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prof. dr. Bianca Beersma

Full Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Organization Sciences

Full Professor, Network Institute

Full Professor, Research Programmes - Social Sciences, Organization & Processes of Organizing in Society (OPOS)

Research

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.

Teaching

Academic Teaching ( “BKO” certificate (University Teaching Qualification), UvA, June 2011)
2018 - present	Teacher in Bachelor level Course on “Conflict and Peacebuilding”, VU (60 students yearly).
2018 - present	Teacher in Master level course on “Cooperation and Conflict” (60 students yearly)
2016 - present	Teacher and coordinator of Graduate level Course on “Proposal Design and writing”, VU (10-20 students yearly).
2014 - 2018	Teacher and coordinator of Bachelor level Course on “Communication and Behavior in Organizations”, VU (350 students yearly).
2014 - 2018	Supervision of individual undergraduate students’ master thesis research projects at the Department of Organizational Sciences, VU.
2015	Teacher and coordinator of Master level course on “Organizational Behavior” (140 students)
2013 - 2014	Teacher and coordinator of Research Master course on “Advances in Group Dynamics and Performance”, UvA (5-10 students yearly).
2013 - 2014	Teacher and coordinator of Master level course on “Cooperation and Conflict”, UvA (20-30 students yearly).
2012 - 2014	Teacher and coordinator of course on Work-and Organizational Psychology for first year psychology students, UvA (600-700 students yearly).
2010 - 2014	Teacher and coordinator of Master level course on designing research, data analysis, scientific writing and presenting for psychology students, UvA (50-60 students yearly).
2000 - present	Supervision of individual undergraduate students’ master thesis research projects (two of these students, Hanneke Kooij-De Bode and Job van der Schalk, won the NSvP “David van Lennep-award” for their master’s theses; Another student, Femke ten Velden, won the “Nico Frijda Thesis Award” from the Psychology Department at UvA. All three of these students have by now finished their Ph.D. projects).
2006 - 2008	Presentation course for Ph.D. students for the Kurt Lewin Institute, (10-15 Ph.D. students per course).
2001- 2008	Teacher and coordinator of Master level course on “Conflict Management and Negotiation”, UvA (40-50 students yearly).
1999 - 2000	Development and teaching for Workshops on “Conflict and Negotiation”, Utrecht University (30-40 students per workshop).
1999 - 2000	Teaching of lectures on organizational psychology (focusing on interdependence in groups and organizations and organizational citizenship behavior), UvA

Grants

Research grants

ZonMW, 2020

Role: Co-applicant (with Ludo Glimmerveen, Marieke van Wieringen. (PI's), Henk Nies)

Grant: € 288.860,-

Topic / title: 'The relationship as basis: working towards valuable care-relationships within the

organization of nursing home care' (639003916)

NWO Digital Society, 2019

Role: Co-applicant (with Dong Nguyen, Tijs van den Broek (PI’s))

Grant: € 200.000,-

Topic / title: 'The Power of Words: The Role of Mediators’ Language in Increasing Intergenerational Empathy in Online Discussions' (410.19.007)

European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant, 2017

Role: sole applicant and PI

Grant: € 1.999.693,-

Topic / title: 'The unknown force: How gossip shapes the functioning and performance of organizational groups (FORCE-OF-GOSSIP)'

ZONMW, 2017

Role: Applicant (with Marieke van Wieringen, Peter Groenewegen, Henk Nies)

Grant: € 25.000,-

Topic / title: 'Monitoring Leadership Trajectory for Care Personnel'

Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), 2009

Role: Supervisor of Ph.D. candidate Said Shafa (with F. Harinck and F. Ellemers)

Grant: €180.000,-

Topic / title: 'Value conflict'.

Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) VENI grant, 2005

Role: Principal Investigator

Grant: €200.000,-

Topic / title: 'The development of a contingency model of the aftermath of group negotiation.

Fulbright Grant, Netherlands America Commission for Educational Exchange, 2000

Role: Principal Investigator

Grant: € 4.000,-

Topic / title: 'Team processes and performance'.

External financing acquired via partnerships with societal partners

City Council Schagen, 2019

Role: Applicant (with Kim van Erp (PI), Hannah Leyerzapf)

Research financing: € 24.727,-

Topic / title: ‘Evaluation of Care legislation (WMO)’.

Radicale Vernieuwing Waarde-Vol Onderwijs, 2019

Role: Co-applicant (with Ludo Glimmerveen, Marieke van Wieringen (PI’s), Henk Nies)

Research financing: € 10.000,-

Topic/ title: ‘Learning with and from practice in elderly care’

Zorgkantoor, 2019

Role: Applicant (with Karin Kee (PI), Marieke van Wieringen, Equalis Research)

Research financing: € 88.452,-

Topic / title: ‘Win-win for patients with lower back pain.’

SWZ, 2019

Role: Applicant (with Maria Dijkstra, Lilian Hoogenboom)

Research financing: € 10.000,-

Topic / title: ‘Conflict and psychological safety at work.’

VWS, 2018

Role: Applicant (with Marieke van Wieringen, Peter Groenewegen, Henk Nies, Robbert Gobbens)

Research financing: € 200.000,-

Topic / title: ‘Caregivers undergoing change: recognition, representation, development and education.’

Ancillary activities

Schouten University of Applied Sciences | Zaltbommel | seminars/colleges verzorgen | 2001-06-01 - present
Hartenkampgroep | Heemstede | Adviseur | 2022-05-01 - present

Ancillary activities are updated daily