My research program centers on advancing contemporary administrative sciences and modernizing management theory. 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?  

In other words, sitting on the well-decorated business school floor of the academic ivory tower, I work to alleviate and prevent human suffering through my scholarship, as a champagne socialist (referencing Canadian rock band Arkells).

Below are some ongoing projects.

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

• Outstanding Reviewer Award in the 2023 Emerald Literati Awards, selected by the editorial team of European Journal of Management Studies, 2023
• Best Reviewer Award, IACMR Biennial Conference, 2023
• Best Reviewer Award, Management and Organization Review, 2022
• Best Reviewer Award, International Management Division, Academy of Management Annual Meeting, 2022
• Travel Assistance Funding, $3,000, Business Department, Lazaridis School of Business & Economics, for 2022-2023
• Insight Grants, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Canada, Sole Investigator, $31,571 for 2022-2024 on voluntary sustainability certifications of products & businesses. 
• Member of Editorial Board, Management and Organization Review, 2022-2025
• Member of Editorial Board, European Journal of Management Studies, 2022-2024
• Research Seed Grant, Lazaridis Institute, Sole Investigator, $5,494 for 16 months on culture in technology firms, 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
• Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad, China Scholarship Council, 2018-2019
• G.R.A. 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
• First in the family who completed high school, attended college, went to graduate school, travelled abroad, worked overseas, obtained a Ph.D., and became an academic.
• Road Running Finisher: 2019 August, 10k, Edmonton; 2023 May, Half Marathon, Ottawa.

• No intention to recruit Ph.D. students. Open to providing supporting roles in supervising doctoral dissertations. Open to hosting visiting Ph.D. or Masters students who are externally funded, have solid academic credentials, and work towards a research-intensive academic career at business schools. 
• No need to hire research assistants right now.
• Students who request reference letters shall be prepared to provide a written summary of specific, informative nice things, which can be effusive but must be accurate and real,  you want me to say on your behalf.
• No course offering in 2023.

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 public-facing scholarly work 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

• In 2022, representing the "Gender and Sustainability" theme, selected to be on the Top 20 Reading Lists, as part of the 20th-anniversary celebration of Women in the Academy of International Business (WAIB)
• 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 (three sections, in-person, masked up); Spring 2022 (two sections, in-person, masked up); Fall 2022 (three sections, virtual). 
• Most course evaluation items for Fall 2022 are 7 out of 7. All course evaluation items for Spring 2022 are 6 or 7 out of 7. Slightly lower for Fall 2020. 
• Feedbacks from direct discussions with students, fellow teachers, and administrators also indicate the teaching is quite good. During a Fall 2022 classroom discussion & feedback session, one student commented that my class was "deep." In the Spring 2022 course evaluation, one student went out of their way to sign their name while providing exceedingly candid and helpful inputs, for my teaching and essentially, for the benefit of other students who come after and spend time in my classroom. I greatly appreciate my students' trust, engagement, and support in the teaching.
• In the course, among other initiatives, students work in groups to write business cases that are part of class assignments but also collective learning tools; we used "deep" materials such as a business case about the United Fruit Company and some low-cost readings; when introducing the influential Five Forces Framework (and having this and other foundational knowledge tested later in an open-book quiz), we examined the merits and shortcomings of it as well as Porter's recent scholarship on the politics industry in the United States and global health care; we debated about the context and consequences of firing Canada's former governor general Julie Payette; we discussed why people can be cannabis entrepreneurs, not cannabis criminals, nowadays in Canada; we talked about the business consultant career as well as the McKinsey & Purdue Pharma scandal (as an aside, at least one student in my Fall 2022 classes was recruited by McKinsey). 
• An open-book quiz is not necessarily easy and I had a good distribution of student performance (e.g., only less than 8% got full marks with sufficient time). Students were expected to handle more and more challenging work, especially on the research & writing aspects.
• In sum, I offer intellectual and financial freedom and liberty to my students. Hat tip to song Freedom is a Verb. Meanwhile, in a not-always-easy pathbreaking process, my innovative teaching has contributed to the liberation of some fellow instructors in this field. 
• Future course arrangements expect to vary and be upgraded per term. May discuss the East India Company and the Dutch East India Company next time. May use the mess induced by former Laurier undergraduate student and speaker of the House of Commons of Canada Anthony Rota as an example to illustrate the importance of reading and learning. 
• Our undergraduate education program is competitive with those offered by the most prominent schools in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, & elsewhere.

Alberta School of Business

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

1. Academic Review & Editing

On a range of theoretical themes, research settings, and methods, I have reviewed manuscripts for the Academy of Management Discoveries (a total of 5), Academy of Management Review (1), Asia Pacific Journal of Management (2), Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility (4), Business Strategy and the Environment (2), Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management (2), European Journal of Management Studies (3), European Journal of Women's Studies (1), Journal of Business Ethics (7), Journal of Business Venturing (5), Journal of Management (5), Journal of Management Studies (3), Management and Organization Review (5), Organization Studies (1), Organization & Environment (6), Review of Managerial Science (1), Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal (1), and Strategic Organization (8).

I also have reviewed 1 research grant application for Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Canada and book projects for Springer Nature (1; in Law) and the University of Toronto Press (2; in Business). Additionally, I review conference manuscripts of the Academy of Management (AOM) and the International Association for Chinese Management Research (IACMR).

2. Public Engagement

• Panel Speaker, "Strategic Planning and Risk Management: Critical Updates for Corporate Counsel" Professional Development Program, hosted and sponsored by Ontario Bar Association and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, for in-house corporate counsel audience. June 2022, Toronto. See Slide Deck. 
• Speaker, about "Research on B Corps: State of the Art" at "First B Academics Event in Spain," organized by EADA Business School, B Lab Spain, and B Academics, for researchers, teachers, and practitioners interested in Certified B Corporations & Benefit Corporations (both commonly known as B Corps). March 2021, Virtual. See Slide Deck.

3.  Faculty Roles

• Faculty Platform Party & Marshal, three sessions, Fall 2022 Convocation, Lazaridis School of Business and Economics
• Semi-final Judge, The Integrated Case Exercise (ICE), Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, four times, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Winter 2022, and Winter 2023
• Member of Doctoral Advisory & Examining Committee, Primary Supervisor of One Essay in the Dissertation "Three Essays on the Mechanisms of Trucking Freight Spot Markets: Market Information, Human Behaviour, and Policy", Shervin Espahbod, Operations and Decision Sciences, Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, since 2021. Defended in August 2023. Other faculty members: Drs. Shirley Chen (Laurier, Marketing), Stanko Dimitrov (University of Waterloo, Management Sciences), Patricia Goff (Laurier, Political Science; Chair), Michael Haughton (Laurier, Operations and Decision Sciences; Advisor), William Morrison (Laurier, Economics), and Victor Shi (Laurier, Operations and Decision Sciences).
• 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, 2021-22
• Submitted recommendation letters and forms for about 45 students
• Offered Paid Work Opportunities to Lazaridis (former) Undergraduates: Asad Ali (research & teaching assistance, 2021-22); Maria Yousof (research & teaching assistance, 2021-23)
• Offered Paid Work Opportunities to Lazaridis Ph.D. Students: Shervin Espahbod (2023, research with SSHRC grant; 2020, teaching assistance, in operations and decision sciences); Sarah Harcourt (2022, teaching assistance, in marketing); Sakshi Korde (2020, teaching assistance, in marketing)
• Supervision of Visiting Research Student: 2022 Fall, Manling Wang, Nanjing University, Graduate Student in International Trade. Received and accepted an offer of 2023 Finance Ph.D. program admission from HEC Montréal.
• Reviewed 4 article submissions for LazSoc Business and Economics Review in 2023

4. Work and Membership in Academia

• Facilitator for one Junior Scholars Group, Breakout Group Sessions, Responsible Research Academic Summit 2021. The Responsible Research in Business & Management (RRBM) initiative is a scholarly tour de force. It is cross-disciplinary and involves multiple participation opportunities such as doctoral scholarship, research training, and paper awards. RRBM pushes the boundaries of research at business schools worldwide. To fellow academics who take seriously scholarly responsibility and intellectual honesty, please consider contributing to and learning from RRBM.
• Member of Collaborative Action Groups (CAGs) & Task Groups, The HIBAR (Highly Integrative Basic and Responsive) 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
• Member of Research Committee, The Global B Corp Academic Community (B Academics), 2022. Chair of Research Committee and Board Member, B Academics, 2021. The current Chair of the Research Committee is Emily Landry at Washington and Lee University (research@bacademics.org). 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 Summer Brown at DePaul University at president@bacademics.org.

 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 in 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
• Academy of International Business, since 2022