Position at IIB, other positions and academic career

Julian Jonathan (JJ) is a Ph.D. researcher and has been at the Institute for International Business since September 2022. He is pursuing a Ph.D. degree in the areas of organizational behavior and organizational design.

Before joining the institute, JJ studied International Management and International Business at Avans UAS in Breda and NEOMA Business School in Reims through the IPBS International Double Degree. These studies were complemented by international internships and work experience in the Netherlands, Malta, Bulgaria, France, and Belgium. JJ finished a two-year Master of Science program in Human Resource Management at the Rotterdam School of Management, where he graduated with distinction and was awarded the HRM thesis of the year award. With over ten years of work experience in various capacities (e.g., HRM, B2C Sales), JJ seeks to develop research with real-world impact by engaging actively with practice. 

Research interest

With relevant experience and a strong interest in human resource management, organizational behavior, and organizational design, JJ aims to focus his research on these subjects within. Currently, JJ is involved in two collective research initiatives and several research projects (webpages linked in title):

Research initiatives:

• Headquarters in Austria (HiA)

  • HiA is an “umbrella project” for various projects and activities, all of which have the goal of supporting companies in designing their organizations and especially their headquarters, as well as contributing to Austria remaining an attractive location for headquarters.

• People and Self-Managing Organization (PASMO)

  • PASMO is a collective research project, organized through the Rotterdam School of Management, focusing on self-managing organizations (SMO) and the life of people working for SMOs.

Research projects:

• Decentralizing Organization Design 

  • Investigating the implications of organizational design practices on employee behavior.

• Feedback & Motivation With and Without Hierarchy

  • Studying the relationships between feedback and employee motivation in contexts with different levels and extents of hierarchy.

• The Many Faces of Autonomy

  • Reviewing the current status of research on worker autonomy and exploring challenges that may occur when granting workers autonomy.

• Self-Managing Organizations & AI   

  • Investigating the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in self-managing organizations.

• Cold but Competent

  • Research project focusing on the impact of leaders’ preferences for solitude on the way people socially evaluate these leaders.