معرفی
Torkild Thanem is a Professor of Work Life Research at the School of Business and Law, University of Agder, Norway, and a full-time Professor of Management and Organization Studies at Stockholm Business School, Stockholm University, Sweden. He holds a PhD from the University of Warwick (2002) and has held academic positions at Linnaeus University and Stockholm University. He is also a Visiting Professor at Stockholm Business School and has been a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University, the University of Oregon, Monash University, and others.
- PhD, University of Warwick, 2002
- Professor, University of Agder, 2020–present
- Professor, Stockholm University, 2011–present
- Associate Professor, Stockholm University, 2008–2011
- Research Fellow, Stockholm University, 2002–2006
His research focuses on the role of the human body in organizational life, examining how bodily experiences intersect with power, ethics, and identity in workplaces. He investigates topics such as corporate performance cultures, workplace health promotion, leadership, transgender identities, and digitalization. His work employs qualitative and ethnographic methods, including participant observation and interviews, often drawing on sociology, philosophy, and critical theory.
His recent publications reflect a strong trend in critical management studies, affect theory, and embodied research. Articles explore affective leadership, Deleuzean philosophy in strategy, gender performativity, and resistance to capitalist mental health paradigms. His work bridges theoretical innovation with real-world organizational challenges, particularly in health, ethics, and digital transformation.
He is the co-author of Embodied Research Methods (Sage, 2019) and author of The Monstrous Organization (Edward Elgar, 2011). He has edited special issues in Journal of Business Ethics and Gender, Work & Organization. His public engagement includes articles in The Conversation and Harvard Business Review.
- Swedish Research Council (funding for ethnographic study on employee fitness and digitalization project)
He supervises Master’s and Bachelor’s thesis students and is affiliated with the RIST – Research Centre for Studies of Innovation for Sustainable Transition. His work continues to explore the impact of digitalization on organizational culture and embodied work experiences.
