Martin Kilduff

Martin Kilduff  (PhD Cornell, 1988) is Professor of Organizational Behavior at University College London, former editor of_ Academy of Management Review (2006-08) and associate editor of _Administrative Science Quarterly (2003-05, 2010-16). Prior to joining UCL he served as Diageo Professor of Management Studies at Cambridge University, and prior to that served on the faculties of University of Texas at Austin, Penn State, and Insead. 

Research

Martin’s work focuses on social networks in organizations and includes the co-authored books Social Networks and Organizations (Sage, 2003); and Interpersonal Networks in Organizations: Cognition, Personality, Dynamics and Culture (Cambridge University Press, 2008). 

Martin has three co-authored papers in press. The first examines the personality profiles of people who broker between cliques in organizations (in press, Academy of Management Journal). The second examines the paradox of people who feel powerful enough to engage in brokerage activities but whose sense of power blinds them to the brokerage opportunities that are available (in press, Journal of Applied Psychology). The third paper examines evidence for personality change in organizational contexts (in press, Academy of Management Annals).

Recent research includes an examination of how people get ahead and are subsequently disadvantaged through ties to high-reputation leaders. The research examines coaches’ careers in the National Football League (NFL) over a 31 year period. (Magnification and correction of the acolyte effect: Initial benefits and ex post settling up in NFL coaching careers, 2016, Academy of Management Journal.) 

In the area of social networks and personality, a team of researchers, including fellow UCL academic Blaine Landis, conducted a meta-analysis across 138 network studies. The analysis shows that the self-monitoring personality variable (compared to the Big Five) is crucially important in understanding who emerges as central in organizational networks; and that indegree centrality (i.e., how many other people claim you as a friend or as someone who gives them advice) is more important than brokerage in understanding career outcomes. (“Integrating personality and social networks: A meta-analysis of personality, network position, and work outcomes in organizations,” 2015 in Organization Science.)

These topics – the cognitive and personality foundations of organizational social networks – are reviewed theoretically in two recent conceptual articles, one in Journal of Management (“The micro foundations of organizational social networks: A review and an agenda for future research,” 2015, co-authored with Stefano Tasselli and Jochen Menges); and the other published in Annual Review of Psychology (“Social network analysis: Foundations and frontiers on advantage,” co-authored with Ronald S. Burt and Stefano Tasselli, 2013).

For more on martin’s research see the departmental website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/msi/profile/martin-kilduff/research

Research Projects

Personality and social networks

How different personality types create and benefit from social networks in organizations.

Cognition and social networks

People's perceptions of their organizationa social networks are systematically biased, and the bias affects their own and others'' outcomes.

Philosophy of science in new knowledge production

Different scientific frameworks engender different kinds of organizational innovations.

Emotion management in organizations

How do managers monitor and control emotions in organizations, and how do employees respond?

Diversity and performance

A focus on how different types of people combine to produce differential outputs in organizations