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Jacob W. Roberson

Organizational Behavior • PhD Candidate • USC Marshall

  • On the 2026-2027 academic job market

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About Jacob Roberson

6th Year PhD Candidate, Organizational Behavior
USC Marshall School of Business

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Leaders make decisions within social contexts that extend beyond the boundaries of their organizations. My research examines how broader societal forces—including institutional and political pressures, social hierarchies, and public discourse—interact with individual-level factors (such as identity, ideology, and meta-perceptions) to shape leader's decisions, how those decisions are received by stakeholders, and the consequences that follow.

 

Across three current research streams, my projects investigate:

  • Societal Dynamics & Leadership Decisions: When and why societal dynamics cause leaders’ actions (e.g., how they label initiatives, select employees, and take sociopolitical stances) to affect employees from different backgrounds in divergent ways.

  • The DEI Context and Individual Perceptions: How the organizational context of diversity, equity, and inclusion uniquely shapes leaders’ actions and stakeholders’ reactions according to individuals’ own identities and beliefs.

Research Interests

Primary: diversity, equity, & inclusion (DEI), identity & ideology, entitlement & deservingness, cultural narratives, discrimination & belonging

Secondary: organizational messaging & labels, legitimacy, psychological contracts, generational differences, student athletes, sociology of sport

Peer-Reviewed Journal Publications:
​Tost, L. P., Hardin, A. E., Roberson, J. W., & Gino, F. (2022). Different roots, different fruits: Gender-based differences in cultural narratives about perceived discrimination produce divergent psychological consequences. Academy of Management Journal, 65(6), 1804-1834.

Research in Progress

Roberson, J. W., Townsend, S. S. M., Hall, E. V. Martin, L., Rahangdale, P.

DEI Versus Diversity, Equity, or Inclusion: Divergence in Label Valence and Support for Labeled Initiatives and Organizations.​

  • Under Review: Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

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Osborne, M. R.,* Roberson, J. W.,* & Tost, L. P. Legitimacy Judgments in Candidate Selection.

  • Target: Academy of Management Journal

    • ​Phase: final preparation before submission

      • ​* Denotes equal contribution to first authorship​​​​

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Roberson, J. W. Reconceptualizing entitlement: An empowerment approach amongst the disadvantaged.

  • Target: Academy of Management Review​

    • ​Phase: final preparation before submission

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Roberson, J. W. Employee political ideology, generational cohort, and expectations regarding corporate sociopolitical activism.​

  • Phase: writing

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Boyd, T. L., Roberson, J. W., Ruggs, E. Motivations of and barriers to Black women in leadership: The role of agency, belonging, and respect​

  • Phase: data collection​

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Roberson, J. W., Frey, E. L., Tost, L. P., & Vincent, L. Collaborator or individual contributor? Perceptions of intergenerational tensions and workplace expectations in multigenerational workforces.

  • Phase: data collection

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Avery, A. B., Roberson, J. W. [Topic] How colorism influences the employee lifecycle.

  • Phase: idea generation

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Research in the Media

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