Dr. A.R. Elangovan (Elango)
B.Com (Madras), MBA (St Mary's, Halifax), PhD (Toronto)
3M National Teaching Fellow & UVic Distinguished Professor
Director, GSB International
Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria, Canada
Dr. Elangovan has been a professor of Organizational Behaviour at the Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria since 1992. His research, teaching and consulting interests are in the areas of leadership, meaningfulness in work, stages of organizational growth, organizational analysis (aligning strategy, structure, systems, culture), trust, wellbeing, wisdom, conflict management, and negotiations. He served as the Associate Dean from 2008-2011 and has been the Director of GSB International since 2003.
The primary focus of Professor Elangovan’s current research is on “understanding why and how some people have deeply fulfilling and optimal work lives and what others can learn from their experiences”. His objective is to develop an overarching framework to guide individuals and organizations (employers) in creating the conditions necessary for employees to flourish and have meaningful work lives. As part of this program of research, his scholarly inquiries address the notions of authenticity, meaningfulness, callings, wisdom, and wellbeing at work.
Professor Elangovan’s research articles can be seen in the Academy of Management Review, the Journal of Organizational Behavior, the Journal of Vocational Behavior, Organizational Dynamics, the Journal of Management Inquiry, the Journal of Social Psychology, the International Journal of Conflict Management, Small Group Research, the Journal of Managerial Psychology, Applied Psychology: An International Review, the Leadership and Organizational Development Journal, the Journal of Management Systems, Negotiation: Readings, Exercises and Cases, and the Handbook of Leadership. He was a member of the Editorial Board of the online journal M@n@gement (2003-2009) and the Korean Journal of Human Resource Development (2018-2020). He also serves as a reviewer for numerous organizational and management journals and grant agencies.
In February 2012, Professor Elangovan was recognized with Canada’s most prestigious teaching award – the 3M National Teaching Fellowship. In May 2013 he was named a University of Victoria Distinguished Professor. This distinction is the highest academic honour UVic can bestow on a faculty member and is awarded to those who have achieved great distinction in the areas of both teaching and scholarly research, and who have made a substantial contribution to the university and wider communities. In addition, he has received the Gustavson Scholar Award (2013), Gustavson School of Business Service Excellence Award (2012), Gustavson School of Business Teaching Excellence Award (2010), the MBA Professor of the Year Award (2011, 2010, 2009, 2008), the MBA (Part-time Group) Professor of the Year Award (2004), the Faculty of Business Research Excellence Award (2004), and the Faculty of Business Teaching Excellence Award (2003). His research on trust in organizations with his Austrian research team has been profiled in the B.C. print and radio media (2001, 2008). In 1999, he was awarded the University of Victoria Alumni Award for Teaching Excellence.
Professor Elangovan is also active in providing executive and management development training and consulting services for private and public sector organizations in Canada, Europe and Asia. His clients over the years have included the BC Ferries, the Victoria Foundation, KEDU Healthcare Group (Shanghai, China), the Whistler Chamber of Commerce, Malatest Corp., BCLC (British Columbia Lottery Corporation), BC Pension Corporation, Johannes Kepler University (Linz, Austria), TELUS, BCCIO, St. Georges Private School (Vancouver), BC Ministry of Attorney General, Capital City Executives Association, BC Liquor Distribution Branch, Federation of Children & Family Services of BC, BCTS (British Columbia Timber Sales), Ministry of Forests (SIFR, Executive), Sources Community Services (BC), PSERC/PSA (Public Service Employee Relations Commission/Public Services Agency), Custom House Global Foreign Exchange, ACD Systems, WPGA (West Point Grey Academy, Vancouver), BCBC (British Columbia Buildings Corporation), Federal Department of Fisheries & Oceans, B.C Ministry of the Solicitor General, OA Solutions, Navia Markets (Chennai, India), B.C. Ministry of Finance (RMB), Ocean Pointe Victoria, Ministry of Agriculture & Lands, SICAL Logistics (Chennai, India), Taiyuan Tech Park, and the B.C. Insurance Institute.
From 2004 to 2006, Professor Elangovan was a principal investigator on the Research Team for the B.C. government’s Accelerated Leadership Development initiative where he played a key role in researching and building the leadership competencies framework for senior executives, designing the measurement tool, developing the curriculum for the training program, and delivering the sessions. Since 2019, he has been leading a major research project for BC Corrections that looks at enhancing meaningfulness in and at work with the aim of improving engagement and retention.
Dr. Elangovan served on the Board of Directors of OA Solutions, an IT company with operations in Victoria, Vancouver and Edmonton from 2008 till 2011. He was also a co-founder and Director of Utilium Corporation, a UVic-based venture with a mandate to facilitate the transfer of management knowledge from research-based institutions to industry and practicing managers. In 2015, he was instrumental in the development of an innovative, modular, hybrid MBA program (customized for TELUS) which pioneered a new model of collaboration between academia and industry.