New Professor of Management and Leadership Marjo Siltaoja at JSBE focuses on responsibility, sustainability and social capital
Marjo Siltaoja has worked at JSBE since 2003. Over more than 20 years, she has worked in various roles in the academic fields of management and leadership and corporate environmental management.
Siltaoja has studied management and leadership from multiple perspectives throughout her career. Her earlier research focused on corporate responsibility and intangible capital. From 2012 to 2020, her research on corporate environmental management covered topics such as the green economy.
“In recent years, I’ve focused on researching issues of responsibility, emerging green markets, sustainability, as well as social capital,” says Siltaoja, who earned a D.Sc. (Econ.) in Management in 2010. “I am not an industry-focused researcher. Instead, I examine phenomena across industry boundaries.”
Research on sustainability themes
In autumn 2025, the four-year project Organizational politics and practices of sunset enterprising (OPPOSE), funded by the Research Council of Finland, was launched.
“Our research aims to deepen the understanding of those tensions that arise when industrial sectors are required to adapt to increasing sustainability demands,” says Siltaoja. “Our goal is to identify practical measures that can be used to support the business sector during this transition. In recent years, I have also become interested in multispecies organisational research, which adopts a broader perspective than the traditional human-centered approach. Organisations and business are dependent on a thriving natural environment.”
Extensive experience in developing research and education
In 2024–2025, Siltaoja served as professor responsible for management and leadership, overseeing the development of research and education in the field. She has been a member of the JSBE management team and the research development group and served as Director of the Doctoral Programme in Business Studies in 2022–2023.
Siltaoja has also held positions of responsibility both within and outside the University. She is, among other things, a member of the Ethics Committee of the University of Jyväskylä and Research Council, the management team of the national KATAJA network and the European Business Ethics Networks, and the Board of EBEN Finland, as well as an editor in two international publications.
An experienced teacher and supervisor, Siltaoja has taught at bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels and held guest lectures around the world.
“I aim to update my courses each year and incorporate perspectives from emerging research fields,” says Siltaoja, who has extensive teaching experience. “It’s also about my own learning.”
International collaboration broadens perspectives
Siltaoja is a renowned and highly productive researcher whose career has been characterised by strong international collaboration. Her research has been widely published in leadership and management magazines and has received Best Paper awards at various conferences.
During her career, she has also made numerous research visits to renowned business schools, including in New Zealand, France, England, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
“I recommend visiting different countries around the world,” explains Siltaoja. “It’s refreshing, and at the same time, you’ll learn to appreciate the freedom and atmosphere of your own workplace. I’m not a strategic networker, but building your own network can be as simple as walking up to someone and asking who they are.”
Hoping to attract more young researchers
According to Siltaoja, it is great that researchers are able to study topics they are academically interested in as well as receive funding to do so. She hopes, however, that the academic world will attract more young researchers.
“I’m concerned about attracting and retaining new young academics in the field,” says Siltaoja. “How can we attract promising young researchers, given that this career is fascinating but can feel uncertain?
“I am truly fascinated by research and all the things we can achieve through it. For example, management can be studied from many different perspectives, and in recent years, there have been new openings in management and leadership research and theory.
“A good friend of mine said years ago how unique it is to have a job where you get paid to read, think, and research. I now understand what they meant. It is truly great to be a part of an academic community.”
Marjo Siltaoja began her role as Professor of Management and Leadership at the Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics on 15 September 2025.
