Sage retracts eight articles by ‘rising star’ professor

Academic publisher Sage has retracted eight articles co-authored by a “rising star” professor who was dismissed by a Dutch university, after an investigation found that the papers had gone through a “compromised” peer review process.

The retractions involve articles published in the Group & Organization Management journal where Yannick Griep served as editor-in-chief from 2022 until 2026 while also appearing as an author on the eight papers.

Sage said it launched an investigation after concerns were raised by authors and former members of the journal’s editorial team and board. 

“Because the peer-review process was administered by the former editor in chief, who is also a co-author of the articles, the objectivity of the peer-review process has been compromised,” Sage said in a publisher’s note.

Out of the eight papers published between 2024 and 2026, six were retracted at the request of the publisher, while two were taken down at the request of the co-authors, according to the notice. 

The retractions add to the growing scrutiny of Griep, who is former associate professor at the Behavioural Science Institute at Radboud University. 

Griep had built a strong reputation before the controversies emerged. The university newspaper Vox described him as a “rising star” because of his prolific publishing record.

But Griep was dismissed by Radboud after the university found irregularities in an expense report he had submitted. He challenged the dismissal, and the dispute was later resolved through a settlement agreement with the university, according to Vox.

Earlier this year, Radboud University’s research integrity committee upheld a complaint concerning data fabrication in a 2025 article by a former employee. The university said the committee’s findings represented a serious violation of scientific integrity and that it had ordered a broader investigation into other articles involving an unnamed researcher. 

In May, academic publisher Elsevier retracted a paper co-authored by Griep about the “the ripple effect of abusive supervision”. The publisher said in a statement that it had “upheld complaints of data manipulation and fabrication” following an investigation.

Times Higher Education contacted Griep and Radboud for comment. 

seher.asaf@timeshighereducation.com