Biography

Dr. Derin Kent is Associate Professor of Organisation Studies at Warwick Business School, United Kingdom. He specialises in ethnographic research with people who work in extreme contexts, that is, those that are physically or psychologically dangerous. He has conducted research with participants ranging from disaster relief organisations to storm chasers to seafaring crews to develop insights into how people and organisations thrive in highly adverse conditions, touching on themes such as meaningful and engaging work, personal growth and resilience, and theorising from unconventional settings.

Derin's research appears in top academic journals including Academy of Management Journal, Organization Studies, Organization Theory, Academy of Management Annals, and Journal of Business Venturing, and outlets such as Harvard Business Review and The Conversation. This research and the panels he has organised have been quoted in business media like Financial Times and Fast Company. He co-organises the Extreme Contexts Seminar Series, an international and interdisciplinary series of talks/workshops for the community of extreme contexts scholars.

Prior to joining Warwick Business School, Derin was a postdoc at Aalto University (Finland) and earned his PhD at Queen's University (Canada). He has experience as a university instructor in various programmes in Europe and North America (including MBA and executive), teaching subjects like change management, career management, organisational behaviour, and research methods.

Outside of academia, Derin is an outdoor enthusiast and Operational Team Leader at the British Red Cross, where he responds to incidents ranging from fires to floods and provides emergency management training to organisations.

Research Interests

extreme contexts; isolated and confined settings; organisational ethnography; personal growth in organisations; resilience; sensemaking; terrorism