dr. Agnes Bäker

Associate Professor, School of Business and Economics, Management and Organisation

, Tinbergen Institute

Personal information

Dr. Agnes Bäker is Associate Professor of Leadership at the department of Management and Organization of VU Amsterdam and Program Director of the bachelor program in International Business Administration. She is an Associate Editor at Human Resource Management (Wiley) and on the board of Health Economics Research Amsterdam (HERA). Agnes holds a PhD in Business Economics from the Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (2010). With an interdisciplinary background in economics and management, and a focus on healthcare, Agnes has been teaching in several leadership development programs for medical doctors, and in the executive MBA program at the VU.

Research

Agnes’ research focuses on careers and leadership in higher education and healthcare. Specifically, she investigates the role of knowledge, skills, personality, and networks for successful careers and effective leadership. Furthermore, she studies humor use at work, teamwork, and peer effects, as well as behavioral economics in general. She strongly believes – supported by her research findings – that leaders within organizations are more effective and have more satisfied subordinates if they are experts in the core business of the organization. Her research is mainly empirical, relying on both experimental and econometric design.

Teaching

Since 2025, Agnes is the Program Director of the bachelor program in International Business Administration at the School of Business and Economics, one of the largest undergraduate programs at the VU Amsterdam. In addition, she teaches executive and Master courses on leadership, culture, teamwork and communication. Agnes supervises PhD students, Master’s students, and Bachelor students.

Ancillary activities

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