Dr Ute Stephan
Lecturer in Leadership and Management
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Ute is a Lecturer and Director for the MSc in Leadership at the Institute of Work Psychology and a member of the Centre for Regional Economic and Enterprise Development at the University of Sheffield Management School. Ute’s research is cross-disciplinary and focuses on 1) national culture, cultural influences on entrepreneurial behaviour and culture change, 2) CEO entrepreneur leadership, and 3) social entrepreneurship and social innovation. Her work is published in multi-disciplinary and psychology journals such as the Journal of International Business Studies, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Small Business Economics, Journal of Career Development and others (see publication list below). Ute is a member of the editorial review board of Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. Examples of ongoing research projects include a Systematic Review of the Literature on Business-Driven Social Change, Social Entrepreneurs as Lead Users of Service Innovation, and a cross-cultural project on CEO-entrepreneurs influences on employee well-being.
Ute holds a PhD with distinction in Natural Sciences/Work Psychology from the University of Marburg and an MSc in Psychology from the Dresden University of Technology. Before joining Sheffield she was a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics & Political Science, worked as a senior researcher at KU Leuven, Belgium, as a lecturer at the University of Marburg and as a research manager at the Dresden University of Technology. Ute is a certified social skills trainer and has over 10 years experience working as a consultant and trainer, both independently for private, public and third sector organisations, as well as for Accenture, Germany and Cirrus Logic, Texas, USA.
Ute is the founding member and member of the board INPERE – International Network of Psychology in Entrepreneurship Research and Education – an international network of an international network of Work & Organisational Psychologists working in the area of Entrepreneurship (http://inpere.org). She is member of the Academy of Management (Organizational Behavior, Entrepreneurship and International Business Divisons), the German and American Psychological Association and the International Association of Applied Psychology (Organisational Psychology Division).
Teaching
Ute regularly lectures on leadership, (social) entrepreneurship, innovation and culture both in the UK and internationally. In her approach to teaching she combines latest scientific evidence with practical professional experience and engages students through experiential exercises and self-assessments.
At the University of Sheffield, Ute is the Director of the MSc Leadership. She is also the Module leader and main lecturer on MGT6231 “Advanced Topics in Leadership: Leading in Challenging Times” (MSc Leadership & Management), the module leader and lecturer on MGT6068 “Leadership for Organisational Performance” (Sheffield MBA).
Ute also contributes lectures on cross-cultural psychology and social innovation to other post-graduate and undergraduate modules at the Management School and the Department of Psychology.
Grants and Scholarships
Ute has been awarded grants and scholarships (totalling over 250,000 GBP) as sole recipient, lead or co-applicant from the German Research Foundation (DFG); the European Union; the ESRC; the Network of Business Sustainability (NBS), Canada; the German Academic Exchange Service; the Georgia Institute of Technology; the European Association of Work and Organisational Psychology (EAWOP), the University of Sheffield; KU Leuven; the Dresden University of Technology and E-Fellows (McKinsey, DeutscheTelekom and Holtzbrinck Publishing Group).
Areas of Expertise
Leadership & Management Practices
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Culture (national and organisational)
Current Areas of Research
- Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Innovation: CEO-Leadership and management practices in entrepreneurial firms in particular small and medium-sized businesses and social ventures; Leadership and Innovation; Trade-off vs. mutual reinforcement of social and entrepreneurial business strategies; Social innovation and social opportunity recognition;
- Job design in unusual contexts and occupations: entrepreneurs’ job design; job design in entrepreneurial firms and social enterprises;
- Culture (national and organisational culture): cultural norms, mechanisms of cultural influence on individual behaviour, culture change.
Example Publications
*Estrin, S., Mickiewicz, T.M. & Stephan, U. (in press). Entrepreneurship, social capital and institutions: Social and commercial entrepreneurship across nations. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. (special issue on "Social Capital and Entrepreneurship: Catalyst or Retardant?")
*Bergmann, H. & Stephan, U. (2012). Moving on from nascent entrepreneurship: Measuring cross-national differences in the transition to new business ownership. Small Business Economics. Advanced online publication, DOI: 10.1007/s11187-012-9458-4.
*Hopp, C. & Stephan, U. (2012). The influence of socio-cultural environments on the performance of nascent entrepreneurs: Community culture, motivation, self-efficacy and start-up success. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 24(9-10), 917-945. DOI: 10.1080/08985626.2012.742326
Monkhouse, L, Barnes, B. & Stephan, U. (2012). The Influence of Face and Group Orientation on the Perception of Luxury Goods: A Four Market Study of East Asian Consumers. International Marketing Review, 29(6), 647 – 672.
Moriano, J.A., Gorgievski, M., Laguna, M., Stephan, U. & Zarafshani, K. (2012). A cross cultural approach to understanding entrepreneurial intention. Journal of Career Development, 39(2), 162-185. download
*Stephan, U. & Hopp, C. (2012). The influence of socio-cultural environments on the performance of nascent entrepreneurs: An instrumental variable approach. Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings.
Lukes, M. & Stephan, U. (2012). Nonprofit Leaders and For-Profit Entrepreneurs: Similar People with Different Motivation. Ceskoslovenska psychologie, 56(1), 41-55. download
Gorgievski, M., Ascalon, M.E. & Stephan, U. (2011). Small business owners’ success criteria, a values approach to personal differences. Journal of Small Business Management, 49(2), 207 - 232. download
Iakovleva, T., Kolvereid, L. & Stephan, U. (2011). Entrepreneurial Intentions in developing and developed countries. Education & Training, 53(5), 353 - 370.
Stephan, U. (2010). Social Entrepreneurship. In: M. Lukes & M. Laguna (eds). Entrepreneurship: A Psychological Approach (pp. 17-35). Prague: Oeconomica. download
*Mickiewicz, T., Sauka, A. & Stephan, U. (2010). The Social and Entrepreneurial Orientation of Small Businesses: Mutually Exclusive or Reinforcing? Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, 30(12), Article 21. download
Stephan, U. & Roesler, U. (2010). Health of entrepreneurs versus employees in a national representative sample. Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 83(3), 717-738. download
Stephan, U. & Uhlaner, L. (2010). Performance-based vs. socially-supportive culture: A cross-national study of descriptive norms and entrepreneurship. Journal of International Business Studies, 41, 1347-1364. download
Roesler, U., Gebele, N., Hoffmann, K., Morling, K., Mueller, A., Rau, R. & Stephan, U. (2010). Cortisol im Speichel-ein geeigneter physiologischer Indikator fuer Belastungen am Arbeitsplatz? Zeitschrift fuer Arbeits-& Organisationspsychologie, 54, 68-82.
Roesler, U., Stephan, U., Hoffmann, K., Morling, K., Mueller, A. & Rau, R. (2008). Psychosoziale Merkmale der Arbeit, Ueberforderungserleben und Depressivitaet [Job characteristics, the experience of excessive demands, and depression]. Zeitschrift fuer Arbeits- & Organisationspsychologie, 52(4), 191-203.
Rau, R., Hoffmann, K., Metz, U., Richter, P.G., Roesler, U. & Stephan, U. (2008). Gesundheitsrisiken bei Unternehmern [Health risks of entrepreneurs]. Zeitschrift fuer Arbeits- & Organisationspsychologie, 52(3), 115-125.
Stephan, U., Lukeš, M., Dej, D. & Richter, P.G. (2007). Attitudes towards and Perceptions of Entrepreneurs in Central Eastern Europe. In G. Zheng, K. Leung, & J. Adair (Eds.), Perspectives and Progress in Contemporary Cross-Cultural Psychology (pp. 173-189). Beijing: Light Industry Press. download
Stephan, U. & Richter, P.G. (2006). Erfolgreiche Unternehmen in Deutschland, Polen, Tschechien und Bulgarien, Band II: Personen, Strategien, Gesundheit und Erfolg in KMU. Dresden: TUDpress.
Stephan, U. & Richter, P.G. (2005). Erfolgreiche Unternehmen in Deutschland, Polen, Tschechien und Bulgarien, Band I. Veränderung der Rahmenbedingungen für Klein- und Mittelständische Unternehmen (KMU) zwischen 2002/2003 und 2004/2005. Dresden: TUDpress.
Richter, P.G. & Stephan, U. (2005). Erfolgreiche Unternehmen in Deutschland, Polen, Tschechien und Bulgarien, Band 3. Ansätze und Möglichkeiten zur Verbesserung der Bedingungen für Klein- und Mittelständische Unternehmen (KMU). Dresden: TUDpress.
Stephan, U. & Westhoff, K. (2002). Personalauswahlgespräche im Führungskräftebereich des deutschen Mittelstandes: Bestandsaufnahme und Einsparungspotenzial. [Personnel selection interviews for managers in German medium-sized companies: A survey of current practices and a cost-benefit analysis]. Wirtschaftspsychologie, 4(3), 3-17.
*publications to which authors contributed equally to the manuscript

