Evelien Croonen

Dr. Evelien Croonen is an Associate Professor in the field of Small Business & Entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Groningen. She is the former program coordinator of the MScBA Small Business & Entrepreneurship (2014-2019). She has more than 25 years of teaching experience as a course coordinator, lecturer and Master Thesis supervisor. Evelien likes to organize activities that bring students into direct contact with business practitioners, such as entrepreneurs, business leaders, managers and consultants, enabling students to apply academic knowledge to real-world challenges while developing their professional competencies. Her teaching initiatives include the award-winning ‘Northern Business Safaris’ (that is: field trips to visit practitioners in their own ‘habitats’) and Living Teaching Cases (that is: analyzing strategic challenges for entrepreneurs and presenting recommendations to them in class). In 2023, she received the Faculty’s Best Practice in Teaching and Learning Award for her work on the Northern Business Safaris. 

Evelien is also active as a scientific researcher and her research focused primarily on strategy and management of inter-firm networks, and more specifically franchise networks. In her research, Evelien also frequently cooperates with companies and business associations to collect data and ensure that her research addresses challenges encountered in practice.