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 broad research and teaching 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 program on advancing management theory.  

Below are some ongoing projects and anticipated journal submission timelines.

• Cao, Ke. On entrepreneurship. Spring 2021.
• Cao, Ke. On management theory. Spring 2021.
• Cao, Ke & Tong, Li. On management theory. Summer 2021.
• Cao, Ke. On sustainability certification in the B Corp setting. Summer 2021.
• Cao, Ke. On advancing theory. Summer or Fall 2021.
• Cao, Ke. On sustainability-related issues in the palm oil industry. Summer 2021.
• 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. Early-stage. With Li Tong, Peking University. 2022 and afterward. 

• Member of Editorial Board, Management and Organization Review, 2022-2025
• Finalist (and still in the run), Doctoral Dissertation Award, ONE Division, AOM, 2021
• Responsible Research in Management Award Finalist, IACMR and RRBM, 2019-2020
• Award for Outstanding Students Abroad, China Scholarship Council, 2018-2019
• GRA Rice Graduate Scholarship in Business, University of Alberta, 2016-2017
• Beinecke FES Scholarship, Yale University, 2007-2009

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 publications (* denotes equal authorship). 

Cao, K. & Gehman, J*. Certified B Corporations and Benefit Corporations. Forthcoming at Oxford Bibliographies in Management. Edited by Ricky W. Griffin. Oxford University Press. 

• Focuses on scholarship in Management. Also covers representative works in Accounting, Economics, Finance, Law, Marketing, Sociology, and Political Science.
• Here is a penultimate version. The final version expects to be released in early 2021.

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

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
• For the 2021-2022 academic year, I expect to teach BU 481 in Spring 2022 (and likely in Winter 2022 as well).

Alberta School of Business

• SMO 441 Strategy & Innovation (undergraduate strategy capstone course), Instructor with Full Responsibility, Winter & Fall 2018
• 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, Winter 2021
• Facilitator for one Junior Scholars Group, Breakout Group Sessions, Responsible Research Academic Summit 2021, April 26, 2021
• Faculty Affiliate, The Co-operators Center for Business and Sustainability, Wilfrid Laurier University, since 2021
• Chair of Research Committee and Board Member, The Global B Corp Academic Community (B Academics), the current term from February 2021 to August 2021 in Ex-officio Capacity. In this capacity, I contribute by a). Attending the monthly Board Meetings to advance the teaching, research, and engagement mission 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. Here is our website https:www.bacademics.org
• 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

I have reviewed manuscripts for the Academy of Management Discoveries (a total of 3), Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility (1), Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management (1), European Journal of Women's Studies (1), Journal of Business Venturing (4), Journal of Management (1), Journal of Management Studies (2), Organization Studies (1), Organization & Environment (3), Strategic Organization (1), Review of Managerial Science (1), and University of Toronto Press (1). I expect to complete reviewing another manuscript by May.

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