Biography

Robert K. Kazanjian is currently Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Organization and Management. Prior to his appointment at Emory, Rob was a faculty member at the Graduate School of Business, University of Michigan. More recently, he was a Visiting Professor at the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Rob received his PhD in Organization and Strategy as well as an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to entering his PhD program, he served as an Administrative Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Foundation as Director of Development and Planning at Paine College. He has an AB in economics (with honors) from Hamilton College.

During his time at Goizueta, Professor Kazanjian has served in a number of senior administrative positions. From 2010-2017, he served as Vice Dean for Programs, and for part of 2014, he acted as Interim Dean. He has also served as Senior Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives (2017-2022), Founding Academic Director for the Roberto C. Goizueta Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (2020-2022), and Senior Associate Dean for Executive Education (2002-2004) with responsibility for all non-degree programs.

He has authored a number of articles in such journals as Management Science, Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Organization Studies and Journal of Business Venturing. He is the co-author or co-editor of two books: Strategy Implementation: Structure, Systems and Process with Jay R. Galbraith (West Publishing); and The Search for Organic Growth with Ed Hess (Cambridge University Press). During his tenure at Goizueta, he has received 17 Teaching Excellence awards from full-time, part-time and Executive MBA students.

Rob has consulted and done executive education work in the areas of strategy, strategic change, organization design and innovation with firms such as SunTrust, International Paper, Sylvamo, General Electric, General Motors, The Home Depot, Boston Scientific Corporation, Goldman Sachs, Honeywell, Singapore Airlines, IBM, Acer, Westinghouse, Abbott Labs, Exxon, Lockheed Martin, Tyco, and Siemens North America. He has regularly taught in senior executive programs across the US, as well as in Asia.

Media

  • The Search for Organic Growth
    The Search for Organic Growth

Education

  • BA in Economics
    Hamilton College
  • MBA in Organization and Strategy
    The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
  • AM in Organization and Strategy
    The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
  • PhD in Organization and Strategy
    The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

A Commentary on Fezzey, Drnevich & Borgholthaus (2024): Connecting Activism to Organizational Purpose

Group and Organization Management
Robert K. Kazanjian
June 15, 2025
Fezzey and co-authors propose a framework for corporate activism and possible engagement strategies. In this commentary, I propose a more "purpose-centered" activism which emerges from the central tasks of the organizational and social significance of the central tasks of the organization and the work of the employees.

Creativity, Complexity and Organizational Learning: Implications For Leadership and Governance

Handbook of Research on Leadership and Creativity, Elsevier, S. Hemlin and M. D. Mumford (Eds).
Robert Kazanjian
January 1, 2017
Discussion of the unique leadership challenges of managing for innovation in highly complex settings.

Strategy Implementation

The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management
Robert K. Kazanjian
January 1, 2013
Chapter provides an overview of organizational factors central to executing strategy in complex organizations

Fostering Innovation In Complex Product Development Settings: The Role of Team Member Identity And Interteam Interdependence

Journal of Product Innovation Management
MaryAnn Glynn, Robert K. Kazanjian and Robert Drazin
April 1, 2010
Much of the existing research on innovation has concentrated on the study of individuals in small group settings. However, projects marked by multiple teams, high task interdependence, long duration, and large scale have become increasingly common in practice. Very little is known about how extant research findings related to innovation may generalize to such complex settings. Taking a multilevel theoretical approach, individuals' propensity to innovate is hypothesized as the product of individuals' relationship with their work team (team member identification) and their team's relationship to other teams within the organizational system (interteam interdependence). A large, diversified manufacturing firm engaged in a multibillion dollar project that involved the development of a technologically intense, highly innovative, new product served as the research site.

The Search for Organic Growth

Cambridge University Press
Edward Hess and Robert K. Kazanjian
January 1, 2006
An edited volume of research by leading scholars on a range of topics central to organic growth

Multi-Level Theorizing about Creativity in Organizations: A Sensemaking Perspective

Academy of Management Review
Robert Drazin, Mary Ann Glynn and Robert K. Kazanjian.
April 1, 1999
Presents a theory of the pursuit of creativity and innovation in complex organizational settings.

The Creation of Capabilities in New Ventures: A Longitudinal Study

Organization Studies
Robert K. Kazanjian and H. Rao
January 1, 1999
Using a longitudinal sample of technology based new ventures, the study investigates when and how investments are made in specialized and dedicated functional positions.

Organizing To Attain Potential Benefits From Information Asymmetries and Economies of Scope In Related Diversified Firms

Academy of Management Review
Praveen Nayyar and Robert K. Kazanjian
October 1, 1993
This article presents a unique perspective on the creation of competitive advantage in related diversified firms engaged in service businesses

Applying the Del Technique to the Analysis of Cross-Classification Data: A Test of CEO Succession and Top Management Team Development

Academy of Management Journal
Robert Drazin and Robert K. Kazanjian
December 1, 1993
Conducts a unique test to data related to CEO succession in high growth new ventures.

A Reanalysis of Miller and Friesen's Life Cycle Data

Strategic Management Journal
Robert Drazin and Robert Drazin
May 1, 1990
Reanalyzes the data from an existing study utilizing an alternative methodology to re-test the authors' life cycle model of development.

An Empirical Test of the Stage of Growth Progression Model

Management Science
Robert K. Kazanjian and Robert Drazin
December 1, 1989
This paper presents a stage of growth model for technology based new ventures that are postulated to evolve through four discrete stages of growth. Based on a longitudinal sample of 71 ventures, the hypothesis that new ventures progress according to this model is tested and is supported, although not all firms progressed as expected. These results suggest that some variation in interstage transition patterns are due to a progression imperative.

The Relation of Dominant Problems to Stage of Growth in Technology Based New Ventures: An Empirical Assessment

Academy of Management Journal
Robert K. Kazanjian
June 1, 1988
This paper offers one of the first empirical tests of a stage-wise model of new venture growth and development.

Implementing Internal Diversifications: Contingency Factors for Organization Design Choices

Academy of Management Review
Robert K. Kazanjian and Robert Drazin
April 1, 1987
This paper reviews the organizational design considerations relevant to firms pursuing diversification into new product/market segments via direct entry or non-acquisitive modes

Strategy Implementation: Structure, Systems, and Processes

West Publishing Company
Jay R. Galbraith and Robert K. Kazanjian
January 1, 1986
This book presents a review and extension of the literature related to an organization design approach to strategy implementation