Professor Timothy Feddersen joined the faculty at the Kellogg School of Management in 1995. He is the Wendell Hobbs Professor of Managerial Politics and Director of the
Social Enterprise at Kellogg Program (SEEK). Professor Feddersen’s research centers on the manner in which elections aggregate dispersed information; the linkage between information and participation in elections; modeling ethically motivated agents in games; bargaining in legislatures; and the informal role of activists in the economy. He is currently investigating models of whistle-blowing and the way in which the need to rationalize choice constrains decision making. Professor Feddersen also teaches several classes at Kellogg including Strategy in the Nonmarket Environment, Values-Based Leadership and Values and Strategic Crisis Management. All of these classes focus on the way leaders must anticipate the reaction of stakeholder groups within the firm, in the media, in legislatures, courts and in public opinion broadly.
Areas of Expertise
Corporate Social Responsibility
Crisis Management
Political Economy/Design
Public Management
Strategy in Non-Market Environments
Voting Systems
- Recent Media Coverage
Crain's Chicago Business: Business schools offering lessons on social responsibility
Wall Street Journal: Top Small Workplaces 2009
WBBM-AM:
Economist Intelligence Unit: Executive Briefing: Rationalization in decision making
See all Kellogg in the Media
Education
PhD, 1993, Political Science, University of Rochester
BA, 1985, Mathematics, Indiana University
Academic Positions
Professor, Managerial Economics & Decision Sciences, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 1998-present
Assistant Professor, Managerial Economics & Decision Sciences, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 1995-1998
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Northwestern University, 1992-1995
Grants and Awards
Sidney J. Levy Teaching Award, Kellogg School of Management, 2009-2010
Stanley Reiter Best Paper Award, Kellogg School of Management, 2002
Timothy Feddersen
"Convicting the Innocent: The Inferiority of Unanimous Jury Verdicts," (with Wolfgang Pesendorfer)
American Political Science Review, 1998, 92(1): 23-35
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Editorial Positions
Board of Editors, Political Analysis, 2011-ongoing
Teaching Interests
Political economy with a specific interest in democratic institutions and voting systems
Full-Time / Part-Time MBA
Values and Crisis Decision Making (SEEK-440-A) This course counts toward the following majors: Social Enterprise
In recent decades corporations have increasingly become the dominant source for political and social change. Increased globalization and technological progress have further accelerated this process. Businesses are now held accountable by standards other than legal compliance or financial performance. Successful business leaders have recognized that these challenges are best mastered by a commitment to values-based management. However, simply "doing the right thing" is not enough. Rather, companies increasingly find themselves as targets of aggressive legal action, media coverage and social pressure. Organizations must be prepared to handle rapidly changing environments and anticipate potential threats. This requires a deep understanding of the strategic complexities in managing various stakeholders and constituencies. To confront students with these challenges in a realistic fashion, the class is structured around a rich set of challenging case studies and crisis simulation exercises.
Values-Based Leadership (SEEK-460-0)
This course counts toward the following majors: Management & Organizations, Social Enterprise.
The first issue a leader in the role of manager, entrepreneur, investor or stakeholder must address about an organization concerns its "value proposition," whether deciding to enter an industry or to begin an undertaking. However, this analysis is incomplete if leaders fail to consider the wider impact of the organization's actions on its own employees and on society. This course focuses on the problem of incorporating a wide variety of value perspectives into decision-making. Values-based leadership involves the ability to take the disparate value propositions of various stakeholders and integrate them into a coherent vision. We explore how recognizing and incorporating competing values claims throughout the organization is often facilitated and hindered by a number of psychological, organizational and cultural processes. Students will come to understand the variety of underlying mechanisms managers of organizations typically have at their disposal to successfully implement values objectives and select among different approaches, while anticipating the constraints placed on choice by the organization's market and non-market environments.
Executive MBA
Strategic Mgmt in Non-Market Environments (SEEKX-441-0) Ethics and Executive Leadership (SEEKX-472-0) Ethics and Executive Leadership examines the anatomy of leadership in modern organizations, highlighting the ethical challenges facing corporate leaders in the rapidly changing business environment.
Strategic Crisis Management (SEEKX-910-0) Strategic Crisis Management provides conceptual tools for managers in high-pressure, complex crisis situations. Topics include management and media, dealing with activists and interest groups, and surviving legal, legislative and regulatory challenges.
