Michiel Verver is interested in the study of entrepreneurship from an anthropological perspective. His research focuses on migrant entrepreneurship, family businesses, and social entrepreneurship in a comparative perspective. He has conducted fieldwork on these topics in Cambodia, Thailand, and the Netherlands.
Michiel holds a BSc in anthropology and a MSc in Culture, Organization and Management. His PhD dissertation examines the revitalization of entrepreneurship in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, since the demise of the Khmer Rouge regime. His dissertation considers the dynamics of ethnicity, kinship, and patronage that enable entrepreneurship within Phnom Penh's private sector, in particular among the ethnic Chinese minority.
Currently, Michiel is involved in a research project on the transformative potential of social entrepreneurship in various economic sectors in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. At the VU, he teaches courses on globalization and qualitative/ethnographic methodology in the context of organizations.
