Justin M. Berg

Justin M. Berg
Assistant Professor, Organizational Behavior
Contact Info
JustinM.Berg
Hank McKinnell-Pfizer Inc. Faculty Scholar for 2019-2020
Academic Area: 
Organizational Behavior

Research Statement

Professor Berg's research focuses on creativity and innovation. He studies how to successfully develop, evaluate, and implement creative ideas in and outside organizations. This includes research on job crafting, which is the process of employees creatively redesigning their own jobs to better suit their personalities and interests.

Research Interests

  • Creativity
  • Innovation
  • Job Crafting

Bio

Justin M. Berg received his Ph.D. in Management from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and his B.A. in Organizational Studies and Psychology from the University of Michigan. He has done research with and consulted for a variety of organizations, including Cirque du Soleil, Google, VMware, Burt’s Bees, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. His work has been published in Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and Organization Science, as well as featured in TIME, BusinessWeek, Fast Company, Forbes, Washington Post, and Harvard Business Review.

Prior to graduate school, Justin was an R&D Consultant for the Center for Positive Organizations at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. During this time, he led the invention of the Job Crafting™ Exercise (along with Jane Dutton and Amy Wrzesniewski), which is a tool that helps people creatively redesign their jobs.

Academic Degrees

  • PhD, Management, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 2015
  • BA, Organizational Studies and Psychology, University of Michigan

Awards and Honors

  • Hank McKinnell-Pfizer Inc. Faculty Fellow, 2018-2019
  • Best Published Paper Award, Academy of Management OMT Division, 2017
  • Penn Prize for Excellence in Teaching by Graduate Students, 2012
  • Finalist, Best Paper in Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2010
  • Finalist, Best Paper in Positive Organizational Scholarship, 2010

Publications

Journal Articles

Justin M. Berg. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. September 2019, Vol. 154, Pages 96-117.
Justin M. Berg. Administrative Science Quarterly. July 2016, Vol. 61, Issue 3, Pages 433-468.
Justin M. Berg. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. July 2014, Vol. 125, Issue 1, Pages 1-17.
Ariane Ollier-Malaterre, Nancy P. Rothbard, Justin M. Berg. Academy of Management Review. October 2013, Vol. 38, Issue 4, Pages 645-669.
Adam M. Grant, Justin M. Berg, Daniel M. Cable. Academy of Management . July 27, 2013, Vol. 57, Issue 4, Pages 1201-1255.
Justin M. Berg, Adam M. Grant, Victoria Johnson. Organization Science. September 2010, Vol. 21, Issue 5, Pages 973-994.
Justin M. Berg, Amy Wrzesniewski, Jane E. Dutton. Journal of Organizational Behavior. February 2010, Vol. 31, Issue 2-3, Pages 158-186.

Teaching

Degree Courses

2019-20

The primary objective of this course is to provide an overview and organizing framework of the micro-organizational behavior literature. This entails reading many foundational pieces that will cover the classic areas of research in the field. We...

This course helps students gain foundational knowledge on several different methods used in micro-OB research, including surveys, experiments (field and lab), longitudinal studies, content analysis, qualitative interviews, ethnography, cases, and...

2018-19

This course helps students gain foundational knowledge on several different methods used in micro-OB research, including surveys, experiments (field and lab), longitudinal studies, content analysis, qualitative interviews, ethnography, cases, and...

2017-18

This course helps students become more effective leaders of creativity and innovation in organizations. Successful innovations begin as creative ideas, but creative ideas can be difficult to generate and accurately evaluate. Based on the latest...

Insights by Stanford Business

December 10, 2019
Research shows we can be more creative by selecting better initial ideas.
December 19, 2016
Read 10 Stanford Business stories from the past year, including pieces on work-life balance, power, and management.
January 26, 2016
A professor turns to circus acts to determine how to predict the success of ideas.
January 22, 2016
A scholar who studies job crafting says you may be less stuck in your job than you think.

School News

October 6, 2015
New faculty and lecturers offer unique perspectives and experience to augment program offerings.