Linda Argote Receives the Thomas Lord Professorship in Organizational Behavior and Theory

Linda Argote, Professor of Organizational Behavior and Theory and Director of the Center of Organizational Learning, Innovation, and Knowledge, has received the Thomas Lord Professorship in Organizational Behavior and Theory. The professorship recognizes faculty whose work has a profound impact on the university, research, and society. Dr. Argote will step down from her David M. Kirr and Barbara A. Kirr Professorship to assume the new position.

Dr. Argote is an internationally recognized expert in organizational learning and knowledge sharing within and between teams. She publishes research frequently, often with fellow faculty at the Tepper School, on topics such as transactive memory, group processes and performance, social identity, and knowledge and communication networks.

“Linda’s research on groups and teams has distinguished her as a pioneer in the field of Organizational Behavior and Theory, and it’s an honor to be able to recognize her with this prestigious professorship,” said Dean Robert Dammon. “She joins a distinguished group of senior faculty across the Carnegie Mellon campus who are also Thomas Lord Professors.”

Dr. Argote joined the Tepper School in 1979 after completing a Ph.D. in organization psychology at the University of Michigan. She has held the title of David M. Kirr and Barbara A. Kirr Professor of Organizational Behavior and Theory since 1997.

Dr. Argote served as Editor-in-Chief of Organization Science from 2004–2010; she is a Fellow of the Academy of Management, INFORMS, and the Association for Psychological Science. In 2019, Dr. Argote received an Honorary Doctorate from Aarhus University. In addition, her research with Eric Darr and Dennis Epple, "The Acquisition, Transfer, and Depreciation of Knowledge in Service Organization: Productivity in Franchises,” has been cited as one of most influential articles published in the journals, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes and Management Science.

In 2018, INGRoup, the Interdisciplinary Network for Group Research, honored Dr. Argote with the Joseph E. McGrath Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Study of Groups.

The late Thomas Lord was an inventor and corporate leader who was committed to furthering research and innovation at prestigious research universities, including CMU. After completing his bachelor’s degree at Yale’s Sheffield Scientific School, he began working at Lord Manufacturing Company, founded by his father in Erie, Pennsylvania. Lord developed an entirely new concept of airplane engine mountings, which became commonly referred to as a “Lord Mount.” He was named general manager of the company in 1932 and chairman in 1968, a position he held until his death in 1989.