1

Adam Grant: A Leading Scholar in Management

Eriona Shabani

Department of Liberal Studies, Delaware State University

LIBS 390 - O2: Survey of Liberal Studies

Dr. Charlotte A. Crawford

February 26, 2023

2

My name is Eriona Shabani, I am a senior at Delaware State University currently in my

last semester of undergrad. My emphasis area is management. Management fascinates me

because it involves overseeing various functions and how people best fit in different areas and

departments. I believe I have always embodied leadership characteristics and have been able to

see the best in people. This will make me an effective manager. I am also a great problem solver,

and I would be able to impact the success of whatever organization I am apart of. For these many

reasons I chose to write my paper of Adam Grant, a well-known scholar in management.

Adam Grant is a well-known scholar in the field of management. He holds a Bachelor of

Arts degree from Harvard University, a Master of Science degree from the University of

Michigan, and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. Grant is

currently a professor of management and psychology at the Wharton School of the University of

Pennsylvania. He is also the founder and host of the "WorkLife" podcast, which explores the

intersection of work and life.

Grant teaches a variety of courses at the Wharton School, including "Organizational

Behavior," "Leading People and Teams," and "Management of Organizational Change." He has

also taught courses at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Chicago

Booth School of Business, and the Helsinki School of Economics.

Grant's research interests span several areas of management, including organizational

behavior, motivation, and leadership. He has published numerous scholarly articles in leading

academic journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, the Journal of Personality

and Social Psychology, and the Journal of Applied Psychology.

One of Grant's most widely cited articles is "The Significance of Task Significance: Job

Performance Effects, Relational Mechanisms, and Boundary Conditions," published in the

3

Journal of Applied Psychology in 2007. In this article, Grant and his co-authors explore the

impact of task significance on job performance and the mechanisms through which it operates.

They found that task significance has a positive effect on job performance, in part because it

increases employees' sense of meaningfulness in their work. This article was found on the

academic database, PsycINFO.

One disciplinary concept that Grant explores in his research is the concept of "prosocial

motivation." Grant defines prosocial motivation as a desire to benefit others or society as a

whole, in addition to oneself. He argues that prosocial motivation can have significant positive

effects on job performance, creativity, and employee well-being.

Grant's research is also informed by several theories in the field of management,

including social exchange theory, self-determination theory, and goal-setting theory. For

example, Grant's research on prosocial motivation draws on self-determination theory, which

suggests that people are more motivated when they feel autonomous and competent in their

work. This is something I was heavily interest in when I was taking observational management.

Grant employs a variety of research methods in his scholarly work, including field

studies, surveys, and experiments. For example, in his research on prosocial motivation, he has

conducted field studies in which he has measured employees' prosocial motivation and then

tracked their job performance over time.

In conclusion, Adam Grant is a leading scholar in the field of management, with a wide

range of research interests and expertise. His work on prosocial motivation, task significance,

and other topics has significant implications for how organizations can improve employee well-

being and job performance. Through his teaching, writing, and podcasting, Grant continues to be

a prominent voice in the management field.

4

References

Grant, A. M. (2022). About Adam. Adam Grant - Organizational Psychologist, Wharton

Professor, and Bestselling Author. https://www.adamgrant.net/about

Grant, A. M. (2022). Books. Adam Grant - Organizational Psychologist, Wharton

Professor, and Bestselling Author. https://www.adamgrant.net/books

Grant, A. M. (2022). Articles. Adam Grant - Organizational Psychologist, Wharton

Professor, and Bestselling Author. https://www.adamgrant.net/articles

Grant, A. M. (2022). Speaking. Adam Grant - Organizational Psychologist, Wharton

Professor, and Bestselling Author. https://www.adamgrant.net/speaking

Grant, A. M. (2022). Podcasts. Adam Grant - Organizational Psychologist, Wharton

Professor, and Bestselling Author. https://www.adamgrant.net/podcasts