Alex Stajković
Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior
Dean’s Professor in Business
Department of Management and Human Resources
Wisconsin School of Business
University of Wisconsin – Madison
Email: adstajkovic@wisc.edu
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My research focuses on leadership and work motivation, areas of inquiry in Organizational Behavior. In studying what motivates people at work, the guiding conceptual framework for my empirical research has been Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). The social part of SCT recognizes social origins of human thought and action, and the cognitive part pertains to self-referent thought as the intermediary between experience and behavior. Together, SCT underscores that although people are affected by the environment they are also sentient agents of their experiences through cognition. I have used a multitude of designs and analyses in my research (e.g., laboratory and field experiments, ANOVA, Structural Equation Modeling, Hierarchical Linear Modeling, Meta-Analysis, and Meta-Analytic Structural Equation Modeling).
This program of research has been reported in 39 publications (21 journal articles, 2 books, 6 chapters in edited books, and 10 best-paper proceedings). I have co-authored with leading researchers in the world, including Albert Bandura of Stanford, the #1 ranked living psychologist, and Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, the co-founders of goal-setting theory. My work has been published in premier journals, including Psychological Bulletin, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Personnel Psychology, and Journal of Management. In addition to my research, I have been a board member of the Journal of Applied Psychology since 2008, have served on the Advisory Council for Harvard Business Review since 2009, have given over 100 professional talks, and have consulted with companies around the world (e.g., Australia, Canada, China, Chile, Denmark, Germany, South Korea, Vietnam, South Africa, and the U.S.).
Announcements
The Conversation: Cities with Black women police chiefs had less street violence during 2020’s Black Lives Matter protests
In this research brief, we summarize our research study, published in Journal of Management, in which we analyzed over 11,000 BLM protests and found that those in cities with Black women police chiefs were associated with less violence. “The study highlights the significance of having diverse leadership voices and the importance of recognizing and elevating individual identities. Despite a rise in the appointment of Black police chiefs over the past decade, Black women continue to be underrepresented in law enforcement leadership positions. This research highlights the value to society of including diverse perspectives and leadership approaches informed by the intersections of people’s identities.”
Ms. Magazine: The Reality of Running for Governor as a Woman
More women are running for governors in the 2022 election cycle than ever before. This article discusses the critical role that governors play in creating long lasting change at the state level. In doing so, it references our 2020 JAP article: “The recent crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic is a great illustration of the necessity of women governors. A study conducted by the Wisconsin School of Business found states with women governors had fewer COVID-19 deaths than states with men governors, due to early stay-at-home orders coupled with women governors expressing greater empathy and confidence in the future.”
The Boston Globe: The ‘Empathy Advantage’ of Great Women Leaders
This article discusses how vulnerability can be a strength when women lead. It references our 2020 JAP article: “Leadership style can even make a lifesaving difference. A 2020 paper on female governors, also in The Journal of Applied Psychology, found that women’s leadership during COVID-19 was associated with fewer deaths. “States with women governors had fewer COVID-19 deaths than states with men governors, and when governors issued an early stay-at-home order, states with women governors were more responsive, as borne out by fewer COVID-19 deaths,” the authors wrote. “The qualitative analysis indicated a potential mechanism for that effect may be that women governors were more empathetic and confident, as shown in their briefings.”
#48 on 100 Best Organizational Psychology Books of All Time
World Economic Forum: Why female leadership is crucial to tackle climate change and other crises
Our research was referenced in this article on leadership published by the World Economic Forum. The article discusses how female leadership differs from male leadership in core competencies – making women better equipped to deal with certain challenges.
Forbes: Data Shows Women Make Better Leaders
Our paper on women governor’s exemplary leadership during the COVID-19 crisis was referred to in this Forbes article: “You can try and debunk the claim…. But a more recent study adds ammunition. American states ran by women governors lost fewer of their people to Covid.”
The Washington Post: Research Mentioned
Our study on women governors was described in this Washington Post article on gender differences in organizations. “And researchers have found that in the early months of the pandemic, covid mortality rates were lower in countries with female leaders and U.S. states with female governors. Of course, there are exceptions, but on average women introduced lockdowns sooner and faced less resistance — in part because they were more likely to acknowledge people’s fears and express compassion for their pain.”
Bloomberg: Study on Women’s Leadership Cited
This Bloomberg Business article referenced our study on women’s leadership for United States Governors. “Within the U.S., research further showed that states with female governors had fewer Covid-related deaths than states with male governors. What was the difference? Using a computer program to qualitatively analyze the content of 251 briefings between April 1, 2020 and May 5, 2020 the authors found that women showed greater empathy and support for followers’ welfare. When people feel that leaders are taking care of them, they become more willing to comply with requests to social distance and wear masks. It is basically the norm of reciprocity.”
Covid Monologues: Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
Our 2020 study published in Journal of Applied Psychology on women’s leadership was one of seven monologues selected by researchers at Johns Hopkins University to be included in their project: Covid Monologues. This project received a grant from the U.S. Citizen’s Diplomacy Action Fund, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The project brings together theater artists and scientists to translate, humanize and disseminate scientific findings from academic research on COVID-19 to lay audiences and policymakers. For each study chosen, a summary of major themes, key messages, and qualitative interview scripts is provided to the playwrights who create the monologues. The virtual performance is on February 26th, tickets (free) click here.
BBC News: Research on Women’s Leadership Featured
Our study on United States Governors leadership during early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic was featured in this BBC News article. In the section on the “COVID-19 effect” the article discusses our findings and provides a link to our article. “Women heads of government have won plaudits for decisive leadership during the pandemic, including New Zealand’s Ardern and Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen. And in the US, states with women governors initially had fewer deaths from Covid-19 than states with male governors.”
Harvard Business Review: Women Are Better Leaders During a Crisis
Our study on women’s leadership during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic was highlighted in a recent Harvard Business Review article about women’s leadership in a crisis. “During the Covid-19 crisis, we’ve heard anecdotally about women leaders doing a better job and new research backs that up. One studyfound that outcomes related to Covid-19, including number of cases and deaths, were systematically better in countries led by women. Anotherlooked at governors in the U.S. and similarly found that states with female leaders had lower fatality rates.”
Research Featured by WebMD News Briefs
Our study on women’s leadership was featured by WebMD New Briefs. “The researchers analyzed public data on U.S. governors and COVID-19 deaths. . . . The researchers took into account factors such as the governor’s age, state population, face mask mandates, travel bans and ventilator numbers. Even among states with early stay-at-home orders, those with a female governor still had fewer deaths. This could suggest that “residents perhaps responded differently depending on whether a man or woman governor issued this order,” they wrote.”
Interview with Wisconsin Public Radio
Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) aired a story covering our latest research findings published in Journal of Applied Psychology on women’s leadership during the COVID-19 crisis. “Existing literature in the field of applied psychology suggests women tend to be more successful than men at managing crises, said Dr. Alexander Stajkovic of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He and Dr. Kayla Sergent of Edgewood College decided to look at how states led by men and women stacked up in terms of coronavirus response, which has largely been managed by governors. Not only did they find states led by women had fewer coronavirus deaths, but also that women governors showed more optimism and empathy during the pandemic.”
Research Featured by the University of Wisconsin – Madison
We used the COVID-19 life-and-death pandemic to examine a growing question in the literature—whether women are more effective leaders than men in a crisis. We found that states with women governors had fewer COVID-19 related deaths compared to states with male governors. In addition, there was a significant interaction between governor gender and issuance of an early stay-at-home order: states with women governors who issued an early stay-at-home order had fewer COVID-19 deaths compared to states with men governors who issued the same order. To investigate why this might be, we next analyzed over 250 of the governors’ COVID-19 related briefings (about 1.2 million words). Compared to men governors, we found that women governors displayed greater empathy by relating to their followers’ feelings and concerns and expressed more confidence to get through the crisis.