Caroline Witte

Dr. Caroline Witte is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship within the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Previously, she served as an Assistant Professor of Strategy and International Management at the Department of Strategy and Innovation of Copenhagen Business School.

Dr. Witte earned her PhD from the Erasmus School of Economics, for which she received the prestigious Dissertation Award of the International Management Division of the Academy of Management.

Her research focuses on international business, strategic management, and development economics, with particular emphasis on how firms operate in fragile economies. Dr. Witte investigates how businesses can leverage volatile institutional contexts and exploit opportunities created by risk, uncertainty, and discontinuous shocks. Her work examines questions such as 'How can firms in fragile economies take advantage of a volatile institutional context?' and 'How can firms exploit the opportunities created by risk, uncertainty and discontinuous shocks?'

Dr. Witte's research has resulted in numerous publications in top-tier journals including Organization Science, Journal of International Business Studies, and Journal of World Business. Her work consistently explores the intersection of political instability, institutional context, and firm strategy, with particular focus on emerging markets and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Her notable achievements include:

• Dissertation Award from the International Management Division of the Academy of Management
• Multiple publications with significant citation counts (95 citations for her 2017 JIBS article)
• Research featured in policy sources and widely shared across academic networks

Dr. Witte teaches courses including IM Research Clinic, Corporate Societal and Political Strategy, MBA Advanced Strategy, and Doing Business in the Global South. Her teaching integrates her research expertise on international business in challenging contexts.

Her recent research discovery highlighted that in countries with distrusted institutions, African start-ups that operate informally for a short period before registering have a significantly higher chance of exporting successfully.