Ke Cao

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. It takes time to generate, develop, and formulate good academic ideas. I am energized by the inquiry and optimistic about the output in the coming years and decades before I retire at old age, like His Majesty King Charles of Canada, who plays a ceremonial but crucial role, remotely, multitasking, in the function of three branches of the government, and Their Excellencies the Honourable Presidents of the United States Trump and Biden, who both are credited as liberators of the American people and leaders of the free world. In April 2022, I predicted President Trump's epic 2024 comeback win. I feel fortunate to have witnessed in my lifetime his two rounds of strategic, bracing, and pivotal shock therapy for America, the greatest country on earth after Canada. Like the People's King and the People's Presidents, and following the path of freedom and liberation they paved, I stand on the people's side of the barricades to the end against all baddies. The ideal scenario is that I will be on some fancy magazine's 80-Under-80 in the second half of the century.

• Cao, Ke, Li Tong & Yongzhi Du. On management theory. 
• Cao, Ke. On China-related research. 
• Cao, Ke. On the B Corp movement. 
• Cao, Ke. On management theory. 
• Cao, Ke. On management education. 
• Cao, Ke. On sustainability-related issues in the palm oil industry. 
• On Chinese multinational businesses. With Pál Nyiri, VU Amsterdam. (Tried a grant application once and may try again)
• Espahbod, Shervin (former doctoral student) & Ke Cao. Preparing a journal paper submission in the area of transportation and sustainability.

• Member of International Expert Panels, Slovak Research and Development Agency, since 2024
• Member of Adjudication Committee, a research grants competition, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Canada, 2024-2025
• Institutional Explore Grants, SSHRC Canada, $6,500, Sole Investigator, on revitalizing business and management theory and education, for 2024-2025
• Faculty Host, Mitacs Globalink Research Internship program, 2023-2024, 2024-2025
• 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, SSHRC Canada, $31,571, Sole Investigator, on voluntary sustainability certifications of products & businesses, for 2022-2025 
• 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
• Best Poster Award, Alberta School of Business Ph.D. Research Conference, 2017
• Ziegler Endowment Scholarship, University of Alberta, 2017
• 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
• Cameron Speth Fellowship, Yale University, 2008
• 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.
• Running Race Finisher (Medal Winner by default):

2024

>October, Marathon, Toronto. 3 hours 48 minutes (Personal Best).

>August, 25km, Stone Cairn Trail Race, Niagara.

>May, Marathon, Ottawa.

>February, 8 miles, Re-Fridgee-Eighter, Waterloo.

2023

>October, Marathon, Toronto.

>May, Half Marathon, Ottawa.

2019

>August, 10k, Edmonton.

My medals are as impressive as a royal's. People say they are beautiful wow. I like beautiful medals. Thank you. Working toward becoming a sub-three-hours marathoner in 2025 at Mississauga, Toronto, or other places in Canada.

• Unlicensed, without formal education but qualified to teach the theory and practice of long-distance running for beginners as an academic subject. I have coached myself to the intermediate level for amateur athletes for about two years. To thoroughly enjoy the sport, whenever physically and mentally feasible, close to the finish line, like a pro, I try to showcase a supercharged sprint (e.g., like Sifan Hassan) and raise my arms stylishly (e.g., like Eliud Kipchoge).
• Potential races to run in the future: Dubai & Doha (having never been to the Middle East & interests piqued by the book A History of the Arab Peoples by Albert Hourani); Pyongyang (having never been there & intrigued by American Friends Service Committee's DPRK program, President Trump's peacebuilding work with DPRK, Michael Spavor's venture, and Bruce Cumings' book The Korea War: A History); La Habana (to compare road race vibes between Ottawa and Havana after reading the book Three Nights in Havana by Robert Wright; the cheers and standing ovations on the streets of Ottawa were invigorating and heartening); Dublin (having never been there & interested in the Irish history after reading Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA by Richard English and the SSHRC-sponsored book Secret Service: Political Policing in Canada From the Fenians to Fortress America by Reg Whitaker, Gregory S. Kealey <Order of Canada>, & Andrew Parnaby); Chicago (fast course; one of the World Marathon Majors; the city's history is sort of based, reminding me of Gerald Horne's books.)
• Having taught myself to be a decent beginner golfer capable of delivering a solid and stylish swing on the driving range.

• No intention to recruit Ph.D. students. Open to providing supporting roles in supervising doctoral dissertations. Open to hosting visiting students who are externally funded, have solid academic credentials, and work towards a research-intensive academic career. 
• 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.

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): Spring 2024 (three sections); Fall 2022 (three sections, in-person, masked up); Spring 2022 (two sections, in-person, masked up); Fall 2020 (three sections, virtual). 
• Next teaching assignments: Entrepreneurship (MBA) and International Business (undergraduate) in Spring 2025.
• 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. 
• Our undergraduate education program is competitive with those offered by the most prominent schools in Canada, the United States, & 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 (5), Business Strategy and the Environment (2), Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management (2), Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice (2), European Financial Management (3), European Journal of Management Studies (3), European Journal of Women's Studies (1), Journal of Business Ethics (7), Journal of Business Research (1), Journal of Business Venturing (5), Journal of Management (6), Journal of Management Studies (5), Management and Organization Review (8), 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) consistently.

2. Public Engagement

• Panelist, Institutional Leadership and Policy Innovations for Purpose-driven Business: The Case of “B Corps" Paper Development Workshop. Academy of Management Meeting, Chicago. August, 2024. See Slide Deck.
• 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

• Judge, World of Opportunities (WOO) Student Event, Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, Winter 2024
• Faculty Platform Party & Marshal, Convocation, Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, three sessions, Fall 2022; two sessions, Spring 2024; three sessions, Fall 2024
• 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 "Market Information, Human Behaviour, and Policy: Dissecting the Trucking Freight Spot Markets in Three Essays", Shervin Espahbod, Operations and Decision Sciences, Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, 2021-23. Defended in August, completed in October 2023. Placed as an Assistant Professor of Management Science at Shannon School of Business, Cape Breton University, Canada. 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).
• 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 (former) 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 Undergraduate Student: 2024 Summer, Yaqi Li, in International Affairs and International Relations, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China, under the auspices of Mitacs Globalink Research Internship program. 
• Supervision of Visiting Research Graduate Student: 2022 Fall, Manling Wang, in International Trade, Nanjing University, China, under the auspices of Laurier-Nanjing University student exchange program. 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
• 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 60 students

4. Work and Membership in Academia

• Facilitator/Mentor, Systems and Sustainability: Certified B Corporations and Benefit Corporations as a Useful Research Context Seminar at the 2023 Academy of Management Annual Meeting in Boston.
• 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. 

 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

I was on the 2019-20 management faculty job market. The following information may be of use to prospective and fellow academics in pursuing a career in this space:

Invited on-campus interviews: Management Area, University College Dublin (declined after accepting an offer); Management Area, University of Rhode Island; Management Department, New Mexico State University; Policy Area (renamed Strategic Management Area later), Wilfrid Laurier University; Leading People and Organizations Area, Fordham University.

Early-stage interviews not on-campus: Deakin University; Portland State University; University of New Hampshire; University of Arkansas; University of Memphis; University of Manitoba; Boise State University; Kansas State University; University of Texas at San Antonio.