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Kerry Gibson

  • Associate Professor
Academic Division: Management
Kerry Roberts Gibson is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior in the Management Division at Babson College. She previously taught both Organizational Behavior and Human Resources at Georgia Tech, where she completed her Ph.D.

Professor Gibson's primary research interest is workplace relationships. She focuses on relationship development mechanisms, such as self-disclosure and self-compassion. She explores how these relationship mechanisms drive outcomes, such as organizational identification, engagement, and voice. Professor Gibson's dissertation focuses on relational identity threat which occurs when relational expectations between supervisors and subordinates are violated.

She is published in the Academy of Management Review, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and the Journal of Vocational Behavior. Professor Gibson has also published in Harvard Business Review online. She has presented her research at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting, the Positive Relationships at Work Microcommunity Research Meeting, the Positive Organizational Scholarship Research Conference, and the International Association of Positive Psychology World Congress.

Professor Gibson currently serves on the steering committee for the Positive Relationships at Work Microcommunity and is a member of the Academy of Management. She won the Early Career Scholarship Award from Babson College in 2019 and was voted 2014 Ph.D. Candidate of the Year by the Scheller College of Business Undergraduates.

Professor Gibson is particularly interested in assisting retailers with employee development. She previously worked as a senior digital marketing consultant for a restaurant chain, managing a range of chain-wide initiatives and sales innovation strategy. She is also a former educational consultant and middle school teacher. She holds an MBA from Georgia Tech and a BS in Education from Georgia State University.

Academic Degrees

  • Ph D, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • MBA, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • BSE, Georgia State University

Academic Interest / Expertise

Dyadic work relationshipsSelf-disclosureRetail sector

Awards & Honors

  • 2019 — Early Career Scholarship Award, Babson College
  • 2014 — Voted 2014 Ph.D. Candidate Instructor of the Year by Undergraduate Students, Scheller College of Business
  • 2010 — Dean’s Fellowship, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • 2005 — Outstanding 2nd Year MBA Student, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • 1999 — Academic Excellence Award, Georgia State University

Courses

  • Degree Courses 2025

    • MOB 1010 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
    • MOB 3515 TALENT MANAGEMENT:WHAT MANY LEADERS MISS
    • MOB 7515 TALENT MANAGEMENT:WHAT MANY LEADERS MISS
  • Degree Courses 2024

    • MOB 1010 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
  • Degree Courses 2023

    • MOB 1010 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
    • MOB 7515 TALENT MANAGEMENT:WHAT MANY LEADERS MISS

Publications

Journal Articles

  • Gibson, K.R. (2018). Can I tell you something? How disruptive self-disclosure changes who 'we' are. Academy of Management Review. Vol: 43, Issue: 4, Page: 570-589.
  • Gibson, K.R., Harari, D., Marr, J.C. (2018). When sharing hurts: How and why self-disclosing weakness undermines the task-oriented relationships of higher status disclosers. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. Vol: 144, Page: 25-43. Academic Press.
  • Sluss, D.M., Ashforth, B.E., Gibson, K.R. (2012). The search for meaning in (new) work: Task significance and newcomer plasticity. Journal of Vocational Behavior. Vol: 81, Issue: 2, Page: 199-208.

Book Chapters

  • Murphy, W.C., Gibson, K.R., Kram, K.E. (2024). Advancing Women through Developmental Relationships: Handbook of Research on Gender and Leadership, 2nd Edition. Edward Elgar Publishing. link
  • Murphy, W.C., Gibson, K.R., Kram, K.E. (2017). Advancing Women through Developmental Relationships: Handbook of Research on Gender and Leadership. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Other

  • Gibson, K.R., Schinoff, B. (2019). The Little Things That Affect Our Work Relationships: Harvard Business Review Online. Vol: https://hbr.org/2019/05/the-little-things-that-affect-our-work-relationships. Harvard Business Publishing. link

Presentations

  • Research Help Lilius, J. Gibson, K. CompassionLab, Virtual (2023)
  • Compassion and Teaching Gibson, K. Kanov, J. Greenberg, D. Workman, K. CompassionLab, Virtual (2023)
  • Symposium Panelist: Disclosure expectations in a Post-2020 World Gibson, K. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Virtual (2021)
  • Sharing the same understanding of being included: How mutuality in work relationships inhibits or enables inclusion in organizations Ghosh, R. Gibson, K. Positive Relationships at Work Conference/Microcommunity Meeting, Virtual (2021)
  • Teaching through relationship: Prioritizing humanity and connection in management education Gibson, K. Kanov, J. Greenberg, D. Workman, K. Positive Relationships at Work Conference/Microcommunity Meeting, Virtual (2021)
  • This is us: The role of relational narratives in work organizations Gibson, K. Schinoff, B. Sluss, D. Positive Relationships at Work Conference/Microcommunity Meeting, Virtual (2021)
  • Symposium Panelist: The Architecture of Relationships at Work Gibson, K. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Virtual (2020)
  • This is us: The role of relational narratives within the context of workplaces Gibson, K. Schinoff, B. Sluss, D. BFRF Session, Wellesley, MA (2020)
  • Relational identity threat response: How self-compassion moderates momentary behavior Gibson, K. Spring 2019 OB Workshop, St. Louis, MO (2019)
  • Self-Compassion as a relational resource: Why being kind to yourself moderates your momentary relational responses Gibson, K. 2016 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Anaheim, CA (2016)
  • Work Spouse Relationships Heaphy, E. Booth, B. Gibson, K. Positive Relationships at Work Microcommunity March Meeting, Philadelphia, PA (2016)
  • A relational identity threat response model: How the ups and downs of workplace relationships drive discretionary behavior Gibson, K. CompassionLab, Ann Arbor (2016)
  • How Job crafting resolves psychological contract break. Gibson, K. Harari, D. 2015 Positive Organizational Scholarship Research Conference, Orlando (2015)
  • The power of gratitude: How relational signals create connection with work Gibson, K. Sluss, D. 2015 World Congress of the International Positive Psychology Association, Orlando (2015)
  • Is that what you said? How subordinates use voice as a response to relational identity threat Gibson, K. Annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Philadelphia, PA (2014)
  • Unintended consequences: How self-disclosure can disrupt workplace relationships Gibson, K. Marr, J. Sluss, D. Positive Relationships at Work Microcommunity March Meeting, Philadelphia, PA (2014)
  • Gratitude’s advantages and disadvantages: How role engagement changes the meaning of ‘Thank you’ Gibson, K. Sluss, D. Annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Orlando, FL (2013)
  • Saying thank-you: Authentic and strategic gratitude and their effects on work relationships Gibson, K. Sluss, D. Annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Boston, MA (2012)
  • Saying thank-you: Authentic and strategic gratitude and their effects on work relationships Gibson, K. Sluss, D. Positive Relationships at Work Microcommunity March Meeting, Boston, MA (2012)
  • Talking about yourself at work: How perceived coworker support emerges from self-disclosure Gibson, K. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, San Antonio (2011)
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Professional Services

  • Faculty Team Coaching for Leadership and Teamwork Program (2016 - 2019)

Department & College Wide Services

  • Recognition Committee (Fall 2022 - Spring 2023)
  • Recognition Committee (Fall 2015 - Spring 2020)
  • Employee Relations Consortium Presenter (Spring 2017)
  • Faculty Senate (Fall 2016 - Spring 2017)
  • Babson Leadership Academy Seminar Presenter (Fall 2016)
  • Family and Friends Weekend Instructor (Fall 2016)
  • Family and Friends Weekend Instructor (Fall 2015)