Olof Bik

“At Nyenrode we shape people and organizations to help them achieve their aspirations for healthy and sustainable performance. I contribute to this ambition in my position as Associate Professor of Behavioral & Cultural Governance and Director of the Accountancy Programs.”

“My expertise lies in the field of Behavioral & Cultural Governance, i.e., managing organizational culture and behavior for sustainable performance, governance, and control. My views on organizational culture can be expressed by quoting Pettigrew (1979): “Man creates culture and culture creates man”. Behavior in organizations is driven by whatever meaning people attach to the consistent pattern of messages they think to receive from the web of organizational conditions about what is really valued. Culture is not about what you say: it is about what you do (the alignment between the walk and the talk), and changing behavior is not only a matter of changing the individual, it also means changing the organizational context. The focus of my work and research is on ways to practically and effectively strengthen organizational culture from the perspective of value creation and the stakeholders, given that a strong culture is of fundamental value for organizational health, performance, and control.”

“I am especially proud of our team at Nyenrode. We work together with professionals and organizations as business partners to identify ways to leverage our leadership paradigm of managing values, culture, behavior, and changeability. We use our academic knowhow to impact everyday practice. My role on our team of academics and professionals is in executive educationand organizational transformation. I focus on professional services firms, the financial services industry, and family-owned businesses. I am a much invited speaker, lecturer, and facilitator at executive seminars, round table discussions, and master classes, and I regularly publish academic and professional articles and thought leadership pieces internationally.”

“As Director of the Accountancy programs I am responsible for the Bachelor, Master and post-Master, and executive programs in Accountancy. In this role I take great pride in our close working relationships with our students and the audit firms where they work. At the heart of our programs is the educational philosophy of the “Robust Auditor”: helping organizations to become a reliable business partner for their stakeholders. Nyenrode shapes the next generation of auditors and is moving forward in integrating the professional, personal, academic, and societal development of our students and of current and future auditing professionals. At the end of the day the Robust Auditor should be able to make the difference for organizations and society at moments of truth.”

Other positions
“Before joining Nyenrode in 2012, I founded and directed the Behavioral & Cultural Governance practice at PwC in 2009, following a 15-year career in international auditing at PwC. In this role, I worked for a wide range of national and multinational clients across various industries. In addition to my position at PwC, I was associated with the University of Groningen for almost 10 years as a researcher and lecturer. I obtained my doctorate there in 2010 for my dissertation on The Behavior of Assurance Professionals – A Cross-cultural Perspective. From 2015 onwards, I am academic board member and managing director of the Foundation for Auditing Research. I am an alumnus of Nyenrode’s accountancy school, where I won Nyenrode’s Essay Prize after graduating in 2003.”