In beautiful and historical Thessaloniki, Greece.

John Vongas

Associate Professor & Co-Program Director for the MBAEM Program, Management
School: School of Business
Office: 417 Park Center for Business and Sustainable Enterprise, Ithaca, NY 14850
Specialty: People in Organizations

MY SCHOLARSHIP: POWER, LEADERSHIP, & ORGANIZATIONS

I ask: "How do biology, motivation, emotion, and social context interact to shape power and leadership in organizations?"

My two areas of study tackle this question.

Dominance and empathy. Here, I examine the tension between dominance and empathy in leadership. To do this, I study how power motivation, hormonal responses (testosterone, cortisol), competition, and status dynamics influence how people perceive others and behave toward them. I also consider how some of these factors contribute to gendered leadership phenomena such as the glass cliff.

Human responses to adversity. In this complementary area, I investigate how people respond to demanding organizational experiences. I have examined stress appraisals and mindsets, workplace ostracism, contempt, shame, guilt, and radical personal change.

Taken together, my research seeks to explain how biological adaptations and social environments combine to shape power, leadership, and human behavior at work. My long-term goal is to deepen this interdisciplinary work by drawing on the insights of history and politics, from the ancient world to the present, to illuminate the darker side of organizational life and help move people and organizations toward the light.

Publications & Conference Talks

(† denotes equal author contribution)

  1. Vongas, J.G. (expected 2027/2028). The dominance-empathy conundrum of male leaders. In A. Nørfelt, F. Kock, and A. Lindgreen (Eds.), Research Handbook on Evolutionary Psychology in Business . London, UK: Edward Eldridge.
  2. Vongas, J.G. , & Al Hajj, R. (2026). The motivational endocrinology of dominance and power. In Oliver C. Schultheiss and Joyce S. Pang (Eds.), Implicit motives: Theory, methods, and applications (2nd edition). New York: Oxford University Press.
  3. Al Hajj, R., Vongas, J.G. , Zaitouni, M., & ElMelegy, A.R. (2026). Stress mindset: Evolution, current developments, and future directions. Review of General Psychology , 30 (1), 130-155.
  4. Al Hajj, R., & Vongas, J.G.† (2025). Radical intrapersonal change: Three usual suspects, one unusual organizational context. Review of Managerial Science, 19 , 255-315.
  5. Al Hajj, R., Vongas, J.G. , Jamal, M., & ElMelegy, A.R. (2023). The essential impact of stress appraisals on work engagement. PLoS ONE 18 (10): e0291676.
  6. Fiset, J., Al Hajj, R., & Vongas, J.G. (2023). Helping an attractive group that ostracized me: An experimental vignette study.Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 40 (4), 484-498.
  7. Al Hajj, R., & Vongas, J.G. (2022). Leadership and contempt in organizations: A conceptual model and research agenda. Journal of Business and Behavioral Sciences , 34 (1), 20-34.
  8. Vongas, J.G. , Al Hajj, R., Fiset, J. (2020). Leader emergence and affective empathy: A dynamic test of the dual-hormone hypothesis. PLoS ONE 15(12): e0244548.
  9. Kasiri, N., Vongas, J.G. , Movassaghi, H. (2019). Impact of government incentives and environmental regulations on firms’ sustainability practices: Evidence from US small and medium size companies (2019th ed., vol. 28, pp. 245-246). Campbelltown, PA: International Management Development Association.
  10. Vongas, J.G. , Al Hajj, R., & Fiset, J. (2018). Leader emergence, testosterone, and empathy: Testing the dual-hormone hypothesis in men. Best Paper Proceedings of the 78th Academy of Management Annual Meeting . Chicago, IL (Editor: Guclu Atinc, ISSN: 2151-6561).
  11. Vongas, J.G. †, & Al Hajj, R. (2017). The effects of competition and implicit power motive on men’s testosterone, emotion recognition, and aggression. Hormones and Behavior , 92 , 57-71.
  12. Fiset, J., Al Hajj, R., & Vongas, J.G. (2017). Workplace ostracism seen through the lens of power. Frontiers in Psychology , 8:1528.
  13. Vongas, J.G. , & Al Hajj, R. (2015). Competing sexes, power, and testosterone: How winning and losing affect people’s empathic responses and what this means for organizations. Applied Psychology: An International Review , 64 , 308-337.
  14. Vongas, J.G. , & Al Hajj, R. (2015). The evolution of empathy and women’s precarious leadership appointments. Frontiers in Psychology ,6:1751.
  15. Saad, G., & Vongas, J.G. (2009). The effect of conspicuous consumption on men’s testosterone levels. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes , 110 , 80-92.
  16. Vongas, J.G. (2009). Glass cliffs, empathy, and biology: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study in leadership. Best Paper Proceedings of the 69th Academy of Management Annual Meeting . Chicago, IL (Editor: George T. Solomon, ISSN: 1543-8643).

Al Hajj, R., Vongas, J.G., & Taylor, G. (conceptual article). Shame, guilt, and persistence following goal failure: A self-determination theory perspective.

  1. Vongas, J.G. (2026, May). The dominance-empathy conundrum of male leaders: An evolutionary mismatch? 9th Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Leadership Symposium. Chania, Crete, Greece.
  2. Vongas, J.G. , & Al Hajj, R. (2025, May). The glass cliff: A systematic review and bibliometric analysis spanning two decades. 8th Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Leadership Symposium. Mykonos, Greece.
  3. Al Hajj, R., Zaitouni, M.G., Vongas, J.G. , & ElMelegy, A.R. (2024, August). A comprehensive review of academic research on stress mindset. 8th International Conference on Applied Economics and Business. Munich, Germany.
  4. Vongas, J.G. , Al Hajj, R., & Chiovitti, S. (2023, May). Power, achievement, and affiliation in the American Presidency. 6th Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Leadership Symposium. Rhodes, Greece.
  5. Vongas, J.G. , Al Hajj, R., & Obenauer, W.G. (2023, March). Women leaders perched on a glass cliff: A systematic review. 30th Annual Conference of the American Society of Business and Behavioral Sciences. Las Vegas, NV, USA.
  6. Al Hajj, R., & Vongas, J.G. (2022, August). Radical change at the individual level: A systematic review and conceptual model. 82nd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Seattle, WA, USA.
  7. Al Hajj, R., & Vongas, J.G. (2022, March). Leadership and contempt in organizations: A conceptual model and research agenda. 29th Annual Conference of the American Society of Business and Behavioral Sciences. Las Vegas, NV, USA.
  8. Al Hajj, R., & Vongas, J.G. (2021, August). The essential impact of stress appraisals on job performance and work engagement. 81st Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  9. Vongas, J.G. (2021, June). Homo empathicus or dominatus ? Evolutionary mismatch and male leadership in crisis. 33rd Annual Conference of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society. Held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  10. Vongas, J.G. , & Al Hajj, R. (2020, October). The virtues and vices of leader empathy: A review of a misunderstood construct. 22nd International Conference on Psychology and Empathy. Held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  11. Al Hajj, R., & Vongas, J.G. (2019, August). It’s all in your head: Stress mindset explains the effect of stress appraisals on work engagement. 79th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Boston, MA, USA.
  12. Movassaghi, H., Kasiri, N., & Vongas, J.G. (2019, June). Impact of government incentives and environmental regulations on firms’ sustainability practices: Evidence from US small and medium size companies. 28th World Business Congress of the International Management Development Association (IMDA). Nicosia, Cyprus.
  13. Vongas, J.G.* , Al Hajj, R., & Chiovitti, S. (2019, May). Power, achievement, and affiliation in the American Presidency. 4thInterdisciplinary Perspectives on Leadership Symposium. Kerkyra (Corfu), Greece. * Did not attend due to a family emergency
  14. Al Hajj, R., Vongas, J.G. , & Fiset, J. (2018, November). A psychophysiological model of the effect of leadership emergence on leaders’ empathy. 10th Annual Grad Research Exposition of the John Molson School of Business, Concordia University. Montreal, QC, Canada.
  15. Kasiri, N., Movassaghi, H., Vongas, J.G. , & Ruthman, D. (2018, November). An analysis of sustainability in small business in New York. 2018 Annual Meeting of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). Phoenix, AZ, USA.
  16. Vongas, J.G. , Al Hajj, R., & Fiset, J. (2018, August). Leader emergence, testosterone, and empathy: Testing the dual-hormone hypothesis in men. 78th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Chicago, IL, USA.
  17. Vongas, J.G. , & Al Hajj, R. (2018, July). Implicit power motivation modulates the effects of male-male competition on testosterone and empathy. 23rd World Meeting of the International Society for Research on Aggression. Paris, France.
  18. Vongas, J.G. , Al Hajj, R., & Fiset, J. (2018, May). Leadership emergence, power, and empathy: A test of the dual-hormone hypothesis. 3rd Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Leadership Symposium. Chania, Crete, Greece.
  19. Al Hajj, R., Fiset, J., & Vongas, J.G. (2017, November). Mirror, mirror, on the wall, should I help or not at all? 9th Annual Graduate Research Exposition of the John Molson School of Business, Concordia University. Montreal, QC, Canada.
  20. Vongas, J.G. , & Al Hajj, R. (2017, July). The effects of testosterone and implicit power on men’s emotion recognition and aggression following status contests. 10th International Critical Management Studies (CMS) Conference. Liverpool, UK.
  21. Fiset, J., Al Hajj, R., & Vongas, J.G. (2017, August). The effects of group physical attractiveness on helping behaviors following workplace ostracism. 77th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Atlanta, GA, USA.
  22. Al Hajj, R., Vongas, J.G. , & Chiovitti, S. (2016, November). Implicit motives driving explicit leadership outcomes. 8th Annual Graduate Research Exposition of the John Molson School of Business, Concordia University. Montreal, QC, Canada.
  23. Al Hajj, R., & Vongas, J.G. (2016, August). How experiencing a radical change affects individual motivation. 76th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Anaheim, CA, USA.
  24. Vongas, J.G. , & Al Hajj, R. (2016, May). Male rivalry seen through a biopsychosocial lens. 18th International Conference on Applied Psychology. Tokyo, Japan.
  25. Vongas, J.G. , & Al Hajj, R. (2015, August). Power matters: Competition, testosterone, and men’s empathic accuracy and aggression. 75th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Vancouver, BC, Canada.
  26. Fiset, J., Al Hajj, R., & Vongas, J.G. (2015, August). When ostracism cannot be ignored: The role of ostracizer status and ostracizee’s social support. 75th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Vancouver, BC, Canada.
  27. Vongas, J.G. , & Al Hajj, R. (2015, June). Curb your contempt: Leadership moderates the effect of competition on contemptuous emotions and behaviors. 43rd Annual Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Conference. Halifax, NS, Canada.
  28. Vongas, J.G. , & Al Hajj, R. (2015, May). A biopsychosocial model of male competition: How implicit power motivation predicts rivals’ testosterone, empathic accuracy, and aggression. 8th Annual Meeting. Society for the Study of Motivation. New York, NY, USA.
  29. Vongas, J.G. , & Al Hajj, R. (2015, March). Implicit power motivation: The missing link between rivals’ testosterone, aggression, and empathy. 1st Biannual International Convention of Psychological Science. Amsterdam, Netherlands.
  30. Al Hajj, R., & Vongas, J.G. (2014, August). Radical change seen through a ‘micro’ lens: Usual suspects, unusual OB context. 74th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Philadelphia, PA, USA.
  31. Vongas, J.G. , & Al Hajj, R. (2014, July). Why empathy matters in organizational behavior. 28th International Congress of Applied Psychology. Paris, France.
  32. Vongas, J.G. , & Al Hajj, R. (2014, May). Women’s perceived empathy and their precarious leadership appointments. 42nd Annual Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Conference. Muskoka, ON, Canada.
  33. Vongas, J.G. , Schattke, K., Al Hajj, R., Aldon, P., & Oppenheimer, R. (2014, May). Negotiating with punch: The effect of power motive congruence on buyers’ flow experience and negotiation success. 7th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Motivation. San Francisco, CA, USA.
  34. Vongas, J.G. , & Al Hajj, R. (2013, November). Born to empathize? Women leaders on the brink of failure. 5th Annual Graduate Research Exposition of the John Molson School of Business, Concordia University. Montreal, QC, Canada.
  35. Vongas, J.G. , Saffie-Robertson, M.C., & Cluley, H. (2013, June). Vasco Da Gama comes home: New parenthood in men’s family and work spheres. 41st Annual Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Conference. Calgary, AB, Canada.
  36. Al Hajj, R., & Vongas, J.G. (2013, June). I’ve failed, now what? Guilt and shame differentially affect persistence following goal failure. 41st Annual Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Conference. Calgary, AB, Canada.
  37. Vongas, J.G. , & Jungert, T. (2013, June). No work is motivating if the climate lacks warmth: The importance of autonomy supportive coworkers and managers in elderly care. 5th International Conference on Self-Determination Theory. Rochester, NY, USA.
  38. Vongas, J.G. (2012, July). When nurture fuels nature: Competition, power, and testosterone on men’s empathic responses. 20th World Meeting of the International Society for Research on Aggression. Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.
  39. Vongas, J.G. (2012, May). Winning, losing, and empathy: Differences in power motivation and testosterone levels affect men’s aggression, empathic accuracy and personal distress following competition. 5th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Motivation. Chicago, IL, USA.
  40. Vongas, J.G. , Saffie-Robertson, M.C., & Cluley, H. (2011, November). From nomad to settler: New parenthood and men’s family and work. 3rd Annual Graduate Research Exposition of the John Molson School of Business, Concordia University. Montreal, QC, Canada.
  41. Vongas, J.G. ( 2011, July). Exploring the glass cliff through an evolutionary lens: Leader empathy moderates the impact of LMX on job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and job performance. 39th Annual Conference of the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada. Montreal, QC, Canada.
  42. Vongas, J.G. (2010, November). It pays to care: Empathy in organizational life. 2nd Annual Graduate Research Exposition of the John Molson School of Business, Concordia University. Montreal, QC, Canada.
  43. Vongas, J.G. (2009, November). Birth order, personality, and innovation in family business. 1st Annual Graduate Research Exposition of the John Molson School of Business, Concordia University. Montreal, QC, Canada.
  44. Vongas, J.G. (2009, August). Glass cliffs, empathy, and biology: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study in leadership. 69th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Chicago, IL, USA.
  45. Vongas, J.G. (2009, June). Testosterone, power motivation, and social dominance orientation: A biosocial model of organizational mobility. 37th Annual Conference of the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada. Niagara Falls, ON, Canada.
  46. Vongas, J.G. (2009, April). Born to innovate? Birth order and innovation among family business successors. 5th Annual Family Enterprise Research Conference. Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
  47. Saad, G., & Vongas, J.G. (2008, April). Conspicuous consumption and male physiology: An evolutionary perspective. Conférence Étudiante de Recherche, Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC). Montreal, QC, Canada.
  48. Saad, G., & Vongas, J.G. ( 2007, June). The effects of conspicuous consumption on testosterone. 19th Annual Conference of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society. College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA.

MY PEDAGOGY: PEOPLE & ORGANIZATIONS

The main courses I teach are:

  • Organizational Behavior and Ethics
  • Data-Driven Management Decisions
  • Leadership and Collaboration
  • Human Resource Management
  • World of Business

I have also recently taught Strategy and, in my distant past, Brand Management, Marketing Research, and even Operations Management.

EDUCATION

Concordia University, John Molson School of Business

Ph.D. Management/Organizational Behavior (minor in Research Methods), 2015

M.Sc. Marketing/Consumer Behavior, 2008

B.Comm. Marketing (major), 2000

McGill University, Faculty of Science

B.Sc. Physiology (major); Classics (minor in Modern Greek Literature), 1997

SOFIA: WISDOM AS A GUIDING IDEAL

Pensive Athena

Pensive Athena (I Skeptómeni Athiná), 460 BC. 

Athena possesses power, yet is depicted in reflection rather than triumph. This suggests power made wiser by restraint and contemplation of consequences.

In the Greek world and beyond, Athena is revered not simply for her strength, but also for her wisdom ("sofia"), strategy, temperance, and the ability to guide others through uncertainty. These qualities remain at the heart of leadership today.

My aspiration, through research and teaching, is to illuminate power so it may be understood, disciplined, and used wisely and compassionately.