Our Aspiration

Robert M. Yawson, Ph.D., is a Professor of Management and the Chair of the Entrepreneurship, International Business & Strategy (EIBS) Department at the School of Business, Quinnipiac University, CT. He is also the Faculty Coordinator for the Master of Science in Organizational Leadership Program. He was the Graduate Programs Assessment Coordinator for six years (2014 - 2020).  Robert received the prestigious Center for Excellence in Teaching Award in 2018. He was named the 2018 Faculty Scholar of the Year and the recipient of the 2020 James Marshall Award for Service. Robert is a part-time Leadership and Organizational Studies Professor at the University of Southern Maine. He is also a part-time faculty at Providence College, RI  

Robert has a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development from the University of Minnesota, and an MS in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy, from the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota. He also has a BS in Chemistry, an MPhil in Biochemistry from the University of Ghana, and a Post Graduate Certificate in Food Management from, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  

Prior to joining Quinnipiac University, he worked as a Quality Control Officer of S. C. Johnson Wax (Ghana) Ltd.; General Manager of Animens Industries Limited, Ghana; Scientific Secretary and later as Head of Administration (HR) of the Food Research Institute (FRI), Ghana; a Research Analyst for the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota; Instructor at the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development, University of Minnesota; and a Senior Research Fellow with the International Consulting firm, Partners for Change. Robert has consulted for the World Bank and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and has worked on several multilateral and bilateral projects in Africa. As a Research Analyst for the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota, Robert worked with a team of Consultants from Deloitte, LLC on the Destination 2025 project: a state-wide 20-year visioning initiative and roadmap to help give clarity to the nature and timing of investments that are needed for Minnesota to sustain a long-term competitive position in the biosciences industry.   

Robert is Editor-in-Chief of the Organization Management Journal, Editor of the Business and Management Section, SAGE Open, and Associate Editor of the International Journal of Business and Systems Research. From January 2019 - December 2021, he served as an Associate Editor of the Human Resource Development Quarterly. He is a member of the Editorial Boards of the following journals: Human Resource Development Review, Advances in Developing Human Resources, Human Resource Development Quarterly, and the Industrial and Commercial Training. He has served as the Track Chair Editor of the Organization Development and Change Track of the 2015 Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) International Research Conference in the Americas, the Associate Proceedings Editor of the 2016 Conference, the Proceedings Editor of the 2017 Conference, and the Program Chair of the 2018 Conference. Robert was the Track Chair Editor of the Business Strategy Track of the 54th Annual Eastern Academy of Management 2017 Conference and the Track Chair Editor for the Leadership Track of the 56th Annual Conference in 2019. Robert also serves as an Associate Editor for the Social Issues in Management Division of the Annual Academy of Management Conferences.   

Robert is a member of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences and several other professional bodies. Robert served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Academy of Human Resource Development from February 2018 to February 2021. He was a member of the Board of Governors of the Eastern Academy of Management from 2019 - 2022; and served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Public and Nonprofit Division of the Academy of Management as the Chair of the 2019 Best Book Award Committee. He also served on the Wayne R. Pace Book of the Year Committee of the AHRD from 2014 - 2021. In 2015, Robert served as Grant Applications Reviewer for the Israeli Ministry of Science, Technology, and Space.   

Robert has over 110 publications including peer review papers in leading academic journals such as the Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Human Resource Development Quarterly, R & D Management Journal, Human Resource Development Review, Journal of Vocation Education Training, Human Resource Development International, among several others. His current research is on using the "wicked problem construct" for leading organizational effectiveness and change, and using a systems approach to human resource development for emerging technologies.