Roy Chua

Roy Chua is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resources at the Singapore Management University (SMU) – Lee Kong Chian School of Business. He teaches primarily in the MBA, EMBA, PhD in Organizational Behavior, and Doctor of Innovation programs. Prior to joining SMU, Professor Chua was on the faculty of Harvard Business School for six years where he taught the core Leadership and Organizational Behavior (LEAD) course in the MBA program as well as the executive education program on talent management.

Professor Chua’s research draws on psychological and organizational theories to understand important social processes in business organizations. In his primary stream of research, he studies how cultural diversity in a globalized workplace influences creativity and innovation. Professor Chua also has a keen interest in understanding organizational behavior and management processes in the Asian context.

Professor Chua is an award winning management scholar and business school professor. He has published in leading academic periodicals such as the Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of International Business Studies, and MIT Sloan Management Review. His research on “ambient cultural disharmony” won the 2013 Best Article Award at the Academy of Management. Professor Chua also won the Best MBA core Professor award and Most Appreciated Professor award at Singapore Management University in 2015.

Outside academic research, Professor Chua is active in executive teaching. He has conducted case discussions and given talks at various companies including Bank of China, Bank of East Asia, Goldman Sachs, SEACEN (South East Asian Central Banks), Charoen Pokphand (CP) group, Shangri La hotel group, A.S. Watson, San Miguel, Hitachi, Barclays, DBS Bank, UOB (United Overseas Bank), Infineon, Unilab, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), Deutsche Knowledge Services, Deustsche Bank, Temasek Holdings, Johnson & Johnson, Sembawang Corp, and John Clements Consulting.

A native of Singapore, Professor Chua received a BSc with First Class Honors in Computer and Information Sciences from the National University of Singapore and a PhD in Management and Organizational Behavior from Columbia Business School, Columbia University (New York).

Education

• 2008 Ph.D., Management (Organizational Behavior) - Columbia Business School, Columbia University, New York
• M.A., Philosophy - Columbia Business School, Columbia University, New York
• 1998 B.Sc., First Class Honors, Computer and Information Services - National University of Singapore

Current Appointment(s)

• 2014 - Now Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour & Human Resources at Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University
• 2008 - 2014
  Assistant Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, Harvard University

Awards, Recognition and Honors

• Best Reviewer Award, Academy of Management Journal, 2017
• Mind Opener” Award (MBA): award for opening the class to new ideas and mindsets, 2016
• Best Core Professor, 2015-16
• Appreciation in Years to Come Award, 2015-16
• 2013 Best Paper Award - Academy of Management Journal, 2014
• Best Reviewer Award, Management and Organization Review, 2012
• Outstanding Reviewer Award, Journal of Trust Research, 2011
• Article as one of top 5 articles in international human resources (HR) for 2009 by International HR Scholarly Research Award committee, Human Resources Division, Academy of Management, 2009
• Columbia University's Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) Doctoral Research Grant, 2007
• Columbia University, Graduate School of Business, Management Division Doctoral Student Research Grant, 2005
• Merriwether Fellowship for academic excellence and progress in the Ph.D program, 2005
• Donald C. Hambrick Award for excellence in the Ph.D. program, Columbia Business School, 2005
• Asia Life Gold Medal for excellent academic achievements, National University of Singapore, 1997
• Senior Tutor Scholarship - Nanyang Technological University, 2003
• PSA Corp Undergraduate Scholarship, 1994

Research Interests

• Creativity
• Trust
• Leadership
• Culture
• China

Selected Journal Articles (Refereed)

• Chua, R. Y.J. & Jin, M. (forthcoming). Across the great divides: Gender dynamics influence how intercultural conflict helps or hurts creative collaboration. Academy of Management Journal.
• Chua, R. Y.J., Huang, K., & Jin, M. (2019). Mapping cultural tightness and its links to innovation, urbanization, and happiness across 31 provinces in China. PNAS - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
• Chua, R.Y.J. & Ng, K.Y. (2017). Not Just How Much You Know: Interactional Effect of Cultural Knowledge and Metacognition on Creativity in a Global Context. Management and Organization Review, 13(2): 281-300.
• Chua R.Y.J. (2015). Innovating at cultural crossroads: How multicultural social networks promote ideas flow and creativity. Journal of Management.
• Chua R.Y.J., Roth, Y., & Lemoine, J. (2015). The impact of culture on creativity: How cultural tightness and cultural distance affect global innovation crowdsourcing work. Administrative Science Quarterly, 60, 189-227.
• Chua R.Y.J. (2013). The costs of ambient cultural disharmony: Indirect intercultural conflicts in social environment undermine creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 56(6), 1545-1577.
• Chua R.Y.J. (2012). Building effective business relationships in China. MIT Sloan Management Review, 53(4).
• Chua, R.Y.J., Morris, M.W., & Mor, S. (2012). Collaborating across cultures: Cultural metacognition and affect-based trust in creative collaboration. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 118, 116-131.
• Cheng, C., Chua, R.Y.J., Morris, M.W., & Lee, L. (2012). Finding the right mix: How the composition of self-managing multicultural teams' cultural value orientation influences performance over time. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33, 389-411. [First two authors contributed equally]
• Jiang, C., Chua, R.Y.J., Kotabe, M., & Murray, J. (2011). Effects of cultural ethnicity, firm size, and firm age on senior executives’ trust in their overseas business partners: Evidence from China. Journal of International Business Studies, 42(9), 1150-1173.
• [Equal authorship among all authors]
• Chua, R. Y.J. & Iyengar, S. (2011). Perceiving freedom givers: Effects of granting decision latitude on personality and leadership perceptions. The Leadership Quarterly, 22, 863-880.
• Chua, R. Y.J., Morris, M.W. & Ingram, P. (2010). Embeddedness and new idea discussion in professional networks: The mediating role of affect-based trust. Journal of Creative Behavior, 44(2), 85-104.
• Chua, R.Y.J., Morris, M.W., & Ingram, P. (2009). Guanxi versus networking: Distinctive configurations of affect- and cognition-based trust in the networks of Chinese and American managers. Journal of International Business Studies, 40(3), 480-508.
• Chua, R.Y.J., Ingram, P., & Morris, M.W. (2008). From the head and the heart: Locating cognition- and affect-based trust in managers’ professional networks. Academy of Management Journal, 51(3), 436-452.
• Chua, R.Y.J., & Iyengar, S. (2008). Creativity as a matter of choice: Prior experience and task instruction as boundary conditions for the positive effect of choice on creativity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 42(3), 164-180.
• Condensed version reprinted as “Creativity as a matter of choice: The positive effect of choice on creativity” in Rotman Magazine (2011).
• Chua, R.Y.J., & Iyengar, S. (2006). Empowerment through choice?: A critical analysis of the effects of choice in organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior. Staw, B. (Ed), 27, 41-79.
• Ng, K.Y., & Chua, R.Y.J. (2006). Do I contribute more when I trust more?: Differential effects of cognition- and affect-based trust. Management and Organization Review, 2(1), 43-66.