Richard Haans

Richard Haans is an Associate Professor in the Department of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. His research bridges strategic management, organizational behavior, and digital methods, with a strong focus on creativity, international business, and longitudinal data analysis. He actively contributes to both academic and professional domains through peer-reviewed publications and policy reports.

His research interests include strategic management, organizational identity, foreign language effects on creativity, optimal distinctiveness, and the application of big data and web scraping in organizational research. He leverages computational tools such as the Wayback Machine and word embedding models to analyze the evolution of organizational communication and sustainability discourse.

His recent publications highlight a growing trend toward methodological innovation in management science, particularly through open-source, reproducible research. He has developed tools for longitudinal website data extraction and database construction, enabling new avenues for studying organizational change over time.

• Mariëtte Kaandorp Prize for Excellence in Thesis Mentoring (2021)
• ERIM Award for Outstanding Performance by a Young Researcher (2020)

Haans has supervised student theses, as evidenced by his mentoring award, and has been involved in impactful research projects related to Dutch SMEs, including growth dynamics and credit guarantee policies. His work often involves collaboration with institutions and co-researchers such as Marc J. Mertens and Arjen van Witteloostuijn.

He is part of the research environment at the Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), contributing to a vibrant academic community focused on high-quality, impactful research in management and business.