Espen Olsen

Esper Olsen is a Professor of Organisation and Leadership at the University of Stavanger (UiS), affiliated with the School of Business and Law and the Department of Innovation, Management and Marketing. He brings substantial industrial experience from roles in organisational change and corporate leadership into his academic work.

His research focuses on job characteristics, culture and climate, occupational health and safety, work motivation, organisational development and change, innovation management, and leadership. He teaches courses in industrial and organisational psychology, HRM, environment, health and safety management, and research methodology, including MSB203 Leadership and Organisational Change and PHD104 Multivariate Analysis.

His recent publications reveal a strong trend in patient safety culture, leadership in healthcare, remote work impacts, burnout, and innovation in organisations, frequently applying the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model and psychometric validation methods. His work spans high-impact journals in safety science, healthcare, psychology, and management.

• Board member, CIAM – Cluster on Industrial Asset Management
• Main supervisor for PhD candidate Seth A. J. Addo on hospital management and patient satisfaction
• Co-supervisor for Guro H. Haaland on nurse career studies
• Co-supervisor for Marjan Shamsi on digitalisation and work behaviour

Ongoing research projects include:

• Job characteristics, social cognition, creativity and innovation among Norwegian entrepreneurs
• Return-To-Work interventions (RCT-study 2021–2024)
• Panel data studies among Norwegian workers

He has published extensively in journals such as Safety Science, International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, Accident Analysis & Prevention, Journal of Advanced Nursing, BMC Health Services Research, and International Journal of Environmental and Public Health.