Prof. Athanasios Koustelios | Management | Best Research Article Award

Prof. Athanasios Koustelios is a distinguished academic in Human Resources Management and Sport Sciences, currently serving as Professor in the Department of Business Administration at the University of Thessaly since 2019. He holds a BSc from the Department of Physical Education & Sport Sciences of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (1986) and a Ph.D. from the University of Manchester, UK (1991), where he completed his thesis on the relationship between organizational culture and job satisfaction across Greek industries. His academic career at the University of Thessaly spans over two decades-including appointments as Assistant Professor (1999–2004), Associate Professor (2004–2010), and Professor in the Department of P.E. & Sport Sciences (2010–2019). An experienced educator and researcher, he has taught extensively at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in areas such as Management, Organizational Behavior, Human Resources Management, Sport Management, Leadership, Group Dynamics, and Evaluation in Educational Organizations. He has supervised more than 100 Master’s dissertations and ten completed Ph.D. theses, with seven doctoral and seven master’s projects currently in progress. Prof. Koustelios has played an important role in securing and coordinating numerous competitive international and national research projects, notably in areas including sustainable training design, gender and sport, employability skills, dual careers of athletes, prevention of sexual harassment in sport, and sport entrepreneurship, reflecting his strong commitment to advancing knowledge and practice in human resources, sport management, and organizational development.