Short Portrait
Professor Dr. Dirk Holtbrügge is Professor of International Management (Head of Department) at the School of Business, Economics and Society, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. He received his doctorate and his habilitation from the University of Dortmund, Germany. He was offered chairs at the Technical University of Hamburg (2010), AKAD Wissenschaftliche Hochschule Lahr (2000), RWTH Aachen (2000), and ESCP-EAP European School of Management Berlin (2000). He is a regular visiting professor at universities in China, India and Russia.
His main research interests are in the areas of international management, human resource management, and management in emerging markets. He has published seven books, nine edited volumes and more than 70 articles in refereed journals such as Academy of Management Learning & Education, Asian Business & Management, Business Strategy and the Environment, Employee Relations, European Journal of International Management, European Management Journal, Human Resource Management, International Business Review, International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, International Journal of Emerging Markets, International Journal of Human Resource Management, International Studies of Management & Organization, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of East European Management Studies, Journal of Global Mobility, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of International Management, Journal of Global Marketing, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Management International Review, and Thunderbird International Business Review. He is also a member of the editorial boards of International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, International Journal of Emerging Markets, Journal for East-European Management Studies, and Management International Review.
In December 2019 he was listed in a research-related ranking of the newspaper Wirtschaftswoche for the forth time in a rowas one of the top-5% professors of business administration in Germany, Austria and the German-speaking Switzerland.
He was listed in the Stanford University World’s Top 2% Scientists List as one of the 2% most cited scientists in Economics & Business in 2020.
Since 2004 he has acted as the Dean of International Programs and Deputy Chairman of the Examination Board for the MBA Business Management, School of Business, Economics and Society, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnberg. He has large experience in executive education and works as a consultant for firms in Germany and abroad.
In his free time, he likes traveling, reading, listening to music, tennis and skiing.
Publications
Curriculum Vitae
Academic Qualifications
| 11/2000 | Postdoctoral dissertation (habilitation) at the University of Dortmund, School of Business and Economics, habilitation topic: “Postmodern Organizational Theory” |
| 01/1995 | Doctoral dissertation at the University of Dortmund, School of Business and Economics, dissertation topic: “Human Resource Management of Multinational Corporations in Eastern Europe” |
| 1983-1989 | Study of Business Administration, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Dortmund, earned degree: Dipl.-Kfm. (equivalent to Master of Science) |
Academic Positions
| 10/2001-present | Full Professor of International Management (Chairholder) at the School of Business, Economics and Society, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg |
| 2010 | Decline of offer from the Technical University of Hamburg |
| 2001 | Decline of offers from the AKAD Wissenschaftliche Hochschule Lahr, RWTH Aachen and ESCP-EAP European School of Management Berlin |
| 04/2001-09/2001 | Professor of International Management at the RWTH Aachen |
| 04/1989-03/2001 | Senior research assistant and assistant professor at the Department of Management, University of Dortmund |
Administrative Functions
| 2011-2014 | Spokesman for the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg at the German Rectors’ Conference Audit “Internationalisation of Universities” |
| 2008-2018 | Spokesman for the Institute of International Business and Globalization, School of Business, Economics and Society, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg |
| 2004-present | Dean of International Affairs, School of Business, Economics and Society, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg |
| 2004-present | Member of the Senate Committee for Internationalization, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg |
| 2004-present | Deputy Chairman of the Examination Board for the MBA Business Management, School of Business, Economics and Society, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg |
| 2003-2007, 2021-present | Member of the Faculty Council, School of Business, Economics and Society, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg |
| 2001-present | Member and chairman of numerous appointment committees and task groups |
Third-party Funding
| 2004-present | Acquisition of multiple research grants from, e.g., AXA Private Equity, Bavarian State Ministry of Economics, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology, Bavarian State Ministry of Science, Research and Arts, Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Frisch Foundation, German Research Foundation, KfW Bankengruppe, Sino-German Center for Research Promotion, Staedler Foundation, Prof. Dr. oec. Westerfelhaus Foundation. Amount of third-party funds acquired: around 2,000,000 € |
International Teaching and Research Activities
| 1989-present | Research and teaching stays at various universities, e.g. Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Moldova, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Tadzhikistan, Thailand, UAE, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam |
| 1994 | DAAD short-term guest lecturer at the State University of St.-Petersburg, Russia (in Russian language) |
| 1995-2010 | Board member and since 2002 member of board of trustees of the Johannes Rau International Centre for Education and Exchange (IBB), Minsk, Belarus |
Executive Education
| 2004-present | MBA Business Management, School of Business, Economics and Society, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg |
| 2005-2011 | MBA General Management, International School of Management, Dortmund |
| 1989-present | Executive education seminars and board-level workshops for a wide variety of companies and institutions, e.g., AutoUni (Wolfsburg), BMW, Bucerius Law School (Hamburg), Deutsche Management Akademie (Celle), Hochschule Luzern, Internationales Bildungs- und Begegnungszentrum Minsk, IQPC – Gesellschaft für Management Konferenzen (Berlin), Landesversicherungsamt NRW (Essen), Management Circle (Eschborn), Ost-West-Wirtschafts-Akademie (Berlin), Universitätsseminar der Wirtschaft (Erftstadt), University of Hamburg |
Academic Awards
| 2025 | Best Paper Award for the paper “MNC Exit from Russia: A Theory of Institutional Friction and Foreign Divestment” at the European International Business Academy Conference (with Marc Oberhauser and Laura Kirste) in the conference track titled “Drivers and Outcomes of Foreign Divestment” |
| 2020 | GLOBE 2020 “Certificate of Excellence in Cross Cultural Research” |
| 2019 | Listed in a research-related ranking of the weekly Wirtschaftswoche as one of the top-5% professors of business administration in Germany, Austria and the German-speaking Switzerland |
| 2015 | Friend of India Award |
| 2014 | Listed in a research-related ranking of the newspaper Handelsblatt as one of the top-100 professors of business administration in Germany, Austria and the German-speaking Switzerland |
| 2013 | Best Teacher Award, MBA Business Management, Class 2011-2013 |
| 2013 | Nomination of the Paper “Expatriate Performance in High-risk Countries: Influence of Family-Related Stress” for the Best Paper Award (International Management Division), Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Orlando, USA (with Benjamin Bader & Nicola Berg) |
| 2013 | Outstanding Paper Award 2013 for the paper “Determinants of outward foreign direct investment from BRIC countries: an explorative study” in International Journal of Emerging Markets (with Heidi Kreppel) |
| 2013 | Highly Recommended Paper Award 2013 for the paper “Competitive advantage of German renewable energy firms in India and China: An empirical study based on Porter’s diamond” in International Journal of Emerging Markets (with Corinna Dögl & Tassilo Schuster) |
| 2012 | Listed in a research-related ranking of the newspaper Handelsblatt as one of the top-100 professors of business administration in Germany, Austria and the German-speaking Switzerland |
| 2012 | Best Paper Award, Academy of International Business Southeast Asia Regional Conferene, Xiamen, China (with Heidi Kreppel) |
| 2012 | Best Teacher Award, MBA Business Management, Class 2010-2012 |
| 2011 | Outstanding Paper Award, Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2011 for the paper “Global Teams. A network analysis” in Team Performance Management (with N. Berg) |
| 2010 | Best Teacher Award, MBA Business Management, Class 2008-2010 |
| 2009 | Listed in a research-related ranking of the newspaper Handelsblatt as one of the top-200 professors of business administration in Germany, Austria and the German-speaking Switzerland |
| 2008 | FHDW-Research Award (2008) (with Jonas F. Puck and Alex T. Mohr) |
| 2008 | Research Excellence Award, School of Business and Economics, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg |
| 2004 | Sparkasse Award for innovational teaching for the course “Intercultural Management conflicts – a cinematic perspective” |
| 2002 | Hans und Irmgard Müller-Foundation Award for innovational teaching at the School of Business and Economics, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg |
| 2002 | Best Paper Award for the paper “Stakeholder Management in German Multinational Corporations” for the VIth World Congress of the International Federation of Scholarly Associations in Management (IFSAM), Griffith University, Conrad Jupiters, Australia (with N. Berg and M.K. Welge) |
Service in Academic Organizations
| 2016 | European International Business Academy Annual Conference 2016: Track Chair „Distance and Institutions“ |
| 2003-2015 | AIESEC Local Committee Nürnberg: Member of the Board of Trustees |
| 2004-2006 | German Academic Association for Business Research: Commissioner for junior researchers of the academic commission “International Management” |
| 2002-2010 | Johannes Rau International Centre for Education and Exchange (IBB), Minsk, Belarus: Member of Board of Trustees |
| 1999-2001 | German Association for East European Studies: Board member |
| 1995-2001 | Johannes Rau International Centre for Education and Exchange (IBB), Minsk, Belarus: Board member |
Memberships
- Academy of International Business
- Academy of Management
- AIESEC Local Committee Nürnberg (2003-2015 Member of the Board of Trustees)
- European International Business Academy
- German Academic Association for Business Research (Verband der Hochschullehrer für Betriebswirtschaft e.V., 2004-2006 Commissioner for junior researchers of the academic commission “International Management”)
- German Society for Eastern-European Studies (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Osteuropakunde e.V., 1999-2001 Board Member)
- International Association for Chinese Management Research
- Petersburg Dialogue, Task Force Education and Science
- Schmalenbach Society for Business Administration
Consulting
Active as a consultant for numerous national and international companies
Assessor of Grand Applications
- German Science Fund (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG)
- Austrian Science Fund (Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft)
- Thyseen Foundation
- Volkswagen Foundation
Activities as a Reviewer
- Asian Business and Management
- European Journal of International Management
- European Management Journal
- Führung + Organisation
- Human Resource Development International
- Human Resource Management
- International Business Review
- International Journal of Cross Cultural Management (Member of the Review Board)
- International Journal of Emerging Markets (Member of the Editorial Review Board)
- International Journal of Human Resource Management
- Journal for East European Management Studies (Member of the Honorary Board)
- Journal für Betriebswirtschaft
- Journal of Business Ethics
- Journal of International Business Studies
- Journal of International Management
- Journal of World Business
- Managementforschung (Member of the Advisory Board)
- Management International Review (Member of the Editorial Board)
- Organization Studies
- Osteuropa
- Thunderbird International Business Review
Languages
- German (Native language)
- English (Fluent)
- Russian (Fluent)
- French (Basic knowledge)
Hobbies
- Travelling
- Reading
- Music
- Field Hockey
- Tennis
- Skiing