Ajay Ponnapalli
Title
Assistant Professor of Management
Office
Mike Ilitch School of Business
2771 Woodward Avenue
Room 471
Detroit, MI 48201
Ajay Ponnapalli
Academic Programs
- Management
Expertise
Remote Work, Leadership, Inclusion in Organizations
Education
- Ph.D. Florida International University, Miami, FL
- M.S. Florida International University, Miami, FL
- B.E. Osmania University, Hyderabad, India
Biography
Dr. Ajay Rama Ponnapalli is Assistant Professor in the Department of Management and Information Systems at Wayne State University’s Mike Ilitch School of Business. He earned his doctorate degree in Business Administration from Florida International University. He also earned a master’s degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Florida International University and a bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Osmania University, India.
Dr. Ponnapalli’s research interests lie in remote work, leadership, and inclusion in organizations. His research has been presented as numerous national and international conferences. His work has been published in several management journals including The Leadership Quarterly, Social Responsibility Journal, and Employee Rights and Responsibility Journal. His work has received awards from the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the Indian Academy of Management.
Prior to joining Wayne State University, Dr. Ponnapalli worked in executive leadership development and also worked with several multinational organizations.
Publications
Xu, L., Zhao, Y., Wang, C., & Ponnapalli, A. R. (2021). Corporate social responsibility and corporate reputation: the moderating roles of CEO and state political ideologies. Social Responsibility Journal. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-08-2020-0318
Hiller, N. J, Sin, H-P., Ponnapalli, A. R., & Ozgen, S. (2019). Benevolence and authority as WEIRDly unfamiliar: A multi-language meta-analysis of paternalistic leadership behaviors from 152 studies. The Leadership Quarterly, 30(1), 165-184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2018.11.003
Beane, D., Ponnapalli, A. R., & Viswesvaran, C. (2017). Workplace religious displays and perceptions of organization attractiveness. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 29(2), 73-88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10672-016-9286-9
Presentations
Gajendran, R. S., Javalagi, A., Wang, C., & Ponnapalli, A. R. (2021, August). Consequences of remote work use and intensity: A meta-analysis. Paper presented at the 81st Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (Virtual).
Sanchez, J. I., Wang, C., Ponnapalli, A. R., & Sin, H-P. (2020, August). A Meta-Analysis of Neglected
Artifacts in Organizational Behavior Mediation Research. Paper presented at the 80th Annual
Meeting of the Academy of Management (Virtual).
Zhou, Y., Wang, C., Ponnapalli, A. R., Von Glinow, M. A., & Kim, K. (2020, April). Impacts of crosscultural
management training on cultural intelligence. Poster to be presented at the 35th Annual
Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Austin, TX.
**Ponnapalli, A. R., Wang, C., Gajendran, R., & Kundu, S. (2020, January). "Home is where the heart is":
How Families Influence International New Venture Growth. Paper presentation at the 2020
Conference of the Indian Academy of Management, Tiruchirappalli, India.
Awarded top paper presentation at INDAM 2020**
Wang. C, Ponnapalli, A. R., Gajendran, R. S., Kundu, S., & Sin, H-P. (2020, January). The initiation,
development, and maintenance of relationships in International New Venture networks. Paper
presentation at the 2020 Conference of the Indian Academy of Management, Tiruchirappalli, India.
Ponnapalli, A. R., Wang, C., Gajendran, R., & Kundu, S. (2019, August). When work comes first and at the
cost of family: Consequences for International New Ventures. Paper presentation at the 79th Annual
Meeting of the Academy of Management, Boston, MA.
Wang. C, Ponnapalli, A. R., Gajendran, R. S., Kundu, S., & Sin, H-P. (2019, August). Applying role theory
to International New Ventures. Paper presentation at the 79th Annual Meeting of the Academy of
Management, Boston, MA.
Ponnapalli, A. R., Wang, C., & Sin, H-P. (2019, June). Ex-offenders and work: An interdisciplinary review
and research agenda. Oral Presentation at the 2019 Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS)
Research Conference, Ann Arbor, MI.
Ponnapalli, A. R., Wang, C., & Buckman, B. R. (2019, June). Establishing a nomological net for
'authenticity at work' using meta-analysis. Poster presentation at the 2019 Positive Organizational
Scholarship (POS) Research Conference, Ann Arbor, MI.
Sin, H-P., Ponnapalli, A. R., & Wang, C. (2019, May). Working for the greater good: A comprehensive
review of ex-offenders at work. Poster presented at the 19th European Work and Organizational
Psychology Congress, Turin, Italy.
**Ponnapalli, A. R., Wang, C., Buckman, B. R., & Snihur, A. (2019, April). Authenticity at work:
Establishing a nomological net using meta-analysis. Poster presented at the 34th Annual Conference
of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, National Harbor, MD.
Selected as one of ten Top Posters at the 2019 SIOP Annual Conference**
Ponnapalli, A. R., Wang, C., Gajendran, R., Kundu, S., & Sin, H. P. (2018, December). Founder work-life
balance and international new venture expansion: A conservation of resources perspective. Paper
presented at the Strategic Management Society Special Conference, Hyderabad, India.
Wang, C., Ponnapalli, A. R., Gajendran, R., Kundu, S., & Sin, H. P. (2018, December). The line that
connects the dots: Building high-quality ties in international new venture networks. Paper presented
at the Strategic Management Society Special Conference, Hyderabad, India.
Ponnapalli, A. R., Wang, C., & Sin, H. P. (2018, November). Ex-offenders at work: A research agenda. In
N. C. J. Young & A. A. Ali (Chairs) Improving Lives: Exploring the relationship between criminal
history and work. Symposium conducted at the 2018 Meeting of the Southern Management
Association, Lexington, KY.
Sanchez, J. I., Wang, C., Ponnapalli, A. R., Lapeira, M., Pineda, I., Quiroz, V., Song, M., Xu, L. (2018,
April). A meta-analysis of rarely acknowledged statistical artifacts in mediation analysis. Poster
presented at the 33rd Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology,
Chicago, IL.
Wang, C., Ponnapalli, A. R., Buckman, B. R., & Viswesvaran, C. (2018, April). Are measures of
authenticity reliable? Poster presented at the 33rd Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial
and Organizational Psychology, Chicago, IL.
Wang, C., Sin, H. P., & Ponnapalli, A. R. (2017, October). Ex-offenders and employment: A comprehensive
literature review. Paper presented at the 2017 Meeting of the Southern Management Association, St.
Pete Beach, FL.
Ponnapalli, A.R., Wang, C., Halliday, C., Kim, K., & Newburry, W. (2017, October). The role of subnational
institutions on the corporate social responsibility and corporate reputation relationship.
Paper presented at the 2017 Meeting of the Southern Management Association, St. Pete Beach, FL.
Wang, C., Ponnapalli, A. R., & Buckman, B. (2017, August). Authentic leadership and employee
engagement: The role of employee authenticity. In B. R. Buckman, H. Leroy, & E. Steckler (Chairs)
Exploring essential drivers and antecedents of workplace authenticity. Symposium conducted at the
77th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Atlanta, GA.
Ozgen-Novelli, S., Ponnapalli, A. R., Hiller, N. J., & Sin, H. P. (2017, May). Measures of paternalistic
leadership: A reliability generalization analysis. Poster presented at the 29th Association for
Psychological Science Annual Convention, Boston, MA.
Beane, D., Ponnapalli, A. R., Laginess, A. J., Herrera, J., & Viswesvaran, C. (2017, April). From outside
looking in: How applicants view workplace religious displays. Poster presented at the 32nd Annual
Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Orlando, FL.
Sanchez, J. I., Dai, G., Beauchesne, M-M., & Ponnapalli, A. R. (2017, April). Does performance drive
competency importance? Gender differences in the importance-performance relationship in 360
ratings. In K. Fuhrmeister (Chair), Factors to consider in 360-degree feedback ratings. Symposium
conducted at the 32nd Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational
Psychology, Orlando, FL.
Wang, C., Ponnapalli, A. R., & Buckman, B. (2017, April). Authentic leadership and employee engagement.
Poster presented at the 32nd Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational
Psychology, Orlando, FL.
Ponnapalli, A. R., Sin, H. P., & Wang, C. (2016, October). Employing ex-offenders: What we know so far
and where do we go from here? Paper presented at the 2016 Meeting of the Southern Management
Association, Charlotte, NC.
Beane, D., Ponnapalli, A. R., & Viswesvaran, C. (2016, April). Religious displays and their effects on
organizational image. Poster presented at the 31st Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial
and Organizational Psychology, Anaheim, CA.
Ponnapalli, A. R., Novelli, S. O., Hiller, N. J, & Sin, H. P. (2016, April). A meta-analysis of the Chinese
triad-model of paternalistic leadership. Poster presented at the 31st Annual Conference of the
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Anaheim, CA.
Atamanik, C., Lanz, J., & Ponnapalli, A. R. (2014, October). The grateful leader: A gratitude intervention
for principals. Paper presented at the 16th Annual International Leadership Association Global
Conference, San Diego, CA.
