Who we are
We are a group of scholars and PhD candidates at the University of South-Eastern Norway who bring together diverse interests in work, organisation and societal change.
We are dedicated to exploring complex organisational and societal phenomena through a multiplicity of perspectives, theoretical traditions and methodological approaches. Our members contribute to ongoing conversations about how organisations evolve, how people experience work, and how institutions and businesses respond to social, political and technological change.
Areas of interest
Work and Organisation: Understanding how organising, leadership, professional practices and decision-making evolve in complex and changing environments.
Public Governance and Innovation: Exploring public sector transformation, governance, policy, innovation, digitalisation and sustainability.
International and Societal Perspectives: Examining mobility, diversity, migration, globalisation and the ways organisations interact across cultural and institutional contexts.
Knowledge and Practices: Investigating how knowledge is created, shared and applied across organisational and societal contexts through interdisciplinary, qualitative and practice-oriented research.
What we do
As a research community, we create arenas for academic exchange, critical discussion and intellectual development. We value intellectual diversity and seek to explore both established and emerging perspectives on work and organisation.
Through workshops, seminars, writing sessions and ongoing dialogue, members share ideas, discuss emerging phenomena, develop research projects and explore critical perspectives on work and organisation. We support both established and emerging scholars in their academic work and encourage collaboration across disciplinary and methodological boundaries.
Collaborate with us
Our members engage with organisations across public, private and voluntary sectors and are interested in studying emerging challenges and complex organisational phenomena.
Whether the topic concerns leadership, governance, professional practice, organisational change, innovation or broader societal developments, we welcome conversations that can contribute to new insights and meaningful research collaborations.
If you are interested in discussing a potential collaboration, we would be pleased to hear from you.
Meet the researchers
Jon Hovland Honerud
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Research group leader. Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He is the founder and board member of INNOFF, Nordic network of public sector innovation research, and has served as senior advisor and external consultant in both Norwegian and European central administration. Research interests include public sector innovation, governance, creativity, complexity and organisational practice.
David S. A. Guttormsen
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Professor of Organisation and Management. His research focuses on international work, global mobility, diversity and inclusion, expatriation, and cross-cultural management. He is particularly interested in how people and organisations navigate cultural complexity across national and institutional boundaries.
Erik Lankut
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Associate Professor at USN School of Business. His research interests include cultural intelligence, cross-cultural leadership, global virtual teams, national cultures and generative AI. He is particularly interested in how leadership and collaboration develop in international and digitally mediated environments.
Arild Schou
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Professor of Public Policy and Governance. His research focuses on public administration, policy evaluation and organisational development, with extensive experience from international evaluation and development projects. He has worked with organisations such as the World Bank and OECD and has led numerous research and development projects related to governance, public sector reform and local government.
Juel Helge Rye
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Juel Helge Rye holds a degree in Economics from NHH and is pursuing a PhD in innovation and leadership in humanitarian organisations. He has a diverse practical background from the military, the cultural sector, and humanitarian organisations. His interests lie in leadership, innovation, and volunteering across cultures and borders, as well as the management of large multinational organisations and operational security. He is currently teaching courses in International Management and Cross-Cultural Management.
Rannveig Røste
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Associate Professor with a background in political science, innovation and entrepreneurship. Her research is situated at the intersection of innovation, organisation and leadership, with a particular interest in how organisational, political and technological processes shape change and development in public services and other institutional settings.
Tarald Gulseth Berge
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Associate Professor of Political Science. His research centres on international organisations, international negotiations, global governance and international political economy. He is particularly interested in questions of power, international economic law, development policy and the interaction between public and private actors in global governance.
Jarle Løwe Sørensen
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Associate Professor in Emergency and Crisis Management. His research focuses on crisis management, preparedness, collaboration and organisational learning, particularly in relation to public policy, risk management and inter-organisational coordination. He combines extensive practical experience from the public sector with research on how organisations prepare for, manage and learn from crises.
Our network
External members
- Professor Lailani L. Alcantara (Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan)
- Emeritus Professor Morten Huse (BI Norwegian Business School)
- Professor Jakob Lauring (Aarhus University, Denmark)
- Førsteamanuensis Hege Therese Størksen (VID vitenskapelige høgskole, Oslo, Norge)
- Dr Malcolm Chapman (pensjonert, University of Leeds, Storbritannia)
Ongoing and previous collaboration
- Avarn Security Aviation AS
- Bulgarian National Revenue Agency
- CORPRT Think Tank
- Statsforvalteren i Vestfold og Telemark
- Digital Norway
- Horten kommune
- Jotun AS
- Sivilforsvaret
- Redningsselskapet
- Kystverket
- LØRN
- Panasonic, Pistaljka
- Scandinavian Water Technology AS
- Skien brannvesen
- Sør-Øst politidistrikt
- Sykehuset Telemark
- Direktoratet for samfunnssikkerhet og beredskap
- Politihøgskolen
- Direktoratet for strålevern og atomsikkerhet (DSA)
- Vestfold interkommunale brannvesen
- Widerøe and 3Greens Consulting AS
University collaborators
- Adana Science and Technology University
- BI Norwegian Business School
- Cardiff University
- Centro Universitário de Brasilia
- Copenhagen Business School
- Curtin Business School
- École de Management de la Sorbonne
- ETH Zurich
- Florida International University
- Fudan University
- Goethe University Frankfurt
- Griffith University
- Guelph University
- Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
- Harvard Medical School
- Hokkaido University
- Høgskolen i Innlandet
- ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics & Management
- Lancaster University
- Lund University
- Nordisk nettverk for forskning på offentlig innovasjon
- NTNU
- Polish Air Force University
- RADEM forskergruppe (Australia, New Zealand, Polen, Sverige, Thailand, USA), Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
- Royal Holloway – University of London
- Techno-Economic-Societal Sustainable Development Training in Sri Lanka
- Thammasat Business School
- The University of Chile – Santiago
- The University of Oklahoma
- The University of Warwick
- University of Bristol
- University of Exeter Business School
- University of Tunis El Manar
- Universiti Sains Malaysia
- WU Vienna
- Queen Mary – University of London
- University of Melbourne, University of Passau
- University of Porto
- University of Southampton
- University of Toronto
- University of Western Australia
- Aarhus University
Conferences we attend
- Academy of International Business (AIB)
- Academy of Management (AOM)
- Asia Academy of Management (AAoM), European Academy of Management (EURAM)
- European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology Congress
- European Conference on Migrant and Ethnic Minority Health
- European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS)
- Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Leadership Symposium
- International Political Science Association (IPSA)
- NEON–Nettverk for organisasjonsforskning i Norge
- NOKIOS
- Nordic Academy of Management og Workshop on Talent Management
- Public Sector Innovation Conference (PubSIC)
