Cooperation and competition are at the core of all organizing efforts. My research focuses on how the dilemmas between individual and collective interests that occur in organizations and society can be managed to foster cooperation, collaboration, and effective group performance.
For individuals and groups, finding a balance between their own interests and those of the larger collective is essential for reaching effective outcomes. This can both create challenges and opportunities, and I examine the ways in which individuals and groups deal with those. As such, my studies focus on the motivational and contextual factors that drive organizational behavior in settings such as teamwork, negotiation and interpersonal conflict.
Specific areas of interest and expertise are:
- The social functions of gossip
- Team functioning and performance
- Conflict management and negotiation
- Joint decision making in (long term) healthcare
- Workplace coaching
In my research, I use various quantitative and qualitative research methods (e.g. experiments, vignette studies, surveys, interviews, agent-based models). I especially enjoy working in teams in which diverse perspectives and research methods can be combined and in which research can be employed to contribute to solving societal problems.
