Lifetime Achievement

Sponsored by the Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior

The OB Division places a high value on Rigor, Relevance and Relationships. These guiding principles are relevant as criteria for the OB Division Career Awards for Lifetime Achievement Award (LAA) and Cummings Early to Mid-Career Scholarly Achievement Award (Cummings Award) in that we expect nominees to demonstrate the high standards expected in the field.

Rigor

The scientific quality and methodological soundness of the work. Our field is based on robust, reliable, and valid methodologies and results.

  • The stature of the nominee as a scientist vis-à-vis other prominent scientists in the field.

Relevance

The impact of their work on the field and society.

  • Centrality of their research to field of OB
  • Influence of the nominee’s contributions to the science of Organizational Behavior
    • The importance/significance of the contribution
    • Publishing high-impact articles in the very best journals
    • The impact that the work has had on the work of students and colleagues
    • Dissemination Recognize efforts to disseminate research findings to a wider audience, including industry professionals and the public

Relationships

Collaborative efforts, leadership and involvement within the field and community.

  • Engagement in Academic Community: Active participation in academic discussions, conferences, and collaborations with other scholars.
  • Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Consider contributions of bridging academic disciplines and spanning boundaries between research traditions, scholarly conversations, or between different societal stakeholder groups.
  • Leadership & Service to the Profession: Evaluate contributions to the field, such as:
    • Leadership roles in the OB division and/or AOM
    • Editorial roles (serving as an action/associate editor of leading journals, serving on editorial boards of top journals)
    • Involvement in professional organizations related to organizational behavior
    • Involvement in community organizations that apply organizational behavior expertise
  • Mentorship: Recognize the mentorship of students and junior faculty, as well as the fostering of a collaborative and supportive research and learning environment.

Ethical Conduct

Nominees are expected to not violate AOM's values in their professional or personal behavior. If allegations of ethical misconduct are identified, nominees will be asked to defer until the issues are resolved and apply in a later year.

The 2023 winner: Jennifer Chatman

Jennifer Chatman has made a tremendous impact on the field. The committee who selected her for the award noted that Jennifer, “program of research on culture changed the field of organizational behavior. She has pioneered new theoretical and conceptual approaches to the topic and continues to do so. She also has been a strong mentor to many doctoral students over the years. Finally, beyond her own work and the work of her students, she has contributed to the field as an Editor (especially via Research on Organizational Behavior) and editorial board member at almost all of our top journals.”

 
Those who nominated her for the award said that she were “one of the most prominent and influential researchers in the area of organizational culture”, that she “own the topic” and are a “household name” in the field of culture. They also noted that her achievements span beyond being purely scholarly: “For more than 30 years, Jenny has been one of those rare scholars who are triple threats. They are able to be world class scholars over time even as they are leaders in our profession and their host institution”, describing she as “an icon in the field of organizational behavior, as a scholar, as an instructor, and as a mentor. Her career stretches long, well over 30 years, and during that time her work has been nothing short of pathbreaking” and the “ultimate exemplar of a completely involved modern OB researcher, educator, and contributor to the larger world of work and working.”


All past award winners: