Broad associate dean earns top awards for research and teaching

At the core of the Broad College of Business, you’ll find driven faculty with a passion for excellence. They conduct impactful research through innovative partnerships and serve as dedicated mentors, preparing students to lead in the future of business.

John Hollenbeck

John Hollenbeck, associate dean of research and University Distinguished Professor, is a shining example of this work ethic at the Broad College. In August, at the Academy of Management’s 82nd annual meeting, he was honored with its Organizational Behavior Division Lifetime Achievement Award and, across all AOM divisions, its Distinguished Educator Award.

“It’s special to receive these awards because, for me, it’s a matter of range of my contributions as a researcher and mentor,” Hollenbeck said.

Founded in 1936, AOM is the leading global community for management and organization scholars, comprising nearly 18,000 people from over 120 countries. Across its 18 divisions, AOM offers awards to recognize exceptional scholars for their contributions to the management discipline, innovations in teaching, prolific publications and more.

Over his career, Hollenbeck has been an unwavering force with AOM, starting out as a student member and going on to serve on its Board of Governors — and playing a role in nearly everything in between, predominantly with its Organizational Behavior and Human Resources Divisions.

“Seeing the organization from just about every angle over nearly 40 years has been the most rewarding part of my involvement,” he said. Hollenbeck has served on doctoral consortiums and editorial boards for various AOM publications and has been program chair, division chair and a fellow. He has produced groundbreaking research, with more than 100 published articles and book chapters on topics of team dynamics and work motivation, making him a significant contributor to the discipline.

Beyond his abundant research publications, Hollenbeck is widely known in the AOM community for his mentorship of doctoral students, having chaired 30 dissertations and served as a committee member for nearly 40 more. Many of his mentees have gone on to begin their own careers at top research universities and have been recognized with early career awards from AOM.

Along the way, Hollenbeck’s efforts in research and teaching have been acknowledged by AOM. Notably, he was recognized by the Human Resources Division in 2011 with a Career Achievement Award and in 2012 with the Thomas A. Mahoney Mentoring Award. Within the Organizational Behavior Division, he earned a Mentorship Award in 2015.

Hollenbeck at the AOM annual meeting in August. (Photo courtesy of AOM)

With these top accolades, Hollenbeck is among a select group of prestigious award winners — in AOM’s history, only one other person has ever been presented both the Organizational Behavior Lifetime Award and Mentorship Award, and only two other people have ever been presented both Organizational Behavior and Human Resources Lifetime Awards. Hollenbeck is the first to win all four awards.

“John joined the MSU management faculty in 1984. In terms of both research and teaching, he has been a consistently strong performer throughout his career,” Kent Miller, chairperson of the Department of Management, said. “These recent distinguished educator and lifetime achievement awards affirm the cumulative impact of his career. The department’s stature is closely tied to John’s influence.”

Management peers and scholars echo this sentiment as well. Dave Wagner, Doug McKay Research Scholar, associate professor of management and department of management head at the Lundquist College of Business at the University of Oregon, said, “John has made a tremendous impact on our field in most every way imaginable. Nominators and award committee members described him as ‘a scholar’s scholar’ and ‘the paragon of what it means to be an extraordinary contributor. John doesn’t just tick all the boxes that define our profession; he exemplifies them.’”