Business Economics in Biobased Economy

Dr. Emiel F.M. Wubben serves as Associate Professor of Strategic Management at Wageningen University and Research Fellow of WASS, bringing extensive expertise in business transitions toward sustainable and circular economies. After earning his doctorate in Economics from the Tinbergen Institute at Erasmus University Rotterdam in 1993, he served as Assistant Professor at Rotterdam School of Management until 2001 before joining Wageningen University

Dr. Argyris Kanellopoulos serves as Associate Professor in Operations Research and Logistics at Wageningen University & Research, where he specializes in developing optimization models for sustainable agricultural and food systems. His research focuses on designing decision support tools that evaluate economic and environmental consequences of changes in climate, market, policy, and technology on agri-food supply chains. With over 2,400 citations and an h-index of 27, he has made significant contributions to bio-economic farm modeling and agricultural systems analysis. His work spans three main areas: integrated assessment of agricultural policies, climate change scenario studies, and exploration of alternative production options in agri-food chains. Through his teaching in the MicroMasters Programme in Business and Operations for a Circular Bio-Economy and various MOOCs, he helps students understand complex decision-making in agricultural systems. His influential publications include work on bio-economic farm models, climate change assessment for arable farming, and compromise programming for utility-based metrics. His current research aims to bridge operational research models analyzing agricultural raw materials with decision support systems for agri-food supply chains, while developing quantitative methods to evaluate drivers of change in agricultural systems. As a key researcher in sustainable agriculture, he continues to advance our understanding of how to design food systems that ensure supply while enhancing agri-ecological processes within changing socio-economic and bio-physical environments.

Dr. Dmytro Krushynskyi serves as Lecturer in Operations Research and Logistics at Wageningen University & Research, where he specializes in mathematical modeling and optimization of complex systems. After completing his MSc in Applied Mathematics from the National Technical University of Ukraine "KPI" and PhD in Economics and Business from the University of Groningen, he spent three years as a postdoctoral researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology. His research focuses on transportation optimization, particularly arc routing and ridesharing problems, with significant contributions to the share-a-ride problem and multi-depot capacitated arc routing. Through his teaching of courses including Principles of Biobased Economy and various MOOCs in business operations, he helps students understand complex optimization problems and their practical applications. His expertise spans multiple areas including operations research, mathematical modeling, and transportation optimization, with particular emphasis on developing flexible models for optimal solutions in reasonable time frames. His early work on cell formation problems and pedestrian crowd modeling has evolved into broader applications in transportation and logistics optimization. As a reviewer for prestigious journals and instructor of multiple courses in the Operations Research and Logistics group, he continues to advance the field while developing practical solutions for complex routing and network design problems.

Dr. Arnout Fischer serves as Associate Professor in Consumer Behaviour at Wageningen University & Research, where he specializes in understanding consumer responses to new food technologies and innovations. After completing his PhD in Human Technology Interaction from Eindhoven University of Technology and Master's in Industrial Design Engineering from Delft University of Technology, he has established himself as a highly cited researcher with over 8,200 citations. His research employs social psychology theories to examine how existing knowledge, emotions, and cognitions shape consumer attitudes toward food innovations. His most influential work includes groundbreaking research on consumer acceptance of novel protein sources, including insects and cultured meat, as well as studies on food safety and risk perception. As Associate Editor for the Journal of Insects as Food and Feed and through his roles at Newcastle University and ETH Zürich as Visiting Fellow, he continues to shape academic discourse in food innovation acceptance. His current research spans multiple cutting-edge areas including nanotechnology in food, alternative proteins, personalized nutrition, and high-tech agriculture. Through his teaching in the MicroMasters Programme and leadership of projects like Digital Twins and MYPACK, he advances understanding of consumer behavior while developing practical applications for food innovation acceptance. His work particularly emphasizes the role of emotions and cognitions in shaping consumer attitudes toward novel food technologies, demonstrated through his extensive publication record on consumer risk-benefit perceptions and technology acceptance.

Dr. Justus Wesseler serves as Professor and Head of the Agricultural Economics and Rural Policy Group at Wageningen University & Research, where he has established himself as a prominent researcher in agricultural and environmental economics. After completing his PhD in Agricultural Sciences with a specialization in Agricultural, Environmental and Natural Resource Economics from the University of Göttingen, he has built an impressive career spanning multiple institutions including Technical University Munich. His research focuses on biotechnology economics, value chains, and regulatory economics, particularly examining how these contribute to sustainability and environmental protection. As a highly cited researcher with over 6,200 citations, his work has significantly influenced understanding of bioeconomy development, agricultural policy, and environmental economics. His recent influential publications include analyses of the EU's farm-to-fork strategy and development of circular bioeconomy indicators. Through his leadership roles, including heading major EU research projects like PRICE and coordinating international academic exchanges, he continues to shape agricultural and environmental policy while examining the economic implications of new technologies and regulations. His expertise particularly shines in cost-benefit analysis under uncertainty and irreversibility, demonstrated through his work on biotechnology assessment and environmental policy analysis. Having lived and worked across multiple continents, he brings a global perspective to agricultural economics while maintaining active research collaborations worldwide.