positive experiences and positive traits of FHWs with the overall aim to improve their health and well-being and the adaptiveness of the organization (reducing personnel shortages).
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Understanding Physiological Responses to Daily Acts of Workplace Exclusion [PhD Project]
This project focuses on studying (mal)adaptive physiological responses to subtle acts of workplace exclusion and developing behavioral interventions.
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[Project duration: 2021 - 2025] -
Outsourced Labor Platforms and the Global South: Working Conditions and Well-Being [PhD Project]
This project connects platforms’ governance models, client firms’ behaviors and workers’ adaptive reactions to assess the working conditions and wellbeing of workers in the Global South.
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[Project duration: 2021 - 2025] -
Understanding Vaccination Hesitancy by Studying Irregular Individuals [PhD Project]
Dr. Florian van Leeuwen and his colleagues examine irregular individuals, that is, individuals who favor (or oppose) vaccination despite having traits and identities that make them likely to oppose (or favor) vaccination.
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[Project duration: 2020 - 2024] -
Towards Digitally Empowered Diabetes Clinics: How Healthcare Providers Shape the Adoption of New Technology [PhD Project]
This project focuses on how professionals adopt devices and clinics adapt to technologically mediated diabetes care.
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Effect of Stereotyping on Decision Making of Professionals Working With Victims of Honor-Related Violence [PhD Project]
Honor-related violence (HRV) encompasses “mental or physical violence committed from a collective mentality in response to a (threatened) violation of the honor of a man, a woman or a child, and with that of his or her family”. Generally, western professionals struggle with the concept of honor, and violence over honor-related matters, which in certain professions results in unequal treatment.
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Current Seed Funding projects:
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Understanding Organizations' Adaptive Responses: Toward A Behavioral Theory of Organizational Adaptation to Adverse Events [Seed Funding]
How do organizations cope with mounting uncertainties induced by external shocks, such as the corona pandemic (CP), the Ukraine war, and the energy crisis?
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Uncovering The Most Robust Predictors of Belonging in The Workplace [Seed Funding]
Having a sense of belonging in the workplace is essential. When this need of belongingness is unmet, many negative consequences follow, including aggressive behavior, reduced employee well-being, lower performance, and higher turnover rates. Understanding what predicts employee belonging represents an important step for fostering belonging at work.
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[Project Duration: 2021-Ongoing] -
Measuring Cynicism and Trust Using Text Data to Predict Information Diffusion, Polarization and Incivility on Digital Platforms [Seed Funding]
Emerging computational social science research has demonstrated the added value of large-scale text analyses of digital interactions for understanding these consequences.
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[Project Duration: 2022-Ongoing] -
Values and Perceptions about COVID-19 Digital Monitoring Solutions: A Longitudinal Perspective [Seed Funding]
This project investigates the public support for monitoring technologies in the light of the current COVID-19 pandemic.
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[Project Duration: 2021-Ongoing] -
Job Outcomes During the Transition to Remote Work [Seed Funding]
Researchers from Tilburg University and Eindhoven University are examining the longitudinal relationship between personality and job outcomes related to performance and worker well-being.
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[Project duration: 2020 - 2021] -
The Effect of Stigma on Working With Victims of Honor-Related Violence [Seed Funding]
Dr. van Osch and her colleagues investigate why and how an HRV stigma affects attitudes towards HRV victims, and the decision-making processes of professionals who assist these victims.
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[Project duration: 2020 - Ongoing] -
An Interdisciplinary Approach to Rule Compliance [Seed Funding]
To adequately respond to pressing challenges such as climate change and the covid-19 pandemic, governments and organisations must define and communicate behavioural rules that successfully regulate collective action. [Project duration: 2022-Ongoing]
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Understanding the Corporate Governance of Long-Term Organizational Sustainability [Seed Funding]
How can organizations ensure long-term sustainability? This project utilizes bibliometric analysis to review the interdisciplinary evolution, current status, and future prospects of corporate governance research in organizational sustainability, providing insights into achieving social and environmental objectives alongside financial goals.
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Flexible Cultural Patterns: How International Students Navigate Daily Multicultural Social Worlds [Seed Funding]
International students face unique challenges navigating multiple cultural contexts, impacting their mental health. This project employs innovative experience sampling methods to investigate daily fluctuations in cultural patterns and their relationship with mental health outcomes.
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