Research

How people work, lead, and adapt

My research spans organizational behavior, human resource management, international business, and the future of work. The common thread is how people and organizations make the most of what they have.

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Leadership

Power between leaders and followers

Influence does not run only from the top down. My dissertation, Follower Perceptions of Power, developed a model of the power followers hold in their relationships with leaders, and a validated measurement scale is being finalized for publication. Related work looks at when narcissistic leaders help and when they harm.

Human resources

Motivation, rewards, and retention

When do rewards actually engage people, and when do they not? I also study how organizational politics shapes whether people stay or go.

International business

Culture across borders

How cultural values shape expatriate experiences and global teams, and where firms from emerging markets choose to invest abroad.

Future of work

People and AI

How students and professionals adopt AI tools, and how management education can prepare people for work that is changing fast.

Selected publications

Peer-reviewed articles

  • Kiratikosolrak, P., Gallagher, V., Luo, J., Phillips, W., & Keough, S. (2026). Show me the money: Context-dependent effects of rewards. Journal of Managerial Issues, 38.
  • Kiratikosolrak, P., Phillips, W., & Keough, S. (2025). Agency theory in a cross-cultural context: Predictions for a global economy. International Journal of Business & Management Studies, 6(1).
  • Stone, C. B., Neely, A. R., Phillips, W., & Terry, R. P. (2024). Veterans in the workplace: A model of factors affecting veteran transition. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
  • Tate, E., Phillips, W., & Keough, S. (2024). Don't panic! ChatGPT doesn't have all the answers. Journal of the North American Management Society, 13(1). Best Paper Award, 2023
  • Muldoon, J., Skorodziyevskiy, V., Keough, S., & Phillips, W. (2021). Lessons from an older sibling: Social entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility. Journal of the International Council for Small Business, 2(4), 313–323.
  • Bonner, R. L., Stone, C. B., Mittal, S., Phillips, W., & Utecht, R. L. (2020). Preparing academics to teach: Example of a structured method of preparing doctoral students in business programs to teach. Journal of Management Education, 44(4), 435–463.

Full list on Google Scholar →

Approach

Making do, well

A lot of my thinking starts from bricolage: the idea that people and organizations often succeed by recombining the resources already at hand rather than waiting for new ones. It shapes the questions I ask in research and how I approach building things, including these agents.

Let's talk

Always happy to talk teaching, research, or building agents for your course or organization.

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