Department of Management and Human Resources

PhD Specialization in Human Resources

The primary goal of the Management and Human Resources PhD program is to develop top-class researchers in the field of management, with specializations in the areas of entrepreneurship, human resource management, international business, organizational behavior and strategic management.

The specialization in Human Resources (HR) is dedicated to understanding how work organizations can perform more effectively by better management of their human resources. That is, we are interested in understanding, identifying, and improving the effectiveness of HR practices (whether in the U.S. or in other countries) in the various functions and activities carried out as part of HR, and determining the optimal fit between these practices and organizational strategies, cultures, and performance.

Important research areas include recruiting, employee selection, performance management, learning, training and development, total rewards (compensation and benefits), and strategic human resource management.

Our faculty studies HR from theoretical perspectives based in economics, psychology, sociology, and management using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Typically, our faculty’s research investigates issues that contribute to the academic discipline as well as inform practice.The emphasis is on studies at the individual, team or group, organizational, and crosslevels of analysis. Our faculty also examines topics that can be considered to be in the realm of organizational behavior including work-family balance, job and work design, and teams. Also, our HR research is not limited to any one type of industry. We study practices within industries such as the middle markets, call centers, the military, restaurants, and hospitals as well as non-profits such as fire departments.

10 Reasons to Choose to Study at OSU

1. High Productivity: Our program was ranked #4 in the 2021 TAMUGA management research productivity ranking (http://www.tamugarankings.com/rankings/2021-2/).
2. Strong Student-Faculty Ratio: Our PhD program, with 13 faculty members specializing in Organizational Behavior/Human Resources (OB/HR) and a selective cohort of 5-7 doctoral students, ensures personalized attention and mentorship. This structure offers students abundant opportunities to collaborate with a diverse faculty, each contributing unique expertise and skills.
3. Editorial Leadership: Our faculty members have served or are currently serving as editors or associate editors of major academic journals, including:
   • Benjamin Campbell, Associate Editor at Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal
   • Tracy Dumas, Senior Editor at Organization Science
   • Jia (Jasmine) Hu, Associate Editor at Journal of Applied Psychology
   • Kaifeng Jiang, Associate Editor at Personnel Psychology
   • Howard Klein, Editor-in-chief at Human Resource Management
   • Tanya Menon, Associate Editor at Management Science
   • Raymond Noe, Former Associate Editor at Journal of Organizational Behavior
   • Bennett Tepper, Former Associate Editor at Academy of Management Journal
   • Steffanie Wilk, Former Senior Editor at Organization Science
4. Editorial Board Representation: Our OB/HR faculty members serve on the editorial boards of numerous top-tier outlets, including Academy of Management Journal (2 faculty), Journal of Applied Psychology (3 faculty), Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes (4 faculty), Personnel Psychology (2 faculty), and Journal of Management (4 faculty).
5. Academic Leaders: Our faculty members continually distinguish themselves in their respective fields, including:
   • Five of our esteemed faculty members - Jasmine Hu, Timothy Judge, Howard Klein, Raymond Noe, and Bennett Tepper - have been honored as Fellows of the Academy of Management and/or the Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Each of these distinguished scholars has amassed nearly or over 10,000 citations on Google Scholar.
   • Three of our faculty members - Timothy Judge, Howard Klein, and Raymond Noe - hold high rankings on the list of "Most-cited Authors in Popular Industrial-Organizational (I-O) Psychology Textbooks," as per the study by Aguinis et al., 2017.
   • Jasmine Hu, Kaifeng Jiang, Timothy Judge, Raymond Noe, Bennet Tepper were recognized as “World’s Top 2% of the most-cited scholars and scientists” (2022) 
   • Timothy Judge holds the distinction of being the most highly cited academic in the field of business and management among those whose first publication appeared between 1990 and 1999 according to a recent study by Dr. Harzing.
   • Jasmine Hu, Timothy Judge, and Bennett Tepper have been recognized as among the most productive and most-cited leadership scholars, as noted in studies by Arici et al., 2021, and Zhao and Li, 2019.
   • Our faculty have frequently earned prestigious recognitions such as the 'Best Paper' award (most recently won by Kathleen Keeler in Academy of Management Review in 2021), and the 'Best Reviewer' award (most recently bestowed upon Hun Lee in Journal of Applied Psychology in 2022).
   • Our faculty have utilized their expertise to author textbooks in the OB/HR field (e.g., Timothy Judge and Raymond Noe).
   • Two of our faculty members, Jasmine Hu and Robert Lount, have been recognized as "Best 40 Under 40 Business School Professors" by Poets and Quants.
6. Successful Alumni: Our recent OB/HR alumni hold tenure-track positions at research-intensive institutions, including Sarah Doyle (University of Arizona), Hee Man Park (Penn State University), Seunghoo Chung (Hong Kong Polytechnic University), Carrie Zhang (Wayne State University), and Yuhan Zhan (Florida International University).
7. The Fisher Leadership Initiative (FLI): With Tim Judge as the executive director, FLI provides additional resources and opportunities for conducting research.
8. Networking Opportunities: Our faculty, highly esteemed and well-connected within the field, can assist students in expanding their professional networks. We organize social and professional gatherings on a regular basis.
9. Vibrant Location: Columbus is frequently acclaimed as one of the most livable cities in the United States, particularly favored by Millennials and Young Professionals. It is celebrated for its diverse business landscape, dynamic neighborhoods, and an exciting fusion of arts, culture, and culinary delights  (Sources: Far & Wide,Forbes, NYTimes, CommercialCafe, ExperienceColumbus).
10. Affordable Living and Strong Financial Support: Residing in Columbus is relatively cost-effective, with the cost of living being lower than the national average. OSU offers a competitive financial support package for PhD students. Furthermore, we have increased the PhD student stipend in 2023, further enhancing the financial benefits of our program.