Professor Len Karakowsky earned his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management from the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and his M.B.A from the Schulich School of Business at York University.
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Professor Len Karakowsky earned his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management from the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and his M.B.A from the Schulich School of Business at York University. Dr. Karakowsky's research agenda is fundamentally aimed at understanding how organizations can best adapt to and develop within a rapidly changing business environment. His work addresses such issues as managing demographic diversity, leadership, team-building, organizational trust and knowledge management. Professor Karakowsky’s research has been published extensively in a wide range of internationally renowned journals, including: Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, Group and Organization Management, Leadership Quarterly, Administration and Society, Journal of Management Studies, and Small Group Research. In addition, Len has authored and co-authored several management texts, including: The Context of Business (Pearson) and Business and Society: Ethics and Stakeholder Management (Nelson-Thompson).
Degrees
PhD, Rotman/University of Toronto
MBA, Schulich/York University
Research Interests
Management
, Human Resources, Organizational Trust, Knowledge Management, Team Leadership/Dynamics,
Management
Approach to Teaching
Dr. Karakowsky teaches at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels. His courses include Introduction to Business, Organizational Behavior, Organizational Development, at the undergraduate level; Managing Organizational Change in the Masters of Human Resource Management and Current Issues in Human Resource Management in the doctoral program. He has served on supervisory committees for both masters and doctoral student theses. He developed the School of Administrative Studies' first course in Business Ethics.
Current Courses
| Term |
Course Number |
Section |
Title |
Type |
| Winter 2025 |
GS/HRM6400 3.0 |
M |
Organizational Change & Development |
LECT |
Upcoming Courses
| Term |
Course Number |
Section |
Title |
Type |
| Summer 2025 |
AP/ADMS2400 3.0 |
A |
Introduction to Organizational Behaviour |
ONCA |
| Summer 2025 |
GS/HRM6400 3.0 |
A |
Organizational Change & Development |
LECT |
Professor Len Karakowsky earned his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management from the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and his M.B.A from the Schulich School of Business at York University.
Professor Len Karakowsky earned his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management from the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and his M.B.A from the Schulich School of Business at York University. Dr. Karakowsky's research agenda is fundamentally aimed at understanding how organizations can best adapt to and develop within a rapidly changing business environment. His work addresses such issues as managing demographic diversity, leadership, team-building, organizational trust and knowledge management. Professor Karakowsky’s research has been published extensively in a wide range of internationally renowned journals, including: Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, Group and Organization Management, Leadership Quarterly, Administration and Society, Journal of Management Studies, and Small Group Research. In addition, Len has authored and co-authored several management texts, including: The Context of Business (Pearson) and Business and Society: Ethics and Stakeholder Management (Nelson-Thompson).
Degrees
PhD, Rotman/University of Toronto
MBA, Schulich/York University
Research Interests
Management
, Human Resources, Organizational Trust, Knowledge Management, Team Leadership/Dynamics,
Management
All Publications
Book Chapters
Book Chapters Karakowsky, L., & Kotlyar, I. (forthcoming, 2020) . The Highs and Lows of High Potential Employee Programs. in Talent Management, Ibraiz Tarique (Editor), New York: Routledge Press.
2020
Books
Karakowsky, L & Guriel, N. (2017). The Seven Factor Challenge. Pearson: Toronto.
2017
Karakowsky, L & Guriel, N. (2015) . The Context of Business. Pearson/Prentice Hall: Toronto.
2015
Karakowsky, L (2011). Exploring the Canadian Business Environment. Pearson/Prentice Hall: Toronto.
2011
Karakowsky, L. (2007) . The Challenges of Business: Managing in the Canadian and the Global Context. Captus Press: Toronto.
2007
Karakowsky, L., Carroll, A. & Buchholtz, A. (2005) . Business and Society: Ethics and Stakeholder Management. First Canadian Edition. Nelson Thomson Canada: Toronto.
2005
Journal Articles
Karakowsky, L., Podolsky, M., Elangovan, A.R. (2020). Signaling trustworthiness: The effect of leader humor on feedback-seeking behaviour. Journal of Social Psychology. 160(2):170-189
2020
Karakowsky, L., DeGama, N. & McBey, K., (2017). Deconstructing Higgins: Gender bias in the Pygmalion phenomenon. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 32, 2-18.
2017
McBey, K. & Karakowsky, L. & Ng, P. (2017) . The Role of Self Expression in Work Commitment: A Study in the Voluntary Sector, Journal of Management Development.
2017
Kotlyar, I., Richardson, J., & Karakowsky, L. (2015) . Learning to lead from outsiders: the value of career communities as a source of external peer coaching. Journal of Management Development, 34, 1262 - 1271
2015
Kotlyar, I., Karakowsky, L., Ducharme, M.. J., & Boekhorst, J. (2014) . Do "Rising Stars" Avoid Risk?: Status-Based Labels And Decision Making, Leadership and Organizational Development Journal.
2014
Kotlyar, I., Karakowsky, L. (2013) . Sources of Satisfaction with High-Potential Employee Programs: A Survey of Canadian HR Professionals. Journal of Management Development.
2013
Karakowsky, L., DeGama, N., & McBey, K. (2012) . From Great Expectations to Great Performance:The Overlooked Role of the Subordinate in the Pygmalion Effect. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology.
2012
Kotlyar, I. & Karakowsky, L. and Ng, P. (2011) . The Impact of Leadership Behaviors on Member Commitment to Team-Generated Decisions. Leadership Quarterly, 22, 666-679.
2011
Karakowsky, L., Mann, S. & McBey, K. (2010) . Feeling (and Acting) like a Fish out of Water: Numerical Minority Status, Gendered Work and Citizenship Behavior in Mixed Gender Work Teams, Team Performance Management, 16, 413-430.
2010
Karakowsky, L. & Mann, S. (2008) . Setting Goals and Taking Ownership: Understanding the Implications of Participatively Set Goals from a Causal Attribution Perspective,
Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 14, 260- 279.
2008
Kotlyar, I. & Karakowsky, L. (2007) . Falling Over Ourselves to Follow the Leader: Conceptualizing Connections Between Transformational Leader Behaviors and Dysfunctional Team Conflict,
Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies. 14, 38-61.
2007
Kotlyar, I. & Karakowsky, L. (2007) . The Positive Side of a Negative Decision Frame: Examining a Case of Overconfidence Among Negotiators in a Hospital Merger,
Management Decision, 45, 968- 987.
2007
Kotlyar, I. & Karakowsky, L. (2006) . Leading Conflict?: Exploring Potential Linkages Between Leader Behaviors and Group Conflict,
Small Group Research, 37, 377-433.
2006
Karakowsky, L. & Miller, D.L. (2006) . Negotiator Style and Influence in Multi-Party Negotiations: Exploring the Role of Gender,
Leadership and Organizational Development Journal, 27, 50-66.
2006
Miller, D.L. & Karakowsky, L. (2005) . Gender Influences as an Impediment to Knowledge Sharing.
Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 139 (2), 101-118.
2005
Conference Papers
Podolsky, M. & Karakowsky, L. (2018). The Positive Effect of Emotionally Expressive Leadership on Individual Perceptions of Group Trust and Knowledge Sharing Norms. Academy of Business Research Conference, San Antonio, 2018.
2018
Karakowsky, L. Good, J. & Kotlyar, I. (2016) The Downside of Great Expectations: How High Status Labels Can Impede Creative Performance, Academy of Management Meetings, Anaheim, California, 2016.
2016
Kotlyar, I., & Karakowsky, L. (2015) . The Impact of Being Labeled a “High Potential” Employee. Proceedings for the Academy of Business Research, Winter 2015, New Orleans, LA.
2015
Kotlyar, I., & Karakowsky, L. (2013) . Assessing the Potential of High-Potential Programs. Proceedings for the Academy of Business Research, Spring 2013, New Orleans, LA.
2013
Kotlyar, I. & Karakowsky, L. (2012) . Rising Stars and Falling Commitment: Self-Perceived Status and Responses to Performance Feedback. Academy of Management Meetings, Boston, 2012.
2012
Boekhorst, J & Karakowsky, L. (2012) . The Pragmatic Side of Third Party Intervention: Responses to Peer Mistreatment as an Impression Management Tactic, Academy of Management Meetings, Boston, 2012.
2012
Karakowsky, L., DeGama, N. & McBey, K. (2011) . Unraveling the role of gender in the pygmalion effect: toward a conceptual framework, Academy of Management Conference, August, 2011.
2011
otlyar, I., & Karakowsky, L. (2015) . The Impact of Being Labeled a “High Potential” Employee. Proceedings for the Academy of Business Research, Winter 2015, New Orleans, L Kotlyar, I., & Karakowsky, L. (2013) . Assessing the Potential of High-Potential Programs. Proceedings for the Academy of Business Research, Spring 2013, New Orleans, LA.
Conference Proceedings
Masood, H., & Karakowsky, L. (2019, July). Job Crafting as a Response to Abusive Supervision: Toward A Conceptual Framework. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2019, No. 1, p. 15624). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.
2019
Kotlyar, I., & Karakowsky, L. (2015) . The Impact of Being Labeled a “High Potential” Employee. Proceedings for the Academy of Business Research, Winter 2015, New Orleans, LA.
2015
Kotlyar, I., & Karakowsky, L. (2013) . Assessing the Potential of High-Potential Programs. Proceedings for the Academy of Business Research, Spring 2013, New Orleans, LA.
2013
Approach to Teaching
Dr. Karakowsky teaches at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels. His courses include Introduction to Business, Organizational Behavior, Organizational Development, at the undergraduate level; Managing Organizational Change in the Masters of Human Resource Management and Current Issues in Human Resource Management in the doctoral program. He has served on supervisory committees for both masters and doctoral student theses. He developed the School of Administrative Studies' first course in Business Ethics.
Current Courses
| Term |
Course Number |
Section |
Title |
Type |
| Winter 2025 |
GS/HRM6400 3.0 |
M |
Organizational Change & Development |
LECT |
Upcoming Courses
| Term |
Course Number |
Section |
Title |
Type |
| Summer 2025 |
AP/ADMS2400 3.0 |
A |
Introduction to Organizational Behaviour |
ONCA |
| Summer 2025 |
GS/HRM6400 3.0 |
A |
Organizational Change & Development |
LECT |
