The new ABS professor is a psychologist working in the research fields of applied psychology, entrepreneurship, vocational behaviour, and social, economic, and technological change.  His research focusses on entrepreneurship development from the perspective of interactions and transactions between people and their environment. Based on the findings, he aims to advance the knowledge of psychological and economic factors and mechanisms relevant to entrepreneurial behaviour.

Entrepreneurial mind-set essential

‘Fostering research and education related to entrepreneurship is essential in business education. This is due to the increased relevance of an entrepreneurial mind-set in the world of business and in career development. Learning to use entrepreneurial thinking is a good strategy. For example, a successful university programme teaches students how to look for the benefits offered by rapid changes in technology.’ says Obschonka. He will contribute to the entrepreneurship curriculum and research agenda in the Amsterdam Business School with his expertise in the field.

‘We’re very pleased with Martin’s appointment as a professor at the ABS,’ says ABS dean Marc Solomon. ‘He conducts interesting and innovative research and has many publications to his name. He also has a lot of experience supervising young researchers. Even though he’s been working abroad for some time now, he has a very good network in the Netherlands. In short, he’s a valuable addition to UvA EB.’ 

About Martin Obschonka

Martin Obschonka is currently the Director of the Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research and a Professor of Entrepreneurship at the QUT Business School in Brisbane, Australia.  He works as an Associate Editor for the publications Small Business Economics and International Journal of Psychology. He is also on the Editorial Board of multiple journals such as the Journal of Vocational Behavior and Management Review. His research has been published extensively and has received widespread international media coverage.