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Steffen R. Giessner is Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Change at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM).

He holds an MSc in Psychology from the University of Kent at Canterbury, UK, and a PhD in Psychology from the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Germany. His research is located at the intersection of organizational psychology and management. His primary research topics are employee support during organizational merger, follower’s perceptions of leadership, antecedents of leader behavior, and non-verbal communication of power. He has authored and co-authored papers in the areas of organizational behavior, management, and psychology. His research received media coverage in outlets like the New York Times, Financial Times, The Guardian, Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Manager and Wall Street Journal. His most recent book on Leading with Presence addresses how one can develop the non-verbal aspect of leadership impact.

Publications

Academic (53)
Professional (11)
  • Lam, H., Giessner, S., & Shemla, M. (2020). Four Simple Ways To Combat The Loneliness Caused By COVID-19. Forbes. http://hdl.handle.net/1765/126805

  • Lam, H., Giessner, S., & Shemla, M. (2020). Tips: Loneliness and working from home during the COVID-19 crisis. RSM Discovery - Management Knowledge. http://hdl.handle.net/1765/125754

  • de Jong, R., & Giessner, S. (2020). Responsible leadership: creating shared value. RSM Discovery - Management Knowledge, 2(2020).

  • Mulder, F., Giessner, S., & Caldas, M. (2020). Leadership: why many heads are better than one. RSM Discovery - Management Knowledge, 2(2020).

  • Wong, SI., Giessner, S., van Ballen, C., & Roufanis, V. (2017). Using new ways of working to attract millennials. Communication for Leaders, (1), 24-25. http://hdl.handle.net/1765/100773

  • Giessner, S., & Wong, SI. (2016). The fine line between hands-on and hands-off leadership. RSM Discovery - Management Knowledge, 25(1), 11-13. http://hdl.handle.net/1765/93039

  • Humborstad, SIW., Giessner, S., & Solberg, E. (2015). Key to Success in Mergers & Acquisitions. Communication for Leaders, 2015(2), 8-9. http://hdl.handle.net/1765/79157

  • van Dijke, M., Giessner, S., van Tulder, R., & Gilbert, R. (2014). What value ethical leadership? RSM Discovery - Management Knowledge, 18(2), 8-11. http://hdl.handle.net/1765/77104

  • Giessner, S. (2011). Identity management key to successful mergers. RSM Insight, 6(2), 7-9. http://hdl.handle.net/1765/40072

  • van Quaquebeke, N., Eckloff, T., Zenker, S., & Giessner, S. (2009). Leadership in the Eye of the Beholder: Cognitive Construction, Recognition, and Interpretation of Leadership. Personalfuhrung, 1, 34-41.

  • van Quaquebeke, N., Witte, E. H., Giessner, S., & Eckloff, T. (2008). Macht: Energie der sozialen Welt? 360° Journal, 4, 17-26.

Professional (1)
  • Knoppers, A., Obdeijn, M., & Giessner, SR. (2021). Leading with presence: Fundamental tools and insights for impactful, engaging leadership. Emerald Group Publishing.

Academic (10)
  • Aleksic, D., Hewett, R., & Giessner, S. (2025). On GenAI and channeling employee creativity. In M. Orel, M. Černe, & S. I. Wong (Eds.), Humanizing the Digital Workspace: Creativity, Innovation and Leadership in the Age of Technology Springer Nature. https://link.springer.com/book/9783031769016

  • Giessner, S., & Horton, K. (2023). Change Leadership: A Social Identity Perspective. In The psychology of organizational change: New insights on the antecedents and consequences of individuals' responses to change (pp. 263-288). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009086721.017

  • Wong, SIW., Solberg, E., Junni, P., & Giessner, S. (2016). The role of human resource management practices in mergers & acquisitions. In C. L. Cooper, S. Y. Tarba, R. M. Sarala, & M. F. Ahammad (Eds.), Mergers and acquisitions in practice (pp. 138-161). Routledge.

  • Giessner, S., & Jacobs, G. (2014). Identität und Prototypikalität. In J. Felfe (Ed.), Trends der psychologischen Führungsforschung – Neue Konzepte, Methoden und Erkenntnisse (pp. 117-128). Hogrefe.

  • Jacobs, G., & Giessner, S. (2014). Führung von Veränderungsprozessen: Die Bedeutung von Identität und der Umgang mit Widerstand. In J. Felfe (Ed.), Trends der psychologischen Führungsforschung – Neue Konzepte, Methoden und Erkenntnisse (pp. 491-500). Hogrefe.

  • Giessner, S. R., Ullrich, J., & van Dick, R. (2012). A Social Identity Analysis of Mergers and Acquisitions. In The Handbook of Mergers and Acquisitions Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199601462.003.0019

  • Giessner, S., Ullrich, J., & van Dick, R. (2012). A Social Identity Analysis of Mergers & Acquisitions. In D. Faulkner, S. Teerikangas, & R. Joseph (Eds.), Handbook of Mergers & Acquisitions (pp. 474-495). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199601462.001.0001

  • Giessner, S. (2009). Diskriminierung und Toleranz bei Unternehmensfusionen. In Andreas Beelman, & Kai Jonas (Eds.), Diskriminierung und Toleranz: Psychologische Grundlagen und Anwendungsperspektiven (pp. 399-418). VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.

  • van Knippenberg, D., Wisse, BM., & Giessner, S. (2007). Extending the follow-centered perspective: Leadership as an outcome of shared social identity. In B. Shamir, R. Pillai, M. C. Bligh, & M. Uhl-Bien (Eds.), Follower-centered perspective on leadership: A tribute to the memory of James R. Meindl (pp. 51-70). Information Age Publishing.

  • Giessner, S. (2003). Eine Intergruppenperspektive auf Unternehmensfusionen [An intergroup perspective on organizational mergers]. In J. Straehle (Ed.), Interkulturelle Mergers & Acquisitions. Eine interdisziplinare Perspektive [Intercultural merger and acquisitions. An interdisciplinary perspective] (pp. 168-194). Sternenfels.

Professional (1)
Professional (2)
Internally prepared (1)
  • Giessner, S. (2004). United we run, divided we fail? Effects of cognitive representations and performance feedbacks on merging groups. [Doctoral Thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena]. University of Jena.

Popular (1)
  • Giessner, S. (2016). Organisational mergers. A Behavioural perspective on identity management. Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM). Inaugural Adresses http://hdl.handle.net/1765/79983

Academic (1)
Academic (4)
Academic (1)
Professional (1)

Activities

  • EUR
    Start date approval: 15 Nov 2022
    End date approval: 14 Nov 2025
    Place: ROTTERDAM
    Description: CTO CIO Workshop
  • RSM B.V.
    Start date approval: 15 Nov 2022
    End date approval: 14 Nov 2025
    Place: ROTTERDAM
    Description: CR-EMBA teaching
  • RSM B.V.
    Start date approval: 15 Nov 2022
    End date approval: 14 Nov 2025
    Place: ROTTERDAM
    Description: Leading with Presence Exec Edu
  • RSM B.V.
    Start date approval: 15 Nov 2022
    End date approval: 14 Nov 2025
    Place: ROTTERDAM
    Description: Leading with Presence Exec Edu 2nd workshop
  • RSM B.V.
    Start date approval: 15 Nov 2022
    End date approval: 14 Nov 2025
    Place: ROTTERDAM
    Description: MBA elective Leading with Presence
  • The Leadership Quarterly (Journal)
    Steffen Giessner (Member of editorial board)
    01 Oct 2016

    Activity: Editorial work (Academic)

  • Journal of Applied Psychology (Journal)
    Steffen Giessner (Member of editorial board)
    01 Jan 2016

    Activity: Editorial work (Academic)

  • Frontiers in Psychology (Journal)
    Steffen Giessner (Member of editorial board)
    11 May 2015 - 23 Aug 2019

    Activity: Editorial work (Academic)

  • Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology (Journal)
    Steffen Giessner (Member of editorial board)
    01 Jan 2013

    Activity: Editorial work (Academic)

  • Organizational Psychology Review (Journal)
    Steffen Giessner (Member of editorial board)
    01 Oct 2010

    Activity: Editorial work (Academic)

  • Journal of Personnel Psychology (Journal)
    Steffen Giessner (Member of editorial board)
    01 Jan 2009 - 31 Dec 2017

    Activity: Editorial work (Academic)

  • British Journal of Management (Journal)
    Steffen Giessner (Member of editorial board)
    01 Jan 2008 - 06 Mar 2014

    Activity: Editorial work (Academic)

Award

  • Fellowship - ERIM postdoc programme (2004)

Courses

Leading Organisational Change

  • Study year: 2024/2025, 2023/2024
  • Code: BM04POC
  • Level: ERIM, Exchange, IM/CEMS, Master

POC Master Thesis

  • Study year: 2024/2025, 2023/2024
  • Code: BMMTPOC
  • Level: Master

Past courses

Organisational Behaviour

  • Study year: 2025/2026
  • Code: MBA26-M1-OB

HRM Master Thesis

  • Study year: 2023/2024, 2022/2023, 2021/2022, 2020/2021
  • Code: BMMTHRM
  • Level: Master

Business Management

  • Study year: 2021/2022
  • Code: B3MIN1054
  • Level: Bachelor 3

OCC Master Thesis

  • Study year: 2021/2022, 2020/2021
  • Code: BMMTOCC
  • Level: Master

HRM-OCC Master Thesis

  • Study year: 2020/2021
  • Code: BMMTHRM-OCC
  • ECTS: 16 Level: Master

Leading People, Teams, and Organisations for Excellence

  • Study year: 2020/2021
  • Code: BKBMIN004

Theories on Change, on Differences and on Behaviour

  • Study year: 2020/2021, 2019/2020
  • Code: BM02OCC
  • ECTS: 6 Level: Master

Behaviour in organisations

  • Study year: 2019/2020, 2018/2019, 2015/2016
  • Code: BKB010

IM Research clinic

  • Study year: 2019/2020, 2018/2019
  • Code: BM-IMRC
  • Level: Master

Organisational Behaviour

  • Study year: 2019/2020, 2018/2019, 2017/2018, 2016/2017, 2015/2016
  • Code: BAP071

Behavioural Foundations

  • Study year: 2018/2019, 2017/2018, 2016/2017, 2015/2016
  • Code: BERMFC001
  • ECTS: 3 Level: Master

Human resource management

  • Study year: 2017/2018
  • Code: BM13MIM
  • ECTS: 2 Level: Master

High performance leadership, a psychological perspective

  • Study year: 2016/2017, 2015/2016
  • Code: BMME043
  • ECTS: 6 Level: Master

Featured in the media

  • When Being Treated Better Leads to Treating Others Worse

    Feeling favored by a leader may lead dominant individuals to undermine teammates

  • Making hybrid-working more efficient

    Steffen R. Giessner, Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Change at RSM, joins the discussion about hybrid-working in this article.

  • How To Have Effective Zoom Meetings—And Make Them Less Boring

    Online meetings have become a necessary evil. While some people don’t seem to mind working from home on a purely virtual basis, many of us certainly miss the face-to-face interactions and are keen for working life to get back to…

  • New book: Leading with presence for impactful leadership

    When communicating – online and in person – three elements can be used to express a message: verbal content, body language, and the voice. When these elements are not congruent, people often believe the body language and the…

  • Flexible work arrangements = Appealing work arrangements?

    While it may be one question whether flexible work arrangements (i.e., work conditions enabling work from home and providing flexible office spaces) have positive or negative effects on innovation and productivity, another one is…

  • BEST POSTER AWARD FOR SUSAN REH

    PhD candidate Susan Reh has won the Best Poster Award at the Early Career Summer School of the European Association for Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP) in Birmingham, UK. Reh investigates these research questions…

  • TEAM SOM HANDLER I BLINDE

    The doctoral research of Dominique Board was titled "Understanding Tran Active Memory Systems in Virtual Teams: The role of integration and differentiation, task dependencies and routines" and Steffen Giessner is mentioned to have…