Deike Schulz grew up on Juist, the most beautiful sandbank in the world. In the 1990s, she moved to the Netherlands to study Media Art. She later founded a web agency and then transitioned to higher education, focusing on online media. Schulz holds a PhD from the Centre for Responsible Organization Competencies and Sustainability at Nijmegen School of Management centered on online communication, particularly legitimacy judgments in online communities. As part of her research, she played a pivotal role in developing innovative methodologies for analyzing and understanding social media platforms and influencer communities. With a creative background, her passion also lies in transforming data analysis results into engaging formats, like infographics, to enhance the understanding of research findings. She now leads the Organisations and Social Media professorship at NHL-Stenden University of Applied Sciences, working alongside fellow academics, students, and external stakeholders in researching online communication's impact on organizations and society. Central to her research is a relentless commitment to understanding and promoting responsible leadership and digital citizenship on both an individual and collective level, going beyond mere analysis of online communication. This has resulted in meaningful projects, events and initiatives, such as the European Influencer Academy Academy, the Network for Digital Citizenship Friesland, and the Crossover Digital Citizenship partnership at NHL Stenden.
Publications
- Schulz, D., Jonker, J., & Faber, N. (2018). Outside-in constructions of organizational legitimacy: Sensitizing the influence of evaluative judgments through mass self-communication in online communities. International Journal of Communication, 12, 290–312.
- Schulz, D., van der Woud, A., & Westhof, J. (2020). The Best Indycaster project: Analysing and understanding meaningful YouTube content, dialogue and commitment as part of responsible management education. The International Journal of Management Education, 18(1):100335.
- Schulz, D. (2020). Legitimacy theory II: Legitimacy judgments. In: Idowu S., Schmidpeter R., Capaldi N., Zu L., Del Baldo M., Abreu R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainable Management. Springer, Cham.
- Schulz, D. (2020). Online communities. In: Idowu S., Schmidpeter R., Capaldi N., Zu L., Del Baldo M., Abreu R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainable Management. Springer, Cham.
- Schulz, D. (2020). Betekenisvolle Communicatie. NHL-Stenden. University of Applied Science, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. ISBN 978-94-6402-239-1
- Schulz, D. (2021). Evaluating the evaluators: Investigating the multilevel dynamics of outside-in constructions of organizational legitimacy. Doctoral Dissertation. Radboud University Nijmegen. ISBN 978-94-6421-299-0
- Van der Giessen, M., Brouwer, A., Nijhuis, L., and Schulz, D. (2021). Being Aware: Responsible Consumers Asking for Purposeful Products and Services. Designing an Interdisciplinary Research Minor at NHL Stenden in Coelen, R.J., Geitz, G., Donker, A., and Assen, H. (eds.) Stepping into Design-Based Education. Leeuwarden: NHL Stenden UAS
- Schulz, D. (2021). Evaluating the Evaluators: Investigating the Multilevel Dimensions of Outside-in Constructions of Organizational Legitimacy [Doctoral Dissertation, Radboud University, Nijmegen School of Management,]. https://hdl.handle.net/2066/231163
- Kerstens, J., Schulz, D. & Hashmi, B. (2021). Cyberwijs?! Een onderzoek naar online incidenten, online gedrag en mediawijsheid in Amsterdam. Leeuwarden: NHL Stenden.
- Schulz, D., & Kleijweg, A. (2022). Cocreating Online Research Methods During COVID-19: Using Teams and Padlet to Cocreate a Codebook for Online Content Analysis. SAGE Publications, Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529603675
- Schulz, D., Woud, vd, A., & Lasthuizen, M. (2022). What is meaningful social media communication? Understanding meaningful content, dialogue and commitment. Professorship Organisations and Social Media, NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences (Positioning Paper), 24.
- Kerstens, J., Schulz, D., Welvaadt, T. & Van Bruggen, M. (2023). Digitaal Doolhof. Een onderzoek naar online incidenten, online gedrag en mediawijsheid in Leeuwarden. Leeuwarden: NHL Stenden.
- Kerstens, J., Schulz, D. (2024). Smartphones op school? Onderzoek onder studenten en docenten van ROC Friese Poort. Leeuwarden: NHL Stenden.
- Kerstens, J., Schulz, D. (2024). Wegwijzer Digitaal Burgerschap. Inzicht in behoeften en uitdagingen: peiling onder professionals gecombineerd met bevindingen uit (inter)nationale literatuur. In opdracht van Nationale Bibliotheek (KB) en SIDN-fonds.
- Van Hassel, C., Schulz, D., Bottone, G. (2024). Responsible Leadership in the Influencer Economy: An Analysis Adapting the Competency Assessment for Responsible Leadership (CARL) Tool. [Conference Abstract]. Media Innovation and Transformation: Understanding and Envisioning the Future of Media Management. EMMA conference, NHL Stenden, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.
- Schulz, D. (2024). Walk or Talk? Investigating the Transfer of Communityship Values in the German Game Influencer Industry. Workshop on the Ostrom Workshop – WOW7 Conference, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.
- Schulz, D., Kerstens, J., & Sajoe, D. (2025). Getting a Grip on Disinformation: From Distrust to Trust Within Learning Communities. In: Securing Democracies: Defending Against Cyber Attacks and Disinformation in the Digital Age. In. S.J Shackelford, F. Douzet and C. Ankersen (Eds.). Cambridge University Press.
- Schulz, D. (2025). From Words to Actions: Governing Communityship Values in the German Game Influencer Industry. In D. Gindis and P. Kuchar (Eds.), Governing Corporate Knowledge Commons (Forthcoming Edited Volume). Oxford University Press.
Presentations
