Looking for an exciting new role?

Join a team of pioneering researchers at Nottingham Trent University (NTU), such as Professor Ursula F. Ott.

As part of NTU's Researcher Revealed series, Ursula shares how she is helping to examine how cultural differences support organisations make culturally informed decisions. 

Global cooperation is possible 

"The heart of my research is about how humans interact, communicate, negotiate and operate. My research examines these differences to support individuals, organisations and governments culturally inform judgments and decisions," shares Ursula. 

"Through my research I'm showing that global cooperation is possible and that by working together we are more connected then we are divided."

An economics and sociology background

With an economics and sociology background, Ursula's PhD focused on decision-making and internationalization strategies of agricultural cooperatives in the EU.

"This set the scene for an interdisciplinary and international agenda which allowed me to identify challenges and work on global solutions for these cooperatives. After my PhD, I was an assistant professor at the University of Vienna. Continuing with cooperation and conflict, my next focus was on decision-making and internationalization for international joint ventures," she shares.

After receiving funding from the Austrian Science Fund to investigate and develop these joint ventures, Ursula was invited as a Research Scholar to the London School of Economics (LSE) with an Erwin-Schrödinger-Fellowship. The intellectual environment at the University of Vienna and the London School of Economics, as well as the leading minds and pioneers there, showed her the importance of curiosity, hard work, and investigative mind, and luck.

"At the LSE, I came across a book on how cultures collide by Richard Lewis, which inspired me to develop a game theoretical model for international negotiations. This was the start of a fascinating journey. It helped me to get deeper insights by using international negotiations and direct observations to create the knowledge we need to understand deep-rooted cognitive patterns and cooperation within, and across, cultures," explains Ursula. 

"Throughout my research career, I have been inspired by numerous leading scholars. Their knowledge, advice and discussions have been invaluable. At the LSE, I was a lecturer, and then I started working as a senior lecturer at Loughborough University. After that, I moved back to London and founded the Centre for Experimental Research in International Business as professor at Kingston University London. In 2018, I joined NTU as professor for international business and founded the Centre for International Business Strategy and Decisions."

Finding solutions through research methods

Ursula's research focuses on how people across different cultures make decisions, cooperate, negotiate and evolve, and how these different behaviours affect decision-making in international business settings. She is passionate about the possibility to work on problems and find solutions with a variety of research methods, so she can contribute to people’s lives by creating new insights into human behaviour.

"My research helps to examine cultural differences to support organizations and governments to make culturally informed judgments and decisions. I combine game theoretical reasoning with cultural models, and conduct experiments to see how different cultures operate during negotiations," explains Ursula.

"Having discovered that culturally, many of us share commonalities in our negotiation patterns, my research has allowed me to discover that different cultures have more in common with each other than we might think. When people understand that there are similarities existing between their culture and another, it can change how they see the other people, and the world around themselves. There is a lot of research potential in this area, and I have experienced collaborations with academics and industries on a global scale on topics ranging from migration and integration to international cooperation between organizations and trade-offs in international business. Through my research, I am showing that progress and collaboration is possible. And that by working together, we are more connected than we are divided."

Researchers revealed

At NTU, researchers come from a variety of backgrounds, and they all have a powerful story to tell.

In the Researchers Revealed series, NTU shares their stories.

From the mothers, the dancers and the engineers, to the refugees, the survivors and the volunteers.

Apply for a rewarding career at Nottingham Trent University 

Inspired by Ursula's impressive career history? Have an expert  specialism?

Embrace your passion and find a role at NTU.

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