Nancy Rothbard

Professor Nancy Rothbard received her A.B. from Brown University and her Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from the University of Michigan. She is the David Pottruck Professor of Management and Chair, Management Department, at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Prior to joining the faculty at Wharton, she was on faculty at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University. Professor Rothbard’s research focuses on the interplay between emotions and engagement in multiple roles. Specifically, she explores how people’s emotional responses to one role or task affect their subsequent engagement in another role or task. She has examined these questions in the context of work and family roles and in the context of multiple tasks that people perform within the work role. Her work has been published in academic journals such as Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Review, Organization Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Organization Science, and Personnel Psychology. In addition to her academic articles, Professor Rothbard has authored several Harvard Business School case studies. Her teaching cases touch on the topics of leadership, corporate culture, and organizational change. Professor Rothbard received the 2000 Likert Dissertation Award from the University of Michigan. She is also the recipient of the Gerald and Lillian Dykstra Award for Teaching Excellence and the Wharton Teaching Commitment and Curricular Innovation Award, 2010.

Nancy Rothbard, Lakshmi Ramarajan, Steffanie L. Wilk (2017), Discordant vs. Harmonious Selves: The Effects of Identity Conflict and Enhancement on Sales Performance in EmployeeCustomer Interactions , Academy of Management Journal.

Amanda O'Neill and Nancy Rothbard (2017), Is Love All You Need? The Effects of Emotional Culture, Suppression, and WorkFamily Conflict on Firefighter Risk Taking and Health , Academy of Management Journal, 60 (1). 10.5465/amj.2014.0952

Lieke ten Brummelhuis, Nancy Rothbard, Benjamin Uhrich (2016), Beyond Nine to Five: Is Working to Excess Bad for Health? , Academy of Management Discoveries.

Ariane OllierMalaterre and Nancy Rothbard (2015), Social media or social minefield? Surviving in the new cyberspace era , Organization Dynamics.

Adam Grant and Nancy Rothbard (2013), When in doubt, seize the day? Security values, prosocial values, and proactivity under ambiguity , Journal of Applied Psychology, 98, pp. 810819. 10.1037/a0032873

Abstract: Researchers have suggested that both ambiguity and values play important roles in shaping employees’ proactive behaviors, but have not theoretically or empirically integrated these factors. Drawing on theories of situational strength and values, we propose that ambiguity constitutes a weak situation that strengthens the relationship between the content of employees’ values and their proactivity. A field study of 201 employees and their direct supervisors in a water treatment plant provided support for this contingency perspective. Ambiguity moderated the relationship between employees’ security and prosocial values and supervisor ratings of proactivity. Under high ambiguity, security values predicted lower proactivity, whereas prosocial values predicted higher proactivity. Under low ambiguity, values were not associated with proactivity. We replicated these findings in a laboratory experiment with 232 participants in which we measured proactivity objectively as initiative taken to correct errors: participants with strong security values were less proactive, and participants with strong prosocial values were more proactive, but only when performance expectations were ambiguous. We discuss theoretical implications for research on proactivity, values, and ambiguity and uncertainty.

Anca Metiu and Nancy Rothbard (2013), Task Bubbles, Artifacts, Shared Emotion, and Mutual Focus of Attention: A Comparative Study of the Microprocesses of Group Engagement , Organization Science. 10.1287/orsc.1120.0738

Abstract: Based on a comparative field study of two software development projects, we use ethnographic methods of observation and interview to examine the question of how interdependent individuals develop and maintain mutual focus of attention on a shared task, which we define as the group engagement process. Drawing on Randall Collins’ interaction ritual theory, we identify how mutual focus of attention develops through the presence of a task bubble that focuses attention by creating barriers to outsiders and through the effective use of taskrelated artifacts. Shared emotion both results from mutual focus of attention and reinforces it. Through our comparison between the two projects, we show that the group engagement process is enabled by factors at the individual (individual engagement), interaction (frequency and informality of interactions), and project (compelling direction of the overall group) levels. Our focus on group interaction episodes as the engine of the group engagement process illuminates what individuals do when they are performing the focal work of the group (i.e., solving problems related to the task at hand) and how they develop and sustain the mutual focus of attention that is required for making collective progress on the task itself. We also show the relationship between the group engagement process and effective problem solving.

Tracy Dumas, Katherine W Phillips, Nancy Rothbard (2013), Getting Closer at the Company Party: Integration Experiences, Racial Dissimilarity, and Workplace Relationships , Organization Science. 10.1287/orsc.1120.0808

Abstract: Using survey data from two distinct samples, we found that reported integration behaviors (e.g., attending company parties, discussing nonwork matters with colleagues) were associated with closer relationships among coworkers but that this effect was qualified by an interaction effect. Racial dissimilarity moderated the relationship between integration and closeness such that integration was positively associated with relationship closeness for those who were demographically similar to their coworkers, but not for those who were demographically dissimilar from their coworkers. Additionally, this moderation effect was mediated by the extent to which respondents experienced comfort and enjoyment when integrating. These findings highlight the importance of creating the right kind of interactions for building closer relationships between employees, particularly relationships that span racial boundaries.

Ariane OllierMalaterre, Nancy Rothbard, Justin Berg (2013), When worlds collide in cyberspace: How boundary work in online social networks impacts professional relationships , Academy of Management Review, 38 (4), pp. 645669.

Abstract: As employees increasingly interact with their professional contacts on online social networks that are personal in nature, such as Facebook or Twitter, they are likely to experience a collision of their professional and personal identities that is unique to this new and expanding social space. In particular, online social networks present employees with boundary management and identity negotiation opportunities and challenges, because they invite nontailored selfdisclosure to broad audiences, while offering few of the physical and social cues that normally guide social interactions. How and why do employees manage the boundaries between their professional and personal identities in online social networks, and how do these behaviors impact the way they are regarded by professional contacts? We build a framework to theorize about how worknonwork boundary preferences and selfevaluation motives drive the adoption of four archetypical sets of online boundary management behaviors (open, audience, content, and hybrid), and the consequences of these behaviors for respect and liking in professional relationships. Content and hybrid behaviors are more likely to increase respect and liking than open and audience behaviors; audience and hybrid behaviors are less risky for respect and liking than open and content behaviors but more difficult to maintain over time.

David R Lebel, Nancy Rothbard, Katherine Klein, Steffanie L. Wilk, Gina Dokko (Working), The Way You Do the Things You Do: How Extraversion and Conscientiousness Shape the Consequences of Individual Innovation.

Nancy Rothbard and Steffanie L. Wilk (2011), Waking up on the right or wrong side of the bed: Startofworkday mood, work events, employee affect, and performance , Academy of Management Journal, 54 (5), pp. 959980. 10.5465/amj.2007.0056

Past Courses

MGMT610 FOUND OF TEAMWRK & LDRSH

Management 610 is the first core course in the MBA Program and it cannot be waived. The first week of the fall term (in August) is dedicated to this formative and foundational experience. This course focuses on developing students' knowledge and skill set for teamwork and leadership. It is meant to be an intense immersion experience that draws strongly on the pedagogy of the Wharton Teamwork and Leadership Simulation, a teambased, highly interactive simulation that was customdesigned specifically to allow students to experience the core concepts they learn in this class. The three goals of this course are for students to learn: 1. Leadership behaviors: how to enact the skills that contribute to a team's effective performance. 2. Team dynamics: how to be an effective team member, as well as how to best design work teams; 3. Organizational awareness: understanding organizational culture. ,Format: A customdesigned Whartononly simulation is paired with course sessions to deliver a unique learning experience. Classes will include experiental learning combined with debriefings, lectures, readings, class discussion and personal and group performance feedback. This course reflects the realities that informal leadership occurs in teams on an ongoing basis, that being a good team player is a part of leadership, and that many of one's early experiences with leadership will occur while working on teams. Because of the teambased nature of this course, and time intensive nature of this experience, attendance is mandatory for ALL five sessions of this class. ,NOTE: Creditbearing, core coursework begins with the MGMT610: Foundations of Teamwork and Leadership course.

MGMT933 PSYCH & SOC. FOUND

This course, is required of all firstyear doctoral students in Management and open to other Penn students with permission, provides an introduction to the psychological and sociological roots of management theory and research. The courseis predicated on the belief that to be effective as a contemporary management scholar one needs a background in "the classics." Therefore, we will be reading classics from the fields of psychology and sociology in their original form during this semester.

MGMT951 MICRO ORG BEHAVR

The purpose of this course is to examine and understand theory and empirical research in the field of microorganizational behavior. We will study a blend of classic and contemporary literature and examine theoretical propositions of individual and group behavior in organizations as well as discussing and critically evaluating empirical studies based on these theories. Sample topics includethe What is MicroOB?, ther person versus situation debate, motivation, job design, group dynamics, leadership and organizational culture and socialization. Mgmt. 951 is a companion class to Mgmt. 961, and you can take it in either order.

MGMT961 ADVANCED TOPICS IN MICRO

The purpose of this quarter course is to continue to explore key concepts and research programs in the field of microorganizational behavior that we began to study in MGMT 951. To do so, we will cover a blend of classic and contemporary literature so that we can appreciate the prevailing theories and findings in various areas of microorganizational behavior. In addition, for each topic we will then try to go beyond the existing literature. We will work to increase our understanding by reframing the research variables, altering the perspective, bringing in new theory, and comparing levels of analysis. Building on the topics we examined in MGMT 951, we will explore further organizational behavior topics including identity, fit, extra role behaviors, job design, creativity, status, power and influence.

Society of Organizational Behavior, 2016 Wharton Faculty Fellow, 2016 Penn Fellow, 2015 Rackham Centennial Lecture, University of Michigan, 2012 Teaching Commitment and Curricular Innovation Award, Wharton School, 2010 Best Career Division Symposium Award, Academy of Management, 2006 Description

"Learning from Career Histories" Symposium: "Is prior experience always beneficial? Learning from career histories"

Nominated for the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in WorkFamily Research, 2005 Description

For “Managing multiple roles: Workfamily policies and individuals’ desires for segmentation.”

Finalist, Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in WorkFamily Research, 2004 Description

For “Investment in work and family roles: A test of identity and utilitarian motives.”

Finalist, William A. Owens Scholarly Achievement Award for best publication in the field of industrial and organizational psychology, 2001 Description

For “Enriching or depleting? The dynamics of engagement in work and family roles.”

Finalist, Dorothy Harlow Best Paper Award, Gender and Diversity in Organizations, Academy of Management, 2001 Nominated for Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in WorkFamily Research,, 2001 Description

For "Mechanisms Linking Work and Family: Clarifying the Relationship Between Work and Family Constructs."

• Likert Dissertation Award, University of Michigan, 2000
• Hicks Dissertation Research Fellowship, University of Michigan, 1998
• Gerald and Lillian Dykstra Award for Outstanding Teaching, University of Michigan, 1996
• Invited Participant OB/ODC/OMT Doctoral Consortium, 1996
• Hicks Industrial Relations Fellowship, University of Michigan, 1994

• Business Administration Fellowship, University of Michigan,, 1993

• How three Penn professors are incorporating the holidays into their research, The Daily Pennsylvanian 12/12/2016

• How to Deal with a Boss Who Behaves Unpredictably, Harvard Business Review 11/03/2016

• Did Hillary Clinton’s victory really cause the glass ceiling to crack?, Marketplace.org 07/28/2016

• Why waking up on the wrong side of the bed could make you worse, Eyewitness News 07/25/2016

• How Your Morning Mood Affects Your Whole Workday, Harvard Business Review 07/21/2016

• How to Work for a Workaholic, Harvard Business Review 03/24/2016

• Networking in the ‘Girls’ Lounge’, New York Times 03/05/2016

• Companies Pay Workers to Live Close to the Office, Wall Street Journal 02/23/2016

• Manage Your Emotional Culture, Harvard Business Review 12/23/2015

• Women are not necessary in the boardroom 12/18/2015

• Why It Pays to Make Your Boss Your BFF, TIME 04/27/2015

• Amazon’s Secrets of Success Don’t Include Coddling Workers, TheStreet 04/16/2015

• The Sales Director Who Turned Work into a Fantasy Sports, blogs.hbr.org 03/27/2015

• How to Separate the Personal and Professional on Social Media, blogs.hbr.org 03/26/2015

• This is what happens when you go into business with your spouse, Fortune 01/17/2015

• Eight Professors Appointed Penn Fellows, Penn Communications 01/12/2015

• Why Some CoWorkers Dread the Office Holiday Party, Psychology Today 12/15/2014

• Don’t Be a Grinch: Holiday Partygoers Get Ahead Faster, Ignites 12/09/2014

• Stressed Out by Work? You’re Not Alone, Knowledge@Wharton 10/30/2014

• Microsoft CEO Never Had To Ask For A Raise Or Promotion, Apparently, Huffington Post 10/21/2014

• How Child Care Is the Economy’s Hidden Driver 09/20/2014

• Waking Up on the Wrong Side of the Desk—And Staying There, Psychology Today 09/16/2014

• Everybody have fun tonight, The Economist 08/14/2014

• How to Leave Work at Work. Mostly, Bloomberg Businessweek 08/07/2014

• Lean in … nicely: Women climbing corporate ladder still face backlash, NBC News Network 07/14/2014

• You Can Have It All, Psychology Today 07/01/2014

• 5 ways to actually get gamification to work effectively, Financial Post 05/23/2014

• Short courses help women get on board, Financial Times 05/12/2014

• How Women Can Use Business School to Hone Leadership Skills, US News & World Report 04/17/2014

• How ‘The Paradox Of Mandatory Fun’ Ruins Games At Work, Business Insider 04/08/2014

• Why Fostering a Culture of ‘Companionate Love’ in the Workplace, Knowledge@Wharton 04/04/2014

• Gamification: Powering Up or Game Over?, Forbes 02/24/2014

• Need a Fresh Start? Here’s How to Begin, Knowledge@Wharton 01/06/2014

• No office holiday party this year? Your employees may be better off, Washington Post 12/21/2013

• Office Parties Are Bad for Biz, Daily Beast 12/19/2013

• The One Thing To Remember At Your Office Holiday Party, Huffington Post 12/13/2013

• GSA Enables More Telework, Wall Street Journal 09/20/2013

• When Work is a Game, Who Wins?, New Yorker 09/17/2013

• Get Some Boundaries!, Huffington Post 09/17/2013

• Why Some People Have No Boundaries Online, Huffington Post 09/11/2013

• House Party: Working and Living at the Office, Wall Street Journal 07/30/2013

• What makes a perk work, Financial Times 07/22/2013

• More Offices Offer Workers Alcohol, Wall Street Journal 06/25/2013

• Should You ‘Friend’ The Boss On Facebook? More States Say No, AOL Jobs 06/07/2013

• Are we having fun yet? Why office parties may not help to bring coworkers together, The Economist 05/02/2013

• Workplace Socializing Doesn’t Always Bridge Racial Divides, Yahoo News 04/21/2013

• Does Giving at Work Leave Family Behind?, Huffington Post 04/09/2013

• The WorkatHome Controversy May Never Go Away, The Fiscal Times 03/15/2013

• Why Working In The Office Is Bad For You, Huffington Post 03/06/2013

• Michael Mauboussin on the ‘Success Equation’, Knowledge@Wharton 03/06/2013

• Stuck in a Dead End Job? It Could be Your Fault, Fox Business 12/06/2012

• When Professional and Personal Lives Collide, Fox Business 04/13/2012

• What Happened to the Lunch Break?, LiveScience.com 04/13/2012

• Will Feeding Your Employees Make Them More Productive?, Huffington Post 11/10/2011

• Put on a Happy Face. Seriously, Wall Street Journal 10/23/2011

• How to Merge Corporate Cultures, Inc.com 05/09/2011

• Employee Mood Impacts Bottom Line, BusinessNewsDaily 04/06/2011

• Why flextime can backfire, Penn Current 06/19/2006

• Is Your HR Department Friend or Foe? Depends on Who’s Asking, Knowledge@Wharton 07/29/2005

Knowledge @ Wharton

• Love Culture: What It Takes to Create a Happy Workplace, Knowledge @ Wharton 04/10/2017
• What Does ‘Sexual Harassment’ Mean Today?, Knowledge @ Wharton 01/31/2017
• Building a Career on the Foundations of the Information Revolution, Knowledge @ Wharton 08/04/2016
• Better Pay or More Flexibility: It Doesn’t Have to Be a Tradeoff, Knowledge @ Wharton 05/11/2016
• People Love Games — but Does Gamification Work?, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/03/2016
• Job Hunting? Why You Need a Strong Online Footprint, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/02/2016
• Social Media Shaming: Can Outrage Be Effective?, Knowledge @ Wharton 11/20/2015
• Is Now the Best Time to Have a Baby in Corporate America?, Knowledge @ Wharton 10/30/2015
• Meetings: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Knowledge @ Wharton 09/16/2015
• Is Your Workplace Tough — or Is It Toxic?, Knowledge @ Wharton 08/12/2015
• Is Cultural Fit a Qualification for Hiring or a Disguise for Bias?, Knowledge @ Wharton 07/16/2015
• Transgender in the Workplace: What Firms and Employees Need to Know, Knowledge @ Wharton 06/12/2015
• The Uncomfortable Questions You Should Be Asking about Pay Equity, Knowledge @ Wharton 06/09/2015
• Separation of Church and Cubicle: Religion in the Workplace, Knowledge @ Wharton 04/30/2015
• When Using Social Media, Beware the Invisible Audience, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/26/2015
• Wakeup Call: Why Everyone Needs More Sleep, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/25/2015
• If Not 40 Hours, Then What? Defining the Modern Work Week, Knowledge @ Wharton 01/28/2015
• Why Child Care Is the Economy’s ‘Invisible’ Driver, Knowledge @ Wharton 09/17/2014
• ‘When Worlds Collide’: Navigating the Minefield of Social Media, Knowledge @ Wharton 06/09/2014
• Gamification: Powering Up or Game Over?, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/11/2014
• Cost Efficient, Openspace Office Designs: Ditching Desks — and Privacy, Knowledge @ Wharton 06/19/2013
• Mind Your ‘Social’ Presence: Bigdata Recruiting Has Arrived, Knowledge @ Wharton 05/07/2013
• Is the Party Over? The Unintended Consequences of Office Social Events, Knowledge @ Wharton 03/27/2013
• To Close the Gender Gap, What Needs to Change — Women or the System?, Knowledge @ Wharton 03/27/2013
• When Working at Home Is Productive, and When It’s Not, Knowledge @ Wharton 03/13/2013
• Passed Over for a Promotion? How Companies Can Retain the Runnerup, Knowledge @ Wharton 01/30/2013
• From the Altar to IPO: The Highs and Lows of Married Business Partners, Knowledge @ Wharton 01/30/2013
• iPerks: Apple, Like Others, Takes Steps to Woo Employees, Knowledge @ Wharton 11/20/2012
• The Eyeopening Impact of Sleep Deficits, Knowledge @ Wharton 10/01/2012
• Going Bossfree: Utopia or ‘Lord of the Flies’?, Knowledge @ Wharton 08/01/2012
• Hold That Password: The New Reality of Evaluating Job Applicants, Knowledge @ Wharton 04/11/2012
• Flipping the Switch: Who Is Responsible for Getting Employees to Take a Break?, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/15/2012
• The Discontented Thirties, Knowledge @ Wharton 12/05/2011
• Limited Seating: Mixed Results on Efforts to Include More Women at the Corporate Board Table, Knowledge @ Wharton 10/26/2011
• Seeing Is Learning — Why Face Time Between Coworkers Is More Important Than You Think, Knowledge @ Wharton 06/30/2011
• From Freelancers to Telecommuters: Succeeding in the New World of Solitary Work, Knowledge @ Wharton 06/29/2011
• A Recession for Perks? What Companies Offer and What Employees Want, Knowledge @ Wharton 06/22/2011
• Is Businesscentric Social Networking a Revolution — or a Ruse?, Knowledge @ Wharton 03/02/2011
• You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby … or Maybe Not: Why Women are Losing Ground on Wall Street, Knowledge @ Wharton 10/27/2010
• Europe’s Migrants: ‘The World Is a Smaller Place’, Knowledge @ Wharton 10/13/2010
• So You Want to Live to 100? More of Us Will, and Here Is What Life Might Look Like, Knowledge @ Wharton 12/09/2009
• Available All the Time: Etiquette for the Social Networking Age, Knowledge @ Wharton 09/30/2009
• ‘Locals,’ ‘Cosmopolitans’ and Other Keys to Creating Successful Global Teams, Knowledge @ Wharton 09/02/2009
• Caught in the Middle: Rising Unemployment Takes Its Toll on Older Managers, Knowledge @ Wharton 07/08/2009
• Hiring from Outside the Company: How New People Can Bring Unexpected Problems, Knowledge @ Wharton 09/03/2008
• ‘Don’t Touch My Perks’: Companies that Eliminate Them Risk Employee Backlash, Knowledge @ Wharton 07/23/2008
• Perk Place: The Benefits Offered by Google and Others May Be Grand, but They’re All Business, Knowledge @ Wharton 03/21/2007
• More Confident, Less Careful: Why Office Romances Are Hard to Manage, Knowledge @ Wharton 03/21/2007
• Plateauing: Redefining Success at Work, Knowledge @ Wharton 10/04/2006
• Reluctant Vacationers: Why Americans Work More, Relax Less, than Europeans, Knowledge @ Wharton 07/26/2006