J. ADAM COBB University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School 2027 Steinberg Hall-Dietrich Hall Philadelphia, PA 19104 (w) 215.898.0990 adamcobb@wharton.upenn.edu ACADEMIC POSITIONS University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School, Philadelphia, PA Assistant Professor, Management, 2011-present EDUCATION University of Michigan, Ross School of Business, Ann Arbor, MI Ph.D. Management & Organizations, April 2012 University of Texas, McCombs School of Business, Austin, TX M.B.A. with Management concentration, May 2005 Southwestern University, Georgetown, TX B.A. in Economics and Business Administration (double major), cum laude, May 1999 PUBLICATIONS Wry, Tyler E., J. Adam Cobb and Howard Aldrich 2013. More than a metaphor: Assessing the historical legacy of resource dependence and its contemporary promise as a theory of environmental complexity. Academy of Management Annals 7(1) 441-49. [The first two authors contributed equally] Davis, Gerald F., and J. Adam Cobb 2010. Corporations and economic inequality around the world: the paradox of hierarchy. In A. Brief & B. M. Staw (Eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. pp. 35-53. Davis, Gerald F., and J. Adam Cobb 2010. Resource dependence theory: Past and future. Research in the Sociology of Organizations 28: 21-42. WORKS IN PROGRESS Manuscripts under review Cobb, J. Adam. Whose interests are being served? Owners, employees and the fraying employment relationship.
Manuscripts in preparation J. Adam Cobb Cobb, J. Adam and Gerald F. Davis. What explains the paradox of hierarchy? A cross-national exploration of corporate organization, finance, and economic inequality. Cobb, J. Adam and Flannery G. Stevens. These unequal states: Corporate organization and economic inequality across the US States. Stage: Data analysis Cobb, J. Adam. Unhappy in its own way? The effect of family ownership on the structuring of the employment contract. Other projects Cobb, J. Adam, Eric J. Neuman, and Mark S. Mizruchi. The political actions of corporations and individual capitalists in the wake of executive turnover. Stage: Data collection Neuman, Eric J. and J. Adam Cobb. Corporate political responses to politician turnover: Comparing lobbying and political giving strategies. Stage: Data collection PRESENTATIONS Invited Seminars Cornell ILR School, April 2013, Whose interests are being served? Owners, employees and the fraying employment relationship. Conferences Cobb, J. Adam, 2013. Whose interests are being served? Owners, employees and the fraying employment contract. Annual Meeting of the Labor and Employment Relations Association. San Diego, CA Cobb, J. Adam, 2012. Too Old to Work and Too Young to Die": The Framing of Strategic Change and the Treaty of Detroit. Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Boston, MA. Cobb, J. Adam and Gerald F. Davis, 2012. What Explains The Paradox of Hierarchy? Paper presented at group, Inequality by Design? The Impact of Organizational Practices on Individual Employment Outcomes. European Group on Organization Studies, Helsinki, FI. Cobb, J. Adam, 2011. The Employment Contract Broken? Paper presented at the symposium, Shifting Power and the Changing U.S. Employment Relationship. Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, San Antonio, TX. 2
Cobb, J. Adam, 2011. Effects of Shared Capitalism on Firm and Worker Outcomes Annual Beyster Symposium, La Jolla, CA. Cobb, J. Adam, 2010. The Employment Contract Broken? The (Non) Abandonment of Defined Benefit Retirement Plans. Annual People and Organizations Conference at the Wharton School, Philadelphia, PA. Cobb, J. Adam, 2010. The Employment Contract Broken? The Deinstitutionalization of Defined Benefit Retirement Plans. Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Montreal, QC. Davis, Gerald F. and J. Adam Cobb, 2010. What Explains The Paradox of Hierarchy? Paper presented at the symposium, Unequal America: Examining How Organizations Influence Inequality Across Levels of Analysis. Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Montreal QC. Cobb, J. Adam, Flannery G. Stevens, & Gretchen M. Spreitzer, 2008. Individual thriving: Measurement, validation, and implications for organizations. Paper presented at the symposium, Toward Theory Refinement: Advancement of Positive Organizational Scholarship through Measure Development. Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Anaheim, CA. Organized Symposia Other With Forrest Briscoe, 2011. Shifting Power and the Changing U.S. Employment Relationship (Gerald F. Davis, Discussant). Winner of the Organization and Management Theory Division Best Symposium Award. Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, San Antonio, TX. With Flannery G. Stevens, 2010. Unequal America: Examining How Organizations Influence Inequality Across Levels of Analysis (Gerald F. Davis, Discussant). Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Montreal QC. With Flannery G. Stevens, 2008. Toward Theory Refinement: Advancement of Positive Organizational Scholarship Through Measure Development (Jeffrey L. Edwards, Discussant). Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Anaheim, CA. Panelist in the professional development workshop, Occupy, Economic Inequality and Business: Setting the Agenda (Hari Bapuji & Suhaib Riaz, Organizers). Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Boston, MA. August 2012. 3
Panel chairman, Public-Private Welfare Business History Conference, Philadelphia, PA. April 2012. TEACHING University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School, 2011-present MGMT 104: Industrial Relations & Human Resource Management (BBA course) Instructor Evaluation: 3.17/4.0 University of Michigan, Ross School of Business, 2009 MO 300: Behavioral Theory in Management (core BBA course) Instructor Evaluation: 4.32/5.0 GRANTS AND AWARDS Ralph Alexander Best Dissertation Award, HR Division of Academy of Management, 2013 Global Initiatives Research & Teaching Materials Program, 2012 Organization and Management Theory Division Best Symposium Award, 2011 Louis O. Kelso Fellowship, 2011 Robert Kahn Fellowship for the Scientific Study of Social Issues, 2010 State Farm Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Award, 2010 Finalist, INFORMS/Organization Science Dissertation Proposal Competition, 2010 Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant, 2010 Center for Economic Studies Dissertation Mentorship Program, 2010 SERVICE Editorial Board Member Organizational Science, 2013-Present Other Service Ad hoc reviewer, Administrative Science Quarterly, Human Relations, Industrial and Corporate Change, Organizational Studies Reviewer, Academy of Management Annual Meetings: OMT division Doctoral Grants Committee, Ross School of Business, 2008-2011 Co-organizer, Department of Management & Organizations Brownbag Series, 2009-2010 PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS Academy of Management American Sociological Association Labor and Employment Relations Association National Center for Employee Ownership 4
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Hewlett-Packard Corp., Houston, TX Business Analyst, 2005-2006 Skyward, Inc., Austin, TX Financial Consultant, 2001-2003 WebIQ Inc., Austin, TX Analyst, 2000-2001 Hewitt Associates, The Woodlands, TX Human Resource Consultant, 1999-2000 5