Robert T. Keller

Professor - Baker Hughes Professor of Business Administration

Robert Keller

Bio

Robert T. Keller is the Baker Hughes Professor of Business Administration at the University of Houston. He holds a Ph.D. degree in management from The Pennsylvania State University. He has held administrative positions with Westinghouse Electric Corporation and Westvaco Corporation before he pursued the Ph.D. degree. He previously was at Louisiana State University as Professor of Management and Chair of the Department of Management.

Professor Keller has authored over 160 journal articles and professional papers. His research on technological innovation in R&D organizations has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Center for Innovation Management Studies at Lehigh University, Shell Oil Foundation, and the German Marshall Fund. He is currently on the editorial boards of IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management (past department editor), Journal of High Technology Management Research, and The Leadership Quarterly, and he has twice been a member of the editorial review board of the Academy of Management Journal. He is Past Chair of the Technology and Innovation Management Division of the Academy of Management, a member of the Academy Council, and a charter member of the Academy of Management Journal's Hall of Fame.

Professor Keller has conducted research and lectured on the management of technology in the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Mexico, and he has served as an expert witness on management and organization design before state legislative committees. His current research interests include cross-national factors and technological innovation, R&D project teams for innovation and speed-to-market, and the performance of scientists and engineers.

Research Interests

R&D project teams
cross-national factors and technological innovation
performance of scientists and engineers

Areas of Expertise

technological innovation in R&D organizations
management of technology
management and organization design

Selected Publications

Y. Liu, Robert T. Keller, and K. R. Bartlett, "Initiative climate, psychological safety and knowledge sharing as predictors of team creativity: A multilevel study of R&D project teams." Creativity and Innovation Management, Vol. 30, September, 2021, pp. 498-510.
Y. Liu and Robert T. Keller, "How Psychological Safety Impacts R&D Project Teams' Performance." Research-Technology Management, Vol. 64, March- April, 2021, pp. 39-45.
P. Tabesh, D. Vera, and Robert T. Keller, "Unabsorbed Slack Resource Deployment and Exploratory and Exploitive Innovation: How Much Does CEO Expertise Matter?" Journal of Business Research, Vol. 94, January, 2019, pp. 65-80.
T. Maldonado, A. Salaiz, D. Vera, and Robert T. Keller, "Taking Stock of the Absorptive Capacity Construct and its Dimensions in the Context of Technological Innovation: A Meta-Analytic Approach." IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Vol.66, No. 2, May, 2019, pp. 193-207.
TenBrink, C., Gelb, B., and Robert T. Keller, "Successful Rebounds: How Firms Overcome Their Middle-Age Crisis." Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 39, No. 3, 2018, pp. 3-8.
TenBrink, C., Robert T. Keller, and Gelb, B., "Turnaround Success in High Technology Growth Stage Firms." Journal of Management Policy and Practice, Vol. 18, No.3, 2017, pp. 13-27.
Robert T. Keller, "A Longitudinal Study of the Individual Characteristics of Effective R&D Project Team Leaders." R&D Management, Vol. 47, November, 2017, pp. 741-754.
Robert T. Keller, "Predicting the Performance and Innovativeness of Scientists and Engineers." Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 97, January, 2012, pp. 225-233.
D. Epstein and Robert T. Keller, "The Impact of Exit Decisions on Successful R&D Alliances." Journal of Management Policy and Practice, Vol. 13, No. 4, 2012, pp. 50-60.
Y. Liu, Robert T. Keller, and H. Shih, "The Impact of Team-Member Exchange, Differentiation, Team Commitment, and Knowledge Sharing on R&D Project Team Performance." R & D Management, Vol. 41, June, 2011, pp. 274-287.
J. D. Sherman and Robert T. Keller, "Suboptimal Assessment of Inter-Unit Task Interdependence: Modes of Integration and Information Processing for Coordination Performance." Organization Science, Vol. 22, January, 2011, pp. 245-261.
L. Nemanich, Robert T. Keller, D. Vera, and W. Chin, "Absorptive Capacity in R&D Project Teams: A Conceptualization and Empirical Test." IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Vol. 57, November, 2010, pp. 674-688.
D. Waldman, Y. Berson, and Robert T. Keller, "Leadership and Organizational Learning." The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 20, February, 2009, pp. 1-3.
L. Nemanich, Robert T. Keller, and D. Vera, "Managing the Exploration/Exploitation Paradox in New Product Development: How Top Executives Define their Firm's Innovation Trajectory." International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management, Vol. 4, September, 2007, pp. 351-374.
L. Nemanich and Robert T. Keller, "Transformational Leadership in an Acquisition: A Field Study of Employees." The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 18, February, 2007, pp. 49-68.
Y. Berson, L. Nemanich, D. Waldman, B. Galvin, and Robert T. Keller, "Leadership and Organizational Learning: A Multiple Levels Perspective." The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 17, December, 2006, pp. 577-594.
Robert T. Keller, "Transformational Leadership, Initiating Structure, and Substitutes for Leadership: A Longitudinal Study of R&D Project Team Performance." Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 91, January, 2006, pp. 202-210. Reprinted in M. D. Mumford (Ed.), Leadership, Creativity and Innovation. 2014: Sage Publications Ltd.

Contact Info

Phone:: 713-743-4676
Email:: keller@uh.edu
Room:: MH 310C
Website:: No Web Site Currently