Academic staff

Name: Runar Døving
Position: Professor
E-mail: runar.doving@mh.no

Field of research: Consumer research, commoditization and the informal economy. Norwegian culture, food, leisure and cross-border trade. In addition, the relationship between gender and power.

Background: Runar Døving has a PhD in social anthropology from the University of Bergen. He teaches consumer sociology and gastronomy. He has conducted fieldwork in Spain, and Østfold County and Karasjok in Norway. He has carried out research and published in the following areas: food, structure of meals, gender, tourism, power, leisure, border-trade, commoditization, the informal economy and financial vulnerability. He also holds a 20% position as senior researcher at the National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO). Runar has published the following books:  Rype med lettøl (“Grouse with Light Beer”),  En anthropologi fra Norge (“An Anthropology from Norway”) (Pax 2003) and Merkevarer – 45 korreksjoner (“Brands – 45 Corrections”) (Cappelen Academic, 2007). He is well known in the media, and a frequent speaker in the private and public sectors. He writes the vignette “merkevarer” (“brands”) in the Norwegian financial newspaper Dagens næringsliv.

Name: Line Christoffersen
Position: Associate Professor / Pro-Rector
E-mail: line.christoffersen@mh.no

Field of research: The use of qualitative research methods in marketing research; the marketing of non-profit and non-commercial organizations; user-perspective in the public sector and healthcare. She is working on a research project supported by the Norwegian SIDS and Stillbirth Society concerning parents’ experience regarding the follow-up from the Norwegian health care system when a child dies before, during and after birth.

Background: Line Christoffersen has a Ph.D. in Marketing from Copenhagen Business School. She teaches qualitative methods. For a number of years, Christoffersen has been working with non-profit organizations and on non-commercial marketing initiatives. She previously worked for Andersen Business Consulting, TNS Gallup and as leader of research in Synovate MMI.

Name: Lars Erling Olsen
Position: Associate Professor
E-mail: lars.olsen@mh.no

Field of research: Brand management, consumer behavior and marketing communications with particular emphasis on socio-psychological explanatory mechanisms.

Background: Lars graduated from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration with a Master’s degree in Economics and Business Administration, and is now working on his PhD in brand management at the Norwegian School of Management. He teaches and conducts research on brand management, consumer behavior and marketing communication. His research interests are related to impact theory, categorization and associative network theory, and he has published scientific papers on subjects such as brand extensions, brand alliances, brand strength, advertising effectiveness and product placements. Lars worked for years in the food industry (Mills) as brand manager for several major brands, and as project manager for innovation projects. He is widely engaged as a speaker and consultant in business and in the public sector, and has been a key contributor in several corporate internal programs; primarily, Steen & Strøm Brand School, OMG Academy, Rieber Branding and Bergen Branding. Olsen is the co-author of Norway's first academic textbook on brand management.

Name: Rune Bjerke
Position: Associate Professor
E-mail: rune.bjerke@mh.no

Field of research: The key steps and tools used in the brand building process - from organizational culture as an internal factor, to external marketing communications such as advertising, events and sponsorships. Research areas include brand services, brands, brand-people and brand companies as a result of strategies, investments, press coverage and as phenomena. The main areas that are analysed, investigated and researched are the consumer market, culture market and tourism.

Background: Rune Bjerke has a PhD in international advertising and marketing from Otago University, Dunedin, New Zealand and an MBA from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. He teaches primarily in the areas of brand building, marketing and marketing communications.
He is particularly interested in understanding the relationships between leadership, organizational culture, HR factors, brand strength and financial results. His research also covers issues in consumer behavior and personality psychology, power and position, brand strength, communication, expectations, perceptions and experiences. Rune Bjerke is co-author of the books, Branding Governance: a participatory approach to the brand building process, (2007, Wiley, UK); Organisasjonsdrevet merkebygging “Organizational brand building” (2007, Cappelen Akademiske, Oslo); and Reklame over alle grenser: Tverrkulturell markedskommunikasjon “Advertising across all borders: Cross-cultural marketing communications”, (1998, Cappelen Akademiske). Bjerke has previously worked as a fashion photographer and has just completed a 2-year film study program. 

Name: Tore Mysen
Position: Associate Professor
E-mail: tore.mysen@mh.no

Field of research: Relationship building between - and within companies. International marketing.

Background: Tore Mysen has a PhD in Economics from BI Norwegian School of Management. He teaches international marketing, marketing, relationship management and innovation. Mysen has extensive experience as a consultant in Norwegian industry in analysis and planning, as a founder and entrepreneur.

Name: Tom Karp
Position: Associate Professor
E-mail: tom.karp@mh.no

Field of research: Tom Karp is Associate Professor of Management. His fields of interest are leadership, management development and change management. He has conducted considerable research within the fields of leadership and personality, self-management, development of personal leadership, relational processes and strategic management. Tom also works with the applications of complexity science.

Background: Tom Karp has previously worked as a senior manager in the private sector, started several of his own businesses and has considerable experience working as a consultant. He teaches and conducts research in the subject areas management and change management. In addition, he works with leadership development and executive training. Tom has held and still holds several board positions. He is a civil engineer, business economist, has a Master’s degree in management and a PhD in change management. He has published widely in academic journals internationally and writes frequently in the Norwegian media

Name: Sander Sværi
Position: Assistant Professor
E-mail: sander.svari@mh.no

Field of research: In the intersection between service, tourism and marketing. Complaint behavior.

Background: Sander Sværi is the academic coordinator for the subject Tourism at the college. He researches and teaches in the subject area marketing and tourism with a particular focus on consumer behavior in service marketing. Sværi is working on a PhD thesis at the University of Karlstad, which deals with consumer behavior when purchasing tourism services.

Name: Kjetil Olaussen
Position: Assistant Professor
E-mail: kjetil.olaussen@mh.no

Field of research: The relationship between power and culture; self-leadership among younger Norwegian entrepreneurs in the cultural field; innovation in art, fashion and popular music.

Background: Kjetil trained as a cultural sociologist at the London School of Economics (LSE). He teaches culture and communication; and entrepreneurship, research methods and philosophy of science. He has worked as a market analyst for Opinion and as a commentator in the Norwegian national media

Name: Karl Fredrik Tangen
Position: Associate Professor
E-mail: karl.fredrik.tangen@mh.no

Field of research: Class and lifestyle. PR and rhetoric in capitalist society. Work and hidden discipline. Everyday behavior as the basis for social structures. Communication work and consumption in economic history. Media markets and the media’s social function. Power and networks. Scientific theory and market analysis.

Background: Karl-Fredrik Tangen studied human geography at the University of Oslo. He teaches consumer sociology, communications, public relations, methods and media. Tangen writes for the Norwegian financial newspaper, Dagens Næringsliv, and also conducts lectures. He previously worked at the advertising agency Bates, and he has been involved in the development of the segmentation model “Sosioraster”.

Name: Terje Grann
Position: Assistant Professor
E-mail: terje.grann@mh.no

Background: Terje teaches business administration and has extensive experience as a lecturer at the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences and the University of Oslo / Faculty of Medicine. Terje was Director of Academic Affairs for Oslo School of Management in 1997-2000.
He has a Master’s degree in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Lund and completed studies at Norwegian School of Economics Business Administration (NHH), and holds a Master’s degree in business administration from Buskerud University College. In addition, Terje also runs a bookkeeping and accounting firm.

Name: Kjersti Ruud Walaas
Position: Assistant Professor
E-mail: kjersti.ruud.walaas@mh.no

Background: Kjersti Ruud Walaas is academic coordinator for hotel and tourism studies at the college, and holds a Master’s degree in social anthropology. Her specialist fields are culture, communication and tourism. She has worked as the assistant director, dramaturg and translator at the Nordic Black Theatre in Oslo, and she has also taught and lectured. Walaas also teaches an online degree program in Intercultural Communication at NKS Online Studies. She is now working on a research project on tourism, cultural representation and ethnicity, and a book chapter on conflict and cooperation in tourism and destination development.

Name: Patrick Verde
Position: Associate Professor
E-mail: patrick.verde@mh.no

Background: Patrick’s formal background is based on a higher degree in pedagogy from the University of Oslo, and psychology studies which he completed in Germany. He is associate professor and academic coordinator for the program in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Patrick has many years of consulting experience with large Norwegian enterprises within the public and private sectors and has published a number of articles with a focus on customer orientation, innovation, and change and knowledge management. At present, he is working on several projects: growth strategies in innovative companies; decision-making rationality in relation to investment in advertising; efficiency and innovation opportunities in substance abuse care

Name: Helene Sætersdal
Position: Associate Professor
E-mail: helene.setersdal@mh.no

Background: Helene Sætersdal has a degree in the sociology of organizations and work from the University of Oslo. She studied marketing at the BI Norwegian School of Management and pedagogy at the University of Oslo. Helene is the course coordinator for the course Organization and Leadership. This introductory course is common to all the study programs. She is also course coordinator for Creative Processes. Helene has been teaching at the college since 2001. Previously, she worked in the Directorate of Taxes planning section, associated with the Work Research Institute. She also ran a day care centre for 6 years and has written a handbook for the operation and administration of day care centres.

Name: Hanne Stavelie
Position: Assistant Professor
E-mail: hanne.stavelie@mh.no

Background: Hanne holds a Master’s degree in languages from the University of Oslo. She is coordinator for the language courses that are offered at the college, and teaches English, Spanish and intercultural communication

Name: Adrian Peretz
Position: Associate Professor
E-mail: adrian.peretz@mh.no

Background: Adrian holds a PhD from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH). His research interests lie in consumer behavior and marketing communication. He is academic coordinator for the marketing subjects at the college, and he teaches branding and communications. He is co-author of Brand Management in Norwegian. He has previously worked with brands in the food industry, including many years as brands director at Mills DA

Name: Joyce McHenry
Position: Associate Professor
E-mail: joyce.mchenry@mh.no

Background: Joyce McHenry has a PhD in Organization and Management from Copenhagen Business School. She teaches subjects including leadership (knowledge management), HRM (OB), innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership in a global world (CR, intercultural leadership and leadership in transition economies). She has published several international articles and is involved in research within the areas: Collaboration and innovation among entrepreneurs in Norway; HRM in the state-owned companies in Vietnam; Management in Transition Economies: Corporate culture change in Chinese SOEs; and intercultural leadership and ethical behavior in Vietnam. At present she is conducting research in Norway, Vietnam and China. She also has extensive experience in corporate internal workshops and lecturing.

Name: Nicholas Ind
Position: Associate Professor
E-mail: nicholas.ind@mh.no

Background: Nicholas Ind teaches and writes about branding, and carries out consultancy work in the field. He is a partner in the consulting firm Equilibrium Consulting. Previously, he headed Icon MediaLab’s consulting company in Sweden. Nicholas has also run his own branding consultancy; served as director of a design-consulting company and account director for several advertising agencies in the United Kingdom. His customers have included: The Economist, Greenpeace International, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the British Council, Mexx, Philips, Unicef, the Royal Opera House and Telenor.
Nicholas has written several articles, academic papers and nine books, including The Corporate Image (1990), which was chosen as “Business Book of the Year”; the best-seller, Terence Conran - The Authorized Biography (1995); The Corporate Brand (1997); Living the Brand (2001); Inspiration (2004); Branding Governance (in collaboration with Rune Bjerke) (2007); and The Organic Organization (2009). He is also the editor of Beyond Branding (2003).
Nicholas is former director of the Design Business Association, United Kingdom; a member of the editorial board of the Corporate Reputation Review, and the Journal of Brand Management; and Industrial Fellow at Kingston University. He is Visiting Professor at ESADE, Barcelona and Napier University, Edinburgh. Nicholas has a BA in English Literature and History, an MBA from Strathclyde Graduate Business School and a PhD with magna cum laude from the European Graduate School in Switzerland

Name: Göran Svensson
Position: Professor
E-mail: goran.svensson@mh.no

Background: Göran is Professor at Oslo School of Management. He holds a PhD from the School of Economics and Commercial Law, Gothenburg University, Sweden. He is also an active member of the international research community in his role as journal editor, and sits on numerous editorial boards; he also participates in scholarly/research networks and associations. He frequently authors articles in international journals, contributes regularly to international conferences, and has also written a number of books. His research interests include various subjects and he has published in areas such as business ethics, leadership, logistics, marketing, sustainability, public sector management, quality management, academic journals and publishing.

Name: Erling Holm Dock
Position: Associate Professor
E-mail: erling.dock.holm@mh.no

Background: Erling Dock Holm has worked and published in areas such as consumer sociology, political theory, urban planning and architecture. He also holds a 20% position as a researcher at the Architecture and Design College in Oslo. Erling is active in the media and is a frequent speaker at venues in the public and private sectors. He is also a columnist for the Dagbladet Magazine and Dagens Næringsliv.

Name: Trond Blindheim
Position: Principal / Professor
E-mail: trond.blindheim@mh.no
Background: Trond Blindheim is a graduate sociologist from the University of Oslo, and teaches marketing communication and consumer behavior. He has written several books and articles on marketing, advertising and consumption. He has ten years’ experience in advertising and the media industry as a copywriter, creative manager and director, and he is much sought after as a speaker in the business world.