Elco's research is situated at the intersection of organization theory and entrepreneurship. His current research projects follow these three lines:
- Organizing with purpose, with a focus on moral leadership in organizations and participative decision-making practices that help to organize with purpose, for instance through enabling alignment of values througout organizations. Part of this research line is also a project on religion and value-based organizing.
- Digital transformation in organizations. This includes exploring how digitalization can serve (health)care for older persons, without making them more vulnerable (such as in the large NWA consortia projects MOVUS and VAROS projects), and the use of agile organizing in traditional bureaucracies (in collaboration with Belastingdienst and RWS).
- Psychological safety and restorative organizing, in particular in the context of the Dutch military (Defense). This research line addresses how organizations can increase pyschological safety through targeted interventions, value discourse, and moral leadership, but also what prevents or even erodes psychological safety.
In his research, Elco aims to bridge theorizing and practical application through the use of design approaches, for instance in targeted design sprints that involve both academics and practitioners. This way he has been working in many different contexts, and involving a variety of organizations such as ESA, RWS, Belastingdienst, Dutch Defense, SIGRA, Zuidoostzorg, Thebe, Vitalis, the Salvation Army, De Regenboog Groep, HVO Querido, et cetera.
