Staff profile

Prior to joining Durham University Business School, Olga was Professor of Organizational Behavior at ALBA Graduate Business School at the American College in Greece where she held the "Stavros Costopoulos" Chair in Human Resource Management and Development. She previously worked at Aston University and the Institute of Work Psychology at Sheffield University.

Her research has been published in top refereed journals, such as the Academy of Management Annals, Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Journal of Management, the Leadership Quarterly, the Journal of Organizational Behavior, the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology and the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, among others. For her doctoral thesis, she won the 2001 Jepson School Award for Outstanding Dissertations in Leadership Studies, and she was among the six finalists for the 2000 Newman Best Dissertation Award for the Academy of Management.

She has served as Senior Associate Editor of the Leadership Quarterly, Associate Editor of the British Journal of Management and Associate Editor of Frontiers in Psychology: Organizational Psychology. She is also a member of various Editorial Boards.

She has further worked for many years as a consultant and executive trainer for numerous Greek and multinational companies such as AIG, AstraZeneca, Athens International Airport, Bancpost, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Boeing, EFG-Eurobank, Erste Bank, GlaxoSmithKline, Minerva, Interamerican, ING, National Bank of Greece, National Power Corporation, Nissan, Novo Nordisk, Pepsico, Phillip Morris, Piraeus Bank, Sanofi Aventis, Titan Group, Vodafone, Xerox and others.

You can contact Olga at olga.epitropaki2@durham.ac.uk.

Mini Biography

Olga Epitropaki is Deputy Executive Dean (Research) at Durham University Business School. She received her PhD from Cardiff University in 2000. Her research focuses mainly on social cognition, identity, and dyadic/group processes related to leadership. She is also interested in creative leadership and the application of arts-based interventions in management education.

• Implicit Leadership Theories (ILTs)
• Leader-Member Exchanges (LMX)
• Creative Leadership
• Transformational Leadership
• Psychological Contracts
• Employability
• Identity

Authored book

• Schedlitzki, D., Larsson, M., Carroll, B., Bligh, M. C., & Epitropaki, O. (2023). The SAGE Handbook of Leadership. (Second Edition). SAGE Publications
• Mainemelis, C., Epitropaki, O., & Kark, R. (2018). Creative Leadership: Contexts and Prospects. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203712214
• Epitropaki, O., Kyriakopoulos, K., & Zarkos, S. (2011). Management in times of crisis. Kastaniotis

Chapter in book

• Epitropaki, O., Acton, B., & Nieberle, K. (2023). Implicit Leadership and Followership Theories: From the leader/follower within and between to leaders/followers in plural and in flux. In D. Schedlitzki, M. Larsson, B. Carroll, M. Bligh, & O. Epitropaki (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Leadership. (Second Edition). SAGE Publications
• Epitropaki, O. (2018). The self-selection bias in leadership: Understanding reluctant leaders. In R. Riggio (Ed.), What's Wrong with Leadership? Improving Leadership Research and Practice (89-104)
• Epitropaki, O., Mueller, J., & Lord, R. (2018). Unpacking the Socio-cognitive Foundations of Creative Leadership: Bridging Implicit Leadership and Implicit Creativity Theories. In C. Mainemelis, O. Epitropaki, & R. Kark (Eds.), Creative Leadership: Contexts and Prospects (39-55). Routledge
• Mainemelis, C., Epitropaki, O., & Kark, R. (2018). Introduction: Connecting Creative Leadership’s strands of research. In C. Mainemelis, O. Epitropaki, & R. Kark (Eds.), Creative Leadership: Contexts and Prospects (3 - 22). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203712214
• Martin, R., Epitropaki, O., & O’Broin, L. (2017). Methodological Issues in Leadership Training: In Pursuit of Causality. In K. Sund, R. Galavan, & G. Hodgkinson (Eds.), Methodological Challenges and Advances in Managerial and Organizational Cognition (73-94). Emerald
• Epitropaki, O., Martin, R., & Thomas, G. (2017). Relational Leadership. In J. Antonakis, & D. Day (Eds.), The Nature of Leadership (109-137). SAGE Publications
• Epitropaki, O., & Mainemelis, C. (2016). The “genre-bender”: The creative leadership of Kathryn Bigelow. In C. Peus, S. Braun, & B. Schyns (Eds.), Leadership lessons from compelling contexts (275-300). Emerald. https://doi.org/10.1108/s1479-357120160000008009
• Epitropaki, O., & Martin, R. (2015). LMX and work attitudes: is there anything left unsaid or unexamined?. In T. Bauer, & B. Erdogan (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of leader-member exchange (139-156). Oxford University Press
• Mainemelis, C., & Epitropaki, O. (2013). Extreme leadership as creative leadership: Reflections on Francis Ford Coppola in The Godfather. In C. Giannantonio, & A. Hurley-Hanson (Eds.), Extreme leadership : leaders, teams and situations outside the norm (187-200). Edward Elgar Publishing
• Epitropaki, O. (2011). Leadership in crisis. In O. Epitropaki, K. Kyriakopoulos, & S. Zarkos (Eds.), Management in times of crisis (127-136). Kastaniotis (in Greek)
• Epitropaki, O. (2007). Leadership and competitiveness. In P. S. B. T. G. C. E. Officers’ (Ed.), . Association and the Ministry of Development (in Greek)
• Epitropaki, O. (2007). Diversity management practices in Greece. In M. Vakola, & E. Apospori (Eds.), Women in Business (265-291). Sideris (in Greek)

Edited book

• Epitropaki, O., & Martin, R. (Eds.). (2025). Beyond Exchange: Revisiting Leadership as a Relationship. Information Age Publishing
• Braun, S., Keller Hansbrough, T., Ruark, G. A., Lord, R. G., Hall, R. J., & Epitropaki, O. (Eds.). (2024). Navigating Leadership: Evidence-based strategies for leadership development. Routledge

Journal Article

• Masters-Waage, T. C., Bastardoz, N., Narayanan, J., & Epitropaki, O. (online). How elections shape perceptions of ideal leadership. American Psychologist, https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001413
• Marstand, A. F., Epitropaki, O., & Kapoutsis, I. (online). ‘Distant but close’: Leadership behaviours, psychological distance, employee coping and effectiveness in remote work contexts. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12544
• Morgan, R., Braun, S., & Epitropaki, O. (2025). Pursuing a future leader self: A multi‐study investigation of leader identity and its motivational and behavioural outcomes. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 98(1), Article e70014. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.70014
• Monzani, L., Bibic, K., Haslam, S. A., Kerschreiter, R., Wilson Lemoine, J. E., Steffens, N. K., Akfirat, S. A., Ballada, C. J. A., Bazarov, T., Aruta, J. J. B. R., Avanzi, L., Bunjak, A., Černe, M., Edelmann, C. M., Epitropaki, O., Fransen, K., García‐Ael, C., Giessner, S., Gleibs, I., Godlewska‐Werner, D., …van Dick, R. (2024). Political leaders' identity leadership and civic citizenship behavior: The mediating role of trust in fellow citizens and the moderating role of economic inequality. Political Psychology, 45(6), 979-1011. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12952
• Epitropaki, O., & Avramidis, P. (2024). Becoming a leader with clipped wings: The role of early-career unemployment scarring on future leadership role occupancy. The Leadership Quarterly, 35(4), Article 101786. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2024.101786
• Aycan, Z., Özbilgin, M., Moraligil, B., & Epitropaki, O. (2024). Reluctance to lead: Conceptualization and contextualization. European Management Journal, 42(4), 437-444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2024.02.005
• Zheng, Y., Epitropaki, O., Graham, L., & Caveney, N. (2022). Ethical Leadership and Ethical Voice: The Mediating Mechanisms of Value Internalization and Integrity Identity. Journal of Management, 48(4), 973-1002. https://doi.org/10.1177/2f01492063211002611
• Ete, Z., Epitropaki, O., Zhou, Q., & Graham, L. (2022). Leader and Organizational Behavioral Integrity and Follower Behavioral Outcomes: The Role of Identification Processes. Journal of Business Ethics, 176(4), 741-760. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04728-6
• Marstand, A., Epitropaki, O., Van Knippenberg, D., & Martin, R. (2021). Leader and Organizational Identification and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: Examining Cross-Lagged Relationships and the Moderating Role of Collective Identity Orientation. Human Relations, 74(10), 1716-1745. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726720938118
• Martin, R., Hughes, D., Epitropaki, O., & Thomas, G. (2021). In pursuit of causality in leadership training research: A review and pragmatic recommendations. The Leadership Quarterly, 32(5), Article 101375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2019.101375
• Hoyland, T., Psychogios, A., Epitropaki, O., Damiani, J., Mukhuty, S., & Priestnall, C. (2021). A two-nation investigation of Leadership Self-perceptions and Motivation to Lead in early adulthood: The moderating role of Gender and Socio-economic Status. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 42(2), 289-315. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj-03-2020-0112
• Epitropaki, O., Marstand, A. F., van der Heijden, B., Bozionelos, N., Mylonopoulos, N., van der Heijde, C. M., Scholarios, D., Mikkelsen, A., Marzec, I., Jędrzejowicz, P., & Group, T. I. (2021). What are the career implications of ‘seeing eye to eye’? Examining the role of leader-member exchange (LMX) agreement on employability and career outcomes. Personnel Psychology, 74(4), 799-830. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12432
• van Dick, R., Cordes, B. L., Lemoine, J. E., Steffens, N. K., Haslam, S. A., Akfirat, S. A., Ballada, C. J. A., Bazarov, T., Aruta, J. J. B. R., Avanzi, L., Bodla, A. A., Bunjak, A., Černe, M., Dumont, K. B., Edelmann, C. M., Epitropaki, O., Fransen, K., García-Ael, C., Giessner, S., Gleibs, I. H., …Kerschreiter, R. (2021). Identity Leadership, Employee Burnout and the Mediating Role of Team Identification: Evidence from the Global Identity Leadership Development Project. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(22), Article 12081. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212081
• Epitropaki, O., & Turner, N. (2020). Grey zones in leadership and safety. Comment on Katz-Navon, Kark and Delegach (2019). Academy of Management Discoveries, 6(1), 142-145. https://doi.org/10.5465/amd.2019.0119
• Zheng, Y., Graham, L., Epitropaki, O., & Snape, E. (2020). Service Leadership, Work Engagement and Service Performance: The Moderating Role of Leader Skills. Group and Organization Management, 45(1), 43-74. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601119851978
• Lord, R., Epitropaki, O., Foti, R., & Hansbrough, T. (2020). Implicit Leadership Theories, Implicit Followership Theories, and Dynamic Processing of Leadership Information. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 7, 15.1-15.26. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012119-045434
• Epitropaki, O., Radulovic, A., Ete, Z., Thomas, G., & Martin, R. (2020). Leader-follower transgressions, relationship repair strategies and outcomes: A state-of-the-science review and a way forward. The Leadership Quarterly, 31(1), Article 101376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2019.101376
• Martin, R., Epitropaki, O., Erdogan, B., & Thomas, G. (2019). Relationship based leadership: Current trends and future prospects. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 92(3), 465-474. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12286
• Radulovic, A., Thomas, G., Epitropaki, O., & Legood, A. (2019). Forgiveness in leader–member exchange relationships: Mediating and moderating mechanisms. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 92(3), 498-534. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12274
• Van der Heijde, C. M., Van der Heijden, B. I., Scholarios, D., Bozionelos, N., Mikkelsen, A., Epitropaki, O., Marzec, I., Jędrzejowicz, P., & Looise, J. C. (2018). Learning Climate Perceptions as a Determinant of Employability: An Empirical Study Among European ICT Professionals. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, Article 2471. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02471
• van Dick, R., Lemoine, J., Steffens, N., Kerschreiter, R., Akfirat, S., Avanzi, L., Dumont, K., Epitropaki, O., Fransen, K., Giessner, S., Gonzales, R., Kark, R., Lipponen, J., Markovits, Y., Monzani, L., Orosz, G., Pandey, D., Roland-Lévy, C., Schuh, S., Sekiguchi, T., …Haslam, A. (2018). Identity leadership going global: Validation of the Identity Leadership Inventory across 20 countries. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 91(4), 697-728. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12223
• Marstand, A., Epitropaki, O., & Martin, R. (2018). Cross-lagged relations between perceived leader–employee value congruence and leader identification. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 91(2), 411-420. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12192
• Foti, R., Hansbrough, T., Epitropaki, O., & Coyle, P. (2017). Dynamic Viewpoints on Implicit Leadership and Followership Theories: Approaches, Findings, and Future Directions. The Leadership Quarterly, 28(2), 261-267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2017.02.004
• Epitropaki, O., Kark, R., Mainemelis, C., & Lord, R. (2017). Leadership and followership identity processes: A multilevel review. The Leadership Quarterly, 28(1), 104-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2016.10.003
• Marstand, A., Martin, R., & Epitropaki, O. (2016). Complementary person-supervisor fit: An investigation of supplies-values (S-V) fit, leader-member exchange (LMX) and work outcomes. The Leadership Quarterly, 28(3), 418-437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2016.10.008
• Epitropaki, O., Kapoutsis, I., Ellen, B., Ferris, G., Drivas, K., & Ntotsi, A. (2016). Navigating Uneven Terrain: The Roles of Political Skill and LMX Differentiation in Prediction of Work Relationship Quality and Work Outcomes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 37(7), 1078-1103. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2100
• Voliotis, S., Vlachos, P., & Epitropaki, O. (2016). Perception-induced effects of Corporate Social Irresponsibility (CSiR) for Stereotypical and Admired Firms. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, Article 970. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00970
• Bozionelos, N., Kostopoulos, K., Van der Heijden, B., Rousseau, D., Bozionelos, G., Hoyland, T., Miao, R., Marzec, I., Jędrzejowicz, P., Epitropaki, O., Mikkelsen, A., Scholarios, D., & Van der Heijde, C. (2016). Employability and Job Performance as Links in the Relationship Between Mentoring Receipt and Career Success: A Study in SMEs. Group and Organization Management, 41(2), 135-171. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601115617086
• Martin, R., Guillaume, Y., Thomas, G., Lee, A., & Epitropaki, O. (2016). Leader-member Exchange (LMX) and Performance: A Meta-analytic Review. Personnel Psychology, 69(1), 67-121. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12100
• Mainemelis, B., Kark, R., & Epitropaki, O. (2015). Creative leadership: a multi-context conceptualization. Academy of Management Annals, 9(1), 393-482. https://doi.org/10.5465/19416520.2015.1024502
• Epitropaki, O., Sy, T., Martin, R., Tram-Quon, S., & Topakas., A. (2013). Implicit Leadership and Followership Theories “in the wild”: Taking stock of information-processing approaches to leadership and followership in organizational settings. The Leadership Quarterly, 24(6), 858-881. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.10.005
• Vlachos, P., Epitropaki, O., Panagopoulos, N., & Rapp, A. (2013). Causal Attributions and Employee Reactions to Corporate Social Responsibility. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 6(4), 334-337. https://doi.org/10.1111/iops.12061
• Thomas, G., Martin, R., Epitropaki, O., Guillaume, Y., & Lee, A. (2013). Social cognition in leader-follower relationships: Applying insights from relationship science to understanding relationship-based approaches to leadership. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34, S63-S81. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1889
• Epitropaki, O., & Martin, R. (2013). Transformational-transactional leadership and upward influence: The role of Relative Leader-Member Exchanges (RLMX) and Perceived Organizational Support (POS). The Leadership Quarterly, 24(2), 299-315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2012.11.007
• Epitropaki, O. (2013). A multi-level investigation of psychological contract breach and organizational identification through the lens of perceived organizational membership: Testing a moderated-mediated model. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(1), 65-86. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1793
• Van der Heijden, B. I., Scholarios, D., Van der Schoot, E., Jedrzejowicz, P., Bozionelos, N., Epitropaki, O., Knauth, P., Marzec, I., Mikkelsen, A., Van der Heijde, C., & Group, T. I. S. (2010). Supervisor-subordinate age dissimilarity and performance ratings: The buffering effects of supervisory relationship and practice. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 71(3), 231-258. https://doi.org/10.2190/ag.71.3.d
• Martin, R., Epitropaki, O., Geoff, T., & Topakas, A. (2010). A review of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) research: Future prospects and directions
• Marzec, I., Van der Heijden, B., Scholarios, D., Van der Schoot, E., Jędrzejowicz, P., Bozionelos, N., Epitropaki, O., Knauth, P., Mikkelsen, A., & Van der Heijde, C. (2009). Employability management practices in the Polish ICT sector. Human Resource Development International, 12(5), 471-492. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678860903274539
• Scholarios, D., van der Heijden, B., van der Schoot, E., Bozionelos, N., Epitropaki, O., Jedrzejowicz, P., Knauth, P., Marzec, I., Mikkelsen, A., & van der Heijde, C. (2008). Employability and the psychological contract in European ICT sector SMEs. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19(6), 1035-1055. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585190802051337
• Hogg, M., Martin, R., Epitropaki, O., Mankad, A., Svensson, A., & Weeden, K. (2005). Effective leadership in salient groups: Revisiting leader-member exchange theory from the perspective of the social identity theory of leadership. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31(7), 991-1004
• Epitropaki, O., & Martin, R. (2005). The moderating role of individual differences in the relation between transformational/transactional leadership and organizational identification. The Leadership Quarterly, 16, 569-589
• Epitropaki, O., & Martin, R. (2005). Paper reprinted in the “Benchmarks of Leadership” series by SAGE in the “Psychology of Leadership” volume edited by Alexander Haslam & Stephen D. Reicher. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(4), 659-676
• Martin, R., Thomas, G., Charles, K., Epitropaki, O., & McNamara, R. (2005). The role of Leader-Member Exchanges in mediating the relationship between locus of control and work reactions. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 78, 141-146
• Epitropaki, O., & Martin, R. (2004). Implicit Leadership Theories in Applied Settings: Factor Structure, Generalizability and Stability Over Time. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(2), 293-310
• Totterdell, P., Wall, T., Diamond, H., Holman, D., & Epitropaki, O. (2004). Affect networks: A structural analysis of the relationship between work ties and job-related affect. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(5), 854-867
• Epitropaki, O. (2003). Transformational leadership, psychological contract breach and organizational identification. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2003(1), https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2003.13792488
• Clegg, C., Unsworth, K., Epitropaki, O., & Parker, G. (2002). Implicating trust in the innovation process. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 75, 409-422
• Turner, N., Barling, J., Epitropaki, O., Butcher, V., & Milner, C. (2002). Transformational leadership and moral reasoning. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 304-311
• Holman, D., Epitropaki, O., & Fernie, S. (2001). Understanding learning strategies in the workplace: A factor analytic investigation. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 74, 675-681
• Martin, R., & Epitropaki, O. (2001). Role of organizational identification on Implicit Leadership Theories (ILTs), Transformational leadership and work attitudes. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 4, 247-262
• Holman, D., Epitropaki, O., & Fernie, S. (2000). Learning strategies, innovation and work design. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2000(1),
• Epitropaki, O., & Martin, R. (1999). The impact of relational demography on the quality of leader-member exchanges (LMX) and employees’ work attitudes and well being. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 72, 237-240