I joined the faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University in July 2020. I earned my PhD at the University of Alberta in Strategic Management & Organization and a Master of Environmental Management degree at Yale University.

Prior to my academic career, I worked with The Forest Trust, American Friends Service Committee, Heinrich Böll Foundation, and Global Environmental Institute in a number of managerial and consultancy roles. I have lived and worked in Cambodia, Canada, China, Laos, and the United States.

My research program centers on advancing contemporary administrative sciences. To this end, I pursue scholarship that is more contextual, integrative, robust, and responsive to societal needs. My broad research interests include: How do organizations work? How can businesses contribute to societal welfare? How can management scholarship help build a better society? Empirically, my research engages with various important matters such as forest, gender, and the future of business. In the meantime, I have a versatile research portfolio on modernizing management theory.  

Below are some ongoing projects and anticipated full manuscript completion timelines.

• Cao, Ke. On entrepreneurship. 2021.
• Cao, Ke. On management theory. 2021.
• Cao, Ke, Tong, Li & Du, Yongzhi. On management theory. 2021.
• Cao, Ke. On sustainability certification in the B Corp setting. 2021.
• Cao, Ke. On advancing theory. 2021.
• Cao, Ke. On sustainability-related issues in the palm oil industry. 2021.
• Cao, Ke. Some writings about management research and social good. 2022. 
• On Chinese multinational businesses in Canada. With Pál Nyiri, VU Amsterdam. 2022 and afterward. 
• On Corporate Social Responsibility. With Li Tong, Peking University. 2022 and afterward. 
• Cao, Ke. On culture in technology firms. 2022 and afterward.

• Member of Editorial Board, Management and Organization Review, 2022-2025
• Member of Editorial Board, European Journal of Management Studies, 2022-2024
• Research Seed Grant (Sole Investigator), $5,494 for 16 months on culture in technology firms, Lazaridis Institute, 2021 Spring Competition
• Best Doctoral Dissertation Award Finalist, Organizations and the Natural Environment Division, Academy of Management, 2021
• Responsible Research in Management Award Finalist, International Association for Chinese Management Research (IACMR) & the Community for Responsible Research in Business and Management (RRBM), 2019-2020
• Award for Outstanding Students Abroad, China Scholarship Council, 2018-2019
• GRA Rice Graduate Scholarship in Business, University of Alberta, 2016-2017
• Attended a Barclays Premier League Trophy Tour, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2015
• Standard First Aid & CPR Certificate (valid for three years), 2015
• Beinecke FES Scholarship, Yale University, 2007-2009
• Champion of Mid-Autumn Texas Hold'em Tournament, Association of Chinese Students and Scholars at Yale, 2008
• Member of Nanjing Citizen Soccer Team, admitted after winning a citywide soccer skill and knowledge contest; played a match representing the city with a Chinese celebrity team that included Wen Lirong, a silver medalist from the 1996 Olympics, and Huang Jianxiang, a famed sports commentator, 2005

I regard research as a privilege as well as a responsibility and endeavor to conduct impactful research that contributes to both theory and practice. I hope to write more business and policy-related content for public media once I wrap up some research projects. So far, on this front, I have published lots of tweets at @kcvgd. The handle is a shorthand for "KC Vagabond." The Twitter banner photo was taken in 2010 at a conservation area in Bolikhamxay province, Laos.

Here are my best-known refereed academic writings (* denotes equal authorship). 

Cao, K. & Gehman, J*. 2021. Certified B Corporations and Benefit Corporations. Oxford Bibliographies in Management. Edited by Ricky W. Griffin. Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/OBO/9780199846740-0203

• Focuses on scholarship in Management. Also covers representative works in Accounting, Economics, Finance, Law, Marketing, Sociology, and Political Science.
• Look out for an updated version in the future at www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199846740/obo-9780199846740-0203.xml

Gehman, J., Grimes, M., & Cao, K. 2019. Why we care about Certified B Corporations: From valuing growth to certifying values. Academy of Management Discoveries, 5(1): 97-101

• Includes a brief, high-level literature review that shows the contours of scholarship on B Corps as of 2018. 

Cao, K., Gehman, J., & Grimes, M*. 2018. Standing out and fitting in: Charting the emergence of Certified B Corporations by industry and region. In Andrew C. Corbett & Jerome A. Katz (Eds.), Advances in Entrepreneurship, Firm Emergence and Growth: Vol. 19. Hybrid ventures (1-38)

• Referenced in "Choosing Plan B: Danone Rethinks the Idea of the Firm." 2018, August 11. The Economist, 414(9101)

Grimes, M., Gehman, J., & Cao, K*. 2018. Positively deviant: Identity work through B Corporation certification. Journal of Business Venturing, 33(2): 130-148

• 2020 Responsible Research in Management Award Finalist
• "Conditional Acceptance" for publishing at the Journal of Business Venturing after the initial submission.

Lazaridis School of Business and Economics

• BU 481 Business Policy 1: Strategic Management (undergraduate strategy capstone course), Fall 2020, a total of three sections.
• For the 2021-2022 academic year, I expect to teach three sections of BU 481.

Alberta School of Business

• SMO 441 Strategy & Innovation (undergraduate strategy capstone course), Instructor with Full Responsibility, Developed a new course syllabus, Winter & Fall 2018, a total of two sections. 
• SMO 641 Business Strategy (MBA strategy capstone course), Guest Lecturer for the Public/Nonprofit Strategy session, Winter 2016.

I have decided to undertake more service duties for my career stage. Here are some responsibilities I have taken on of my own volition:

• Semi-final Judge, The Integrated Case Exercise (ICE), Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, thrice, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, and Winter 2022
• Facilitator for one Junior Scholars Group, Breakout Group Sessions, Responsible Research Academic Summit 2021, April 26, 2021
• Member of Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Committee (defended) & Dissertation Committee, Primary Supervisor of One Essay in the Dissertation, Shervin Espahbod, Operations and Decision Sciences, Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, since 2021
• Faculty Affiliate, The Co-operators Center for Business and Sustainability, Wilfrid Laurier University, since 2021
• Faculty Advisor, Providing Resources for Information Systems Management (PRISM, student-run program), Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, since 2021
• Member of Collaborative Action Groups (CAGs) & Task Groups, The HIBAR Research Alliance (HRA). I have become more involved since 2021 and primarily help with matters related to a). Facilitating HIBAR Research Across Disciplines, b). Cross-Organizational Cooperation, and c). Building Awareness and Understanding of HIBAR Research. The HRA is open to any interested individual or organization. See how you can become involved at https:www.hibar-research.org/become-involved
• Chair of Research Committee and Board Member, The Global B Corp Academic Community (B Academics). In this role, I contribute by a). Attending the monthly Board Meetings to advance the teaching, research, and societal engagement missions of B Academics, b). Identifying directions, opportunities, and priorities to further develop the B Corp research community, c). Organizing the Annual B Academics Research Roundtable and other research-related events and activities, and d) Providing support as needed to B Academics’ other working areas such as Membership Recruitment, Fund Raising, Engagement and Outreach, Teaching, Event, and Communication. I was called on to step into this role in February 2021 to help out when there was a vacancy. I will hand it over to Emily Landry at the University of Tennessee in October 2021, and undertake a supportive role as a member of the research committee. See how you can become involved at https://bacademics.org/get-involved/ .As an entrepreneurial academic association, the B Academics has been on a magnificent rising path to fulfilling our teaching, research, and societal engagement missions. We are deeply thankful for the help from our organizational sponsors (https://bacademics.org/about/sponsorships/ ). Their financial and service support allows us to lower our membership fees and pursue further excellence in our work. We welcome inquiries about additional sponsorship opportunities. For this matter, please contact B Academics President Jessica Yinka Thomas at president@bacademics.org.

*The 2021 B Academics Research Roundtable will be held virtually on September 29,  from 11 am - 4 pm, Eastern Time. Conference registration closes on September 25. Registration is free for B Academics members. Event-specific registration fees range from $10-40 USD. The conference agenda and registration portal are at https://bacademics.org/events/2021-research-roundtable/

*Research Roundtable participants will be able to hear about the current conversations about B Corps from a fantastic slate of speakers, panellists, and manuscript authors, partake in discussions and debates, and build connections with fellow researchers and practitioners in an amicable and supportive setting.

*The virtual meeting experience on the SCOOCS (www. scoocs.co) platform and Zoom will be similar to that of the 2021 Academy of Management Annual Meeting. SCOOCS has provided service for the 2021 Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability (ARCS) Research Conference and the 2021 Network for Business Sustainability (NBS) Sustainability Centres Community (SCC) Workshop, among many other events.

On a range of theoretical themes, research settings, and methods, I have reviewed manuscripts for the Academy of Management Discoveries (a total of 4), Academy of Management Review (1), Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility (1), Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management (2), European Journal of Women's Studies (1), Journal of Business Ethics (2), Journal of Business Venturing (4), Journal of Management (1), Journal of Management Studies (2), Management and Organization Review (1), Organization Studies (1), Organization & Environment (3), Strategic Organization (4), Review of Managerial Science (1), and University of Toronto Press (1). 

Additionally, I have been reviewing for Academy of Management Annual Meetings every year since 2016. As an aside, I didn't submit manuscripts to AOM Annual Meetings in recent years. I found that I benefited most from attending AOM sessions as an audience member or consortium participant instead of a paper presenter. 

I have been a member of the following academic communities:

• Academy of Management (AOM), since 2015
• Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability (ARCS), since 2017
• Responsible Research for Business and Management (RRBM) Network, since 2018
• Global B Corp Academic Community (B Academics), since 2020
• Chinese Management Scholars Community (CMSC), since 2020
• Administrative Sciences Association of Canada (ASAC), since 2021
• International Association for Chinese Management Research (IACMR), since 2021
• International Humanistic Management Association (IHMA), since 2021