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Organizational Behavior and Business Law

The Organizational Behavior and Business Law area encompasses the study of individuals and groups in organizations, as well as the study of organizations’ role in shaping the economic and social lives of communities. The area is renowned for enabling Gies Business students to become leaders and innovators in their work teams and organizations. Our faculty are interdisciplinary and include experts in creativity, negotiation, innovation, organizational design, industry evolution, and business law.

Research

Faculty research in this area focuses on leadership, teams, power and influence, negotiation, organizational identity, innovation, corporate governance, institutional change, and organizational design, among others. 

Our faculty regularly publish their research findings in the top journals in the field. They also hold leadership positions in the discipline’s professional associations and are on editorial boards for prestigious scholarly journals. Our faculty have been instrumental in shaping the field, and they aspire to continue to have significant impact on the future of research and practice.

Jack Goncalo, OBBL Area Head for BADM

“The Organizational Behavior and Business Law area is on the cutting edge of the latest advances in research and action learning while maintaining a strong sense of community and commitment to collegiality and mutual respect.”

- Jack Goncalo, Organizational Behavior and Business Law Area Chair

View Jack Goncalo's profile

Gies News and Events

Arkadiy Sakhartov wins 2024 ISOI Best Paper Award

Gies Professor Arkadiy Sakhartov was named the recipient of the 2024 Illinois Strategic Organizations Initiative (ISOI) Best Paper Award for his article “Corporate Diversification and Risk: Portfolio Effects and Resource Redeployability” that was published in Strategy Science in 2022.