ERIM marks 20 years of research in management

Prof. Engels was speaking at the 20^th anniversary ERIM Awards this year in front of the ERIM community. The 20^th anniversary is also commemorated with a special issue magazine.

ESE and RSM joined forces 20 years ago, and their close partnership has resulted in major achievements, making ERIM not just one of the largest centres of economy and management research in Europe, but also one of the most highly respected. EUR is fourth for business administration and eighth for management in the Academic Ranking of World Universities.

Prof. Engels commended ERIM’s role in elevating the state of management research at EUR. “From my perspective as Rector of this university, it is particularly gratifying to see that two strong EUR schools have proactively sought out opportunities for collaboration to collectively address major societal puzzles.

“ESE and RSM each have their own leadership, faculty, students, and disciplinary domain. Yet they also venture out to collectively address the management component of many grand challenges facing society today. The fact that this completely voluntary arrangement is now on the brink of entering its third decennium speaks volumes about both the material importance of research collaboration across EUR schools, and about the high levels of goodwill and respect between ESE and RSM."

The 20^th anniversary celebration was also the occasion for the ERIM Awards, which were presented by Prof. Engels for achievements such as excellence in dissertations and scientific impact. The award recipients were selected by a jury, consisting of representatives from the Universities of Groningen, Tilburg and Maastricht.

• The 2019 Dissertation Award was presented to Dr Caroline Witte of ESE
• A 2019 Top Article Award was presented to Dr Inga Hoever and Prof. Daan van Knippenberg for their article with Prof. Jing Zhou
• A 2019 Top Article Award was presented to PhD candidate Hang-Yee Chan, Dr Maarten Boksem and Prof. Ale Smidts
• The 2019 Book Award was presented to Prof. Dirk Schoenmaker  and Willem Schramade for their book Principles of Sustainable Finance
• The 2019 ERIM Award for Outstanding Performance by a Young Researcher has two winners this year: Dr Dan Schley and Dr Stefano Tasselli.

Prof. Pursey Heugens, Scientific Director of ERIM and RSM’s Dean of Research described the terrific relationship between RSM and ESE. He paid tribute to ERIM’s ‘wonderful set of ambassadors’ – the almost 500 PhD graduates for their top-quality output, global recognition, and values-driven community. The next 20 years will be different to the first 20, he said, because ERIM will cater to the societal demand for open and engaged science with an immediate real-world impact, and experiment with new ways of evaluating research and supporting diverse academic careers. “We need to make sure that whatever excites us in own research work, we carry some of that excitement over into the classroom,” he added.

In a keynote speech, Stephanie Bryant, Executive Vice-president and Chief Accreditation Officer at business school accreditation body AACSB, described new standards that increasingly reflect the efforts of many business school to carry out more impactful and engaged research. Talking about ‘tomorrow’s job market for PhDs’, she referred to a manifesto produced by the Responsible Research in Business and Management organisation (RRBM), which represented a pivot for AACSB’s thinking about the role of business schools in wider society. She encouraged ERIM researchers to venture out and ensure societal impact by aiming higher and seeking diversity in the portfolio of publications in which their work is published.