Department of Management and Human Resources

PhD Specialization in Organizational Behavior

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 Organizational Behavior (OB) is devoted to understanding individuals and groups within an organizational context. OB focuses on attributes, processes, behaviors, and outcomes within and between individual, interpersonal, group, and organizational levels of analysis. Major topics include: Individual characteristics and processes (e.g., personality, motivation, emotions); Interpersonal processes (e.g., trust, social exchange, networks); Group/team characteristics and processes (e.g., diversity, cohesion, conflict); organizational processes and practices (e.g., leadership, work design, socialization); Contextual influences (e.g., culture, climate); and the influence of all of the above on individual, interpersonal, group, and organizational outcomes (e.g., performance, creativity, stress, turnover).

10 Reasons to Choose to Study at OSU 

1. Highly productive - Ranked #4 in TAMUGA management research productivity ranking in 2021 (http://www.tamugarankings.com/rankings/2021-2/).
2. Student-faculty ratio: 13 OB/HR faculty and 5-7 doctoral students. Our PhD program is highly selective. Students have opportunities to work with multiple faculty of diverse expertise and skills.
3. Our faculty are serving, or have served, as editors or associate editors of major academic journals
   1. Tracy Dumas, Senior Editor at Organization Science
   2. Jia (Jasmine) Hu, Associate Editor at Journal of Applied Psychology
   3. Kaifeng Jiang, Associate Editor at Personnel Psychology
   4. Howard Klein, Editor-in-chief at Human Resource Management
   5. Tanya Menon, Associate Editor at Management Science
   6. Raymond Noe, Former Associate Editor at Journal of Organizational Behavior
   7. Bennett Tepper, Former Associate Editor at Academy of Management Journal
   8. Steffanie Wilk, Senior Editor at Organization Science
4. Our OB/HR faculty members serve as the editorial board members at 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 (3 faculty), Organization Science (1 faculty), and Journal of Management (4 faculty).
5. Four faculty (Tim Judge, Howard Klein, Raymond Noe, and Ben Tepper) are Academy of Management and/or the Society for Industrial/ Organizational Psychology Fellows and have over 10,000 Google Scholar citations each.
6. Tim Judge has published more top-tier articles than anyone else in the field, has over 100,000 citations, has been named the most influential researcher in the field, and has received a prestigious PhD mentoring award.
7. Our recent OB/HR alumni hold tenure-track positions at research-intensive institutions, including Sarah Doyle (University of Arizona, Business School), Hee Man Park (Penn State University; School of Labor and Employment Relations), Seunghoo Chung (Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Business School), Carrie Zhang (Wayne State University, Business School), and Yuhan Zhan (Florida International University, Business School).
8. Fisher Leadership Initiative (Tim Judge is the executive director; https://fisher.osu.edu/centers-partnerships/leadership/mission) provides additional resources and opportunities for conducting research. Conference on commitment (Howard Klein is the conference organizer; https://u.osu.edu/fishercomconf/) also provides opportunities for networking with prolific scholars in the field. 
9. Columbus is one of the best places for Millennials to live. Columbus is a city full of businesses big and small, diversity, and lively neighborhoods with a vibrant blend of arts, culture, and food options.
   1. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/realestate/where-are-the-best-places-for-millennials-to-live-and-work.html
   2. https://www.commercialcafe.com/blog/top-10-metros-millennials/
   3. https://www.experiencecolumbus.com/meetings/promote/10-reasons-to-come-to-columbus/
10. Living in Columbus is relatively affordable (Columbus, Ohio's cost of living is 8% lower than the national average). OSU provides a competitive package that provides Ph.D. students with financial support.