At the start of the new semester, the Faculty of Economics at the University of Kassel welcomes Prof. Dr. Josua Oll as its new Professor of Sustainability Management. The professorship strengthens the faculty’s focus on sustainability and provides important impetus in teaching, research, and knowledge transfer.

The professorship is affiliated with the In­sti­tu­te of Ma­nage­ment and Busi­ness and focuses on general business administration with an emphasis on sustainability management in both teaching and research. In the Faculty’s bachelor’s and master’s programs, Prof. Dr. Josua Oll will offer courses such as “Sustainable Business Management,” “Fundamentals of Business Administration,” “Business and Social Change,” and “Sustainability Management.” In addition, the professorship is contributing to the further development of the master’s program in “Sustainable Business” as well as other sustainability-related degree programs at the University of Kassel.

In his research, Prof. Dr. Josua Oll focuses in particular on the topics of the ESG backlash and conflicting institutional environmental requirements, organizational inertia and sustainable corporate transformation, as well as materiality concepts in sustainability reporting and their effects. These new research priorities offer numerous opportunities for collaboration within the Faculty—particularly in the areas of sustainability, energy, and the environment, as well as digital transformation—and beyond, with university and international partner institutions. Knowledge transfer to the professional world and the acquisition of third-party funding are also to be further expanded.

With this new professorship, the University of Kassel underscores its commitment to actively shaping sustainability-related issues in academic studies, research, and societal practice.

Here is some background information on our new colleague:

Before joining the University of Kassel, he was a postdoc at the Chair of Management at the University of Oldenburg. Even then, his research was centered on sustainability management and focused on sustainable strategies and business models, the management of sustainable transformation, and sustainability reporting.