SUSTAINING IMPACTFUL MULTIDISCIPLINARY CONTRIBUTIONS OVER FIVE DECADES AN INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR RAMADHAR SINGH, DISTINGUISHED UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR, AMRUT MODY SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT, AHMEDABAD UNIVERSITY

A professor avows, declares, or professes knowledge of a field. The challenge for most professors lies in sustaining advancement of knowledge in their respective fields of specialisation. However, Ramadhar Singh—an experimental social psychologist and currently Distinguished University Professor, Amrut Mody School of Management, Ahmedabad University and previously Distinguished Professor of Management at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (2010–16), and Professor of Organisational Behaviour at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (1979–1988)—has steadily been advancing knowledge since 1968. Importantly, his writings in psychological sciences have been cited in textbooks of management, organisational behaviour, personality, psychology, and social psychology; and in books and handbooks of communication, law, marketing, organisational behaviour, political science, and public policy. Further, those writings have influenced research in different areas of management (decision support systems, finance, general management, innovation, marketing, organisational behaviour), psychology (cognitive, comparative, cross-cultural, developmental, general, learning, personality and social psychology, and research methods), humanities and social sciences (communication, economics, education, law, philosophy, political science, sociology, public policy, and social work), and other disciplines (biology, physiology, medicine, and psychiatry).

By tracing the trajectory of Professor Singh’s vast and varied experiences at  national and international institutions, his dedication to psychological sciences and persistence in questioning the status quo, offering a better alternative, and disseminating his scholarly contributions through publications in international journals, colloquia at prestigious institutions across the globe, and presentations at national and international conferences, this interview offers pathways to research scholars for sustained multidisciplinary and impactful research in their careers from India. Moreover, his programmatic research in decision making, interpersonal attraction, impression formation, intergroup relations, justice and fairness, leadership, models of humans, and prediction of performance sets new standards of excellence for Indian academia and can well inspire younger generations to pursue academic careers.