Faculty & Research
Faculty & Research
Faculty Profiles
Mai, Ke
Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour, CEIBS
Professor Mai Ke (Michael) holds the position of Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at CEIBS. Prior to joining CEIBS, he served as an Assistant Professor of Management at the Graduate School of Business at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) in Seoul and later the Business School at the National University of Singapore (NUS) in Singapore. He earned his Ph.D. in Management from the University of Arizona, an M.A. in Human Resource Management from Rutgers University, and a B.A. in Mass Communication from Nanjing University.
Prof. Mai's research primarily focuses on norm deviation behaviours in the workplace. His research interests can be organized into two primary research streams, focusing on examining both (a) deviant and unethical behaviours and (b) creative and innovative behaviours. Both are crucial types of norm deviation behaviours—one challenges common sense as a positive deviation, and the other deviates from moral norms as a negative deviation. His research draws on theories of psychological processing, social cognition, and judgment and decision-making to study these two prominent areas that concern employees’ personal and Organisational lives. Additionally, he is intrigued by exploring the effects of emergent new norms at work on both employee innovation and unethical behaviours. His recent research emphasizes how collaboration with artificial intelligence influences innovation and ethical behaviour.
Prof. Mai's research has been published multiple times in top-tier journals worldwide, including Nature Mental Health, Journal of Applied Psychology, Organisational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes, Personnel Psychology, and Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, among others. Prof. Mai's work has gained considerable recognition, leading to his selection as one of the "18 Influential Under 40" Business Professors by Singapore Business Review in 2016. He was also chosen by the editorial board of the Journal of Applied Psychology as the Annual Best Reviewer Award in 2021. He has also been awarded the Competitive Humanities and Social Sciences Research Award by the National University of Singapore. Currently, Dr. Mai serves as a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, and Journal of Business and Psychology. Meanwhile, his research has been extensively featured in a variety of media outlets, including CNNMoney, Fortune Magazine, Huffington Post, Bloomberg Businessweek, South China Morning Post, and Psychology Today, among others.
Prof. Mai teaches Organisational Behaviour, Leadership, Groups and Teams, Business Ethics, Creativity, and Human Resource Analytics at different levels including MBA, FMBA, EMBA and Ph.D.. He has been honored with the Teaching Excellence Award from the NUS Business School for two consecutive years, as well as the Outstanding Teaching Award from Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona.
- Ph.D. in Management, University of Arizona, 2015
- M.A. in Human Resource Management, Rutgers University, 2010
- B.A. in Mass Communication, Nanjing University, 2008
- Creativity
- Business Ethics
- Deviance Behaviours
- Artificial Intelligence
- Teams and Groups
- Organisational Behaviour
- Leadership
- Team Cooperation
- Human Resource Analysis
- Creativity and Innovation
Being Left in The Dark: Leader Work-related Secrecy, Psychological Contract Violation, and Employee Discretionary Behavior(Wang, Y., Mai, K. M., & Slepian, M. ) , Journal of Organizational Behavior, Accepted
Unveiling the Hidden Hazards: Exploring the Unintended Consequences of Legal Changes on Employee Injuries(Mai, K. M., Lin, Y., Zhang, K., & Zhang, R. ) , Journal of Applied Psychology, Accepted
Examining the Effects of Interpersonal Competition on Employees’ Reporting of Unethical Behavior in Organizations(Qiu, F., Mai, K. M., Ellis, A. P. J., Wen, X., & Liu, C.-H. ) , Journal of Business Ethics, 2026
Sharing Is Ethicizing: Examining the Impact of Sharing Observed Unethical Behavior with Family Members on Ethical Voice at Work(Chen, A., Mai, K. M., & Ye, Y. M. ) , Journal of Applied Psychology, 2026
When the Moon is Jealous of the Stars: Implications of Informal Leadership for Supervisor Downward Jealousy and Their Treatment of Other Subordinates(Qiu, F., Yu, L., Wen, X., Duffy, M., & Mai, K. M. ) , Academy of Management Journal, 2023.0646, 2026
Examining the Hindering Effects of Receiving Help on Internal Reporting of Unethical Behavior(Qiu, F.*, Mai, K. M.*, & Ellis, A. P. J. ) , Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2025
Suffering from Their Own Passiveness: A Leader-Centric Investigation of Laissez-Faire Leadership(Perkins, B., Ellis, A. P. J., & Mai, K. M. ) , Journal of Leadership Studies, 2025
Understanding the Effects of Cheating Configurations on Team Creative Performance: A Social Impact Theory Perspective(Spoelma, T. M., Mai, K. M., & Wei, W. ) , Personnel Psychology, 77(2), 595-620, 2024
Having a Voice in Your Community: A Large-Scale Field Experiment on Participatory Decision-Making in China(Wu, S. J., Mai, K. M., Zhuang, M., Yi, F. ) , Nature Human Behaviour, 8, 2119–2126, 2024
Drawing the Line: Organizational Misconduct, Social-Control Agents’ Decisions, and Audience Agreement(Cattani, G., Clemente, M., Durand, R. & Mai, K. M.) , Journal of Management Studies, 61, 785-819, 2023
Green space accessibility helps buffer declined mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from big data in the UK(Lee, K. O., Mai, K. M., & Park, S. ) , Nature Mental Health, 1, 124–134, 2023
No Person is an Island: Unpacking the Work and After-work Consequences of Interacting with Artificial Intelligence(Tang, P. M., Koopman, J., Mai, K. M., De Cremer, D., Zhang, J., Reynders, P., Ng, S., Chen, I-Heng ) , Journal of Applied Psychology, 108(11), 1766-1789, 2023
The reputational and ethical consequences of deceptive chatbot use(McGuire, J., De Cremer, D., Hesselbarth, Y., De Schutter, L., Mai, K. M., & Van Hiel, A. ) , Scientific Reports, 13(1), 16246, 2023
How Can Women Take Advantage of the High-Tech Era to be Perceived as Effective Leaders? Being Tech-Savvy Helps(Nagpal, M., Cao, J., Mai, K. M., & De Cremer, D. ) , Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 2023
Supporting Creativity or Creative Unethicality? Empowering Leadership and the Role of Performance Pressure(Mai, K. M., Welsh, D. T., Bush, J. T., Wang, F., & Jiang,K. ) , Journal of Business Ethics, 2022
The Impact of Supervisor-Employee Self-Protective Implicit Voice Theory Alignment(Ellis, A. P. J., Porter, C. O. L. H., & Mai, K. M. ) , Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 95, 155-183, 2022
Illumination and Elbow Grease: How Mental Models of the Creative Process Influence Creativity(Lucas, B. & Mai, K. M. ) , Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 168, 104107, 2022
Are You Too Happy to Serve Others? When and Why Positive Affect Makes Customer Mistreatment Experience Feel Worse(Lee, R., Mai, K. M., Qiu, F., Ilies, R., & Tang, P. M.) , Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 172, 104188, 2022
How perpetrator gender influences reactions to premeditated versus impulsive unethical behavior: A role congruity approach(Mai, K.M., Ellis, A.P.J., & Welsh, D.T. ) , Journal of Business Ethics, 166, 489-503, 2020
Anticipated Temporal Landmarks Undermine Motivation for Continued Goal Pursuit(Koo, M., Dai, H., Mai, K. M., & Song, C. ) , Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 161, 142-157, 2020
Overcoming the effects of sleep deprivation on unethical behavior: An extension of integrated self-control theory(Welsh, D.T., Mai, K.M., Ellis, A.P.J., & Christian, M.S.) , Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 76, 142-154, 2018
Licensed to say no: How and why does engaging in a prior moral action influence family support provision?(Li, A., Mai, K.M., & Bagger, J. ) , Journal of Vocational Behavior, 102, 86-98, 2017
Examining the effects of turnover intentions on OCBs and deviance behaviors: A psychological contract approach(Mai, K.M., Ellis, A.P.J., Christian, J.S., & Porter, C.O.L.H. ) , Journal of Applied Psychology, 101, 1067-1081, 2016
The grey side of creativity: Exploring the role of activation in the link between creative personality and unethical behavior(Mai, K.M., Ellis, A.P.J., & Welsh, D.T. ) , Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 60, 76-85, 2015
Building a self-regulatory model of sleep deprivation and deception: The role of caffeine and social influence(Welsh, D.T., Ellis, A.P.J., Christian, M.S., & Mai, K.M. )
, Journal of Applied Psychology, 99, 1268-1277, 2014
Featured online in: CNNMoney, Fast Company Magazine, FORTUNE China, Huffington Post, CKNW Morning News, Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg Businessweek, Ideas for Leaders
Surveying for artifacts: The susceptibility of the OCB--performance evaluation relationship to common rater, item, and measurement context effects(Podsakoff, N.P., Whiting, S.W., Welsh, D.T., & Mai, K.M. ) , Journal of Applied Psychology, 98, 863-874, 2013
Examining the asymmetrical effects of goal faultlines in groups: A categorization-elaboration approach(Ellis, A.P.J., Mai, K.M., & Christian, J.S. ) , Journal of Applied Psychology, 98, 948-961, 2013
