Matthew Liao-Troth

Emeritus Faculty

About

Dr. Liao-Troth's research focuses on the relationship workers have with their employers and how that relationship affects individual performance. He has applied this interest to such topics as customer and service provider relationships, the psychological contract of volunteers, organizational climate, and faculty unionization. He has published this research in the Journal of Applied Psychology, the Journal for Nonprofit Management, the Journal of Collective Negotiations, the Journal of Community Psychology, the Journal of Organizational Behavior, the Journal of Volunteer Administration, Mid-American Business Journal, Nonprofit Management and Leadership, Nonprofit and Volunteer Sector Quarterly, and Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations; wrote the entry on prosocial behavior in the Encyclopedia of Philanthropy in the United States (ABC-CLIO); and recently edited his first book, Challenges in Volunteer Management (IAP). He is currently conducting research on the impact of individual characteristics on negotiation performance, individual traits on career selection, and computer-mediated performance appraisal systems. He received the Dean's Research Award in 2005 and the MBA's Professor of the Year Award for 2006-2007.

Dr. Liao-Troth is a member of the Academy of Management, the American Psychological Association, the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, and the International Association for Conflict Management. He was awarded the Emerging Scholar award in 1997 and the Focus Field award in 2003 by the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action. He was the chair of the Public and Nonprofit Division of the Academy of Management for the 2005-2006 academic year, and served as President of the Faculty Senate at Western Washington University for the 2008-2009 academic year.

Dr. Liao-Troth was on the faculty of DePaul University in Chicago and Washington University in St. Louis before coming to Western Washington University. He also taught at the University of Arizona, San Diego State University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Loyola University Chicago. Outside of academia, he served as a division executive with the Boy Scouts of America for several years after college, and has been involved with family businesses for most of his life. He has consulted for a variety of business, nonprofit, and government organizations.

In his personal life, Dr. Liao-Troth is happily married with two daughters. His primary hobby is Italian motor scooters.