Joel Brockner
Professor Brockner earned a B.A. in psychology from SUNY-Stony Brook and a Ph.D. in social/personality psychology from Tufts University. Before joining the faculty at Columbia Business School in 1984, he taught at Middlebury College, SUNY College at Brockport, Tufts University, and the University of Arizona.
Professor Brockner is a leading authority on a variety of psychological issues in the workplace, including change management (e.g., the effects of layoffs on the productivity and morale of survivors), leadership, decision making, the role of the self, and cross-cultural differences in work behavior. He has published four books (one on decision-making in "sunk cost" situations, one on the causes and consequences of employees’ self-esteem, one on the role of justice in the workplace, and his most recent and award-winning book, entitled, "The Process Matters," which considers how even small differences in how managers plan and implement decisions can have a significant effect on employees’ productivity and morale). In addition, he has published nearly 150 articles and book chapters in a variety of prestigious outlets (e.g., Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology), and his article in the Harvard Business Review (HBR), entitled, "Why It’s So Hard to be Fair," was selected to appear in HBR’s recent book, "Ten Must Reads in Emotional Intelligence."
He was the 2020 recipient of a Lifetime Career Achievement award by the Academy of Management entitled, "Distinguished Scholarly Contributions to Management." He also is the 2023 recipient of a similar award from the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP, Division 14 of the American Psychological Association), entitled, "Distinguished Scientific Contributions."
He also has served (or is currently serving) on the Editorial Board of numerous journals in the fields of management and psychology, including the Academy of Management Journal, the Academy of Management Review, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Professor Brockner is a Fellow of the Academy of Management and the American Psychological Association (Division of Industrial and Organizational Psychology).
Professor Brockner was the Chairman of the Management Division at Columbia Business School from 2005-2011, and he is the Faculty Director of several highly regarded executive education programs at Columbia Business School, including High Impact Leadership, Leadership Essentials, and the Social Enterprise offering, Developing Leaders Program. In addition, he is an executive coach, has served as an expert witness, and has consulted to a variety of organizations (including the Association of Art Museum Curators, BOCES, Brooks Brothers, Citigroup, ConocoPhillips, the Mellon Foundation, Morgan Stanley, Pfizer, State Farm Insurance, and Stratus Technologies) about the planning and implementation of significant organizational change, leadership development, and decision making.
Primary Interests:
- Applied Social Psychology
- Group Processes
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Organizational Behavior
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Video Gallery
How to Give Negative Performance Feedback
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1:14 How to Give Negative Performance Feedback
Length: 1:14
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30:20 The Process Matters
Length: 30:20
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1:53 Change Management at Different Managerial Levels
Length: 1:53
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30:58 Managing Change in Volatile Times
Length: 30:58
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23:27 The Conversation Continues: Making Change Happen in Your Organization
Length: 23:27
Books:
- Brockner, J. (2016). The process matters: Engaging and equipping people for success. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
- Brockner, J. (2010). A contemporary look at organizational justice: Multiplying insult times injury. New York: Routledge Academic.
- Brockner, J. (1988). Self-esteem at work: Research, theory and practice. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
- Brockner, J., & Rubin, J. Z. (1985). Entrapment in escalating conflicts: A social psychological analysis. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Journal Articles:
- Brockner, J. (2006). Why it's so hard to be fair. Harvard Business Review, 84(3), 122-129.
- Brockner, J. (2002). Making sense of procedural fairness: How high procedural fairness can reduce or heighten the influence of outcome favorability. Academy of Management Review, 27, 58-76.
- Brockner, J., Ackerman, G., Greenberg, J., Gelfand, M., Francesco, A. M., Chen, Z. X., Leung, K., Bierbrauer, G., Gomez, C., Kirkman, B., & Shapiro, D. (2001). Culture and procedural justice: The influence of power distance on reactions to voice. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 37, 300-315.
- Brockner, J., De Cremer, D., Fishman, A., & Spiegel, S. (in press). When does high procedural fairness reduce self-evaluations following unfavorable outcomes?: The moderating effect of prevention focus. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.
- Brockner, J., Fishman, A. Y., Reb, J., Goldman, B., Spiegel, S., & Garden, C. (in press). Procedural fairness, outcome favorability, and judgments of an authority’s responsibility. Journal of Applied Psychology.
- Brockner, J., Heuer, L. B., Magner, N., Folger, R., Umphress, E., Van den Bos, K., Vermunt, R., Magner, M., & Siegel, P. A. (2003). High procedural fairness heightens the effect of outcome favorability on self-evaluations: An attributional analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 91, 51-68.
- Brockner, J., Heuer, L., Siegel, P., Wiesenfeld, B., Martin, C., Grover, S., Reed, T., & Bjorgvinsson, S. (1998). The moderating effect of self-esteem in reaction to voice: Converging evidence from four studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(2), 394-407.
- Brockner, J., & Higgins, E. T. (2001). Regulatory focus theory: Its implications for the study of emotions in the workplace. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 86, 35-66.
- Brockner, J., Paruchuri, S., Idson, L. C., & Higgins, E. T. (2002). Regulatory focus and the probability estimates of conjunctive and disjunctive events. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 87, 5-24.
- Brockner, J., Spreitzer, G., Mishra, A., Pepper, L., & Hochwarter, W. (2004). Perceived control as an antidote to the negative effects of layoffs on survivors' organizational commitment and job performance. Administrative Science Quarterly, 49, 76-100.
- Brockner, J., & Wiesenfeld, B. M. (1996). An integrative framework for explaining reactions to decisions: The interactive effects of outcomes and procedures. Psychological Bulletin, 120, 189-208.
- Siegel, P. A., Post, C., Brockner, J., Fishman, A., & Garden, C. (2005). The moderating influence of procedural fairness on the relationship between work-life conflict and organizational commitment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(1), 13-24.
Other Publications:
- Wiesenfeld, B., Swann, W., Brockner, J., & Bartel, C. (2007). Is more fairness always preferred?: Self-esteem moderates reactions to procedural justice. Academy of Management Journal.
Courses Taught:
- Individual and Collective Behavior in Organizations
- Leadership
- Managerial Decision Making
- Organizational Behavior
Joel Brockner
Columbia Business School
396 Kravis Hall
665 West 130th Street
New York, New York 10027
United States of America
- Phone: (212) 854-4435
- Fax: (212) 854-3778