Robert C. Liden, PhD
Professor
Department of Managerial Studies
Contact
Building & Room:
UH 2210
Address:
601 S. Morgan St., Chicago, IL 60607
Email:
CV Link:
Related Sites:
About
Dr. Robert C. Liden is a Professor of Managerial Studies and the Coordinator of the OB/HR Doctoral Program in the College of Business Administration at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). An internationally recognized authority on leadership and organizational behavior, Dr. Liden has committed decades to advancing graduate education, previously serving as the Associate Dean of Doctoral Programs and Director of CBA Doctoral Programs. His international academic footprint includes long-standing appointments as a Visiting Professor at the University of Leeds Business School (UK), Université Paris-Dauphine (France), Université Toulouse 1 (France), the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the University of Melbourne (Australia).
Dr. Liden’s macro-level research infrastructure centers on leadership dynamics, social exchange theories, interpersonal relationships at work, and team effectiveness. He is widely celebrated for his pioneering contributions to the conceptualization, measurement, and validation of Servant Leadership and Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory. His scholarship explores how high-quality leader-follower dyads drive organizational profitability, customer loyalty, and employee flourishing, while mitigating systemic challenges like social loafing, employee deviance, and turnover. A prolific author with over 120 articles in refereed academic journals, his work has garnered more than 87,000 citations. Independent bibliometric analyses rank him 4th among all leadership scholars globally for total citations from 1990 to 2017, and place him in the top 1% of authors cited in standard Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management textbooks.
Dr. Liden’s lifelong dedication to scholar development has been honored with the International Leadership Association Lifetime Achievement Award and multiple prestigious mentorship accolades from the Academy of Management. He is an elected Fellow of both the Academy of Management and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP). Dr. Liden holds a Ph.D. and an M.B.A. in Organizational Behavior from the University of Cincinnati, an M.A. in Labor and Industrial Relations from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and a B.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Illinois.
Selected Publications
- Sun, U. Y., Liden, R. C., and N. Eva. “How could I have served my follower better? A counterfactual thinking intervention for servant leadership.” Journal of Organizational Behavior, vol. 47, no. 5, 2026. DOI: 10.1002/job.70090.
- Heine, E., Stouten, J., and R. C. Liden. “Performance Feedback: A Critical Systematic Review.” Journal of Organizational Behavior, vol. 47, no. 3, 2026, pp. 312–361.
- Wang, S., Liden, R. C., Liu, H., Li, Y., and H. Wang. “The curvilinear effect of newcomer ingratiation on leader–member exchange: A dual-pathway model of supervisor attributions.” Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 110, no. 11, 2025, pp. 1463-1489.
- Eva, N., Howard, J., Liden, R. C., Morin, A., and G. Schwarz. “An inconvenient truth: A comprehensive examination of the added value (or lack thereof) of leadership measures.” Journal of Management Studies, vol. 62, no. 7, 2025, pp. 3072-3117.
- Liao, C., Wu, J., Wayne, S. J., Liden, R. C., and L. Song. “It’s unexpected but good: Leader traditionality fuels greater follower reciprocation to servant leadership.” Journal of Management, vol. 51, no. 5, 2025, pp. 1897-1937.
- Kim, Y. K., and R. C. Liden. “CEO Servant leadership and organizational profitability: A social exchange perspective.” Journal of Organizational Behavior, vol. 46, no. 6, 2025, pp. 833–849.
Service to Community
- Trustee on the Center for Servant Leadership Board of Directors
- Chair of the Greenleaf Scholars Program
Notable Honors
2024, Organizational Behavior (OB) Division Mentorship Award, Academy of Management
2024, Lifetime Achievement Award, International Leadership Association
2018, Decennial Article Influence Award, Most influential Paper Published during 2008, Leadership Quarterly
2017, Best Paper Award, Journal of Management
2016–2017, University Scholar, University of Illinois
2015, Eminent Leadership Scholar Award, Network of Leadership Scholars of the Academy of Management
Education
Postdoctoral Research, University of Washington
PhD in Organizational Behavior, University of Cincinnati
MBA, University of Cincinnati, 1980
MA in Labor and Industrial Relations, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana
BA in Psychology, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana