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ATLANTA — Georgia State University has appointed or reappointed four faculty members of the J. Mack Robinson College of Business to its most senior professorships.
Ivo Tafkov of the School of Accountancy and Yusen Xia of the Institute for Insight have been named Distinguished University Professors. Glenn Harrison of the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Science has been reappointed a Distinguished University Professor, and Lars Mathiassen of the Department of Computer Information Systems has been reappointed a Regents’ Professor.
The four scholars reflect a Robinson research culture focused on addressing problems that often cross traditional academic boundaries. Their work examines how people and organizations respond to incentives, use data and artificial intelligence, make decisions under risk and uncertainty, and navigate technological change. In different ways, each demonstrates how close engagement with business and other organizations can inspire new questions, strengthen scholarship, and translate knowledge into impact.
“These appointments recognize four extraordinary scholars and reflect the research culture we are building at Robinson,” said Richard Phillips, dean of the Robinson College. “The most consequential problems facing business rarely fit neatly within a single academic discipline. Our proximity to businesses gives our faculty an opportunity to understand those problems more deeply, bring different perspectives to bear on them, and generate knowledge that both advances scholarship and informs practice.”
Ivo Tafkov
Ivo Tafkov: How Information and Incentives Shape Performance
Ivo Tafkov is an internationally recognized scholar in managerial accounting whose research examines how incentives, performance information, and management systems shape individual and team behavior. For example, his research has shown that simply providing employees with information about how their performance compares with their peers’ can change effort and performance, even when compensation remains unchanged. He has extended that work to questions about teamwork, target setting, and the influence of management practices on employees’ willingness to invest in developing new skills.
The BYU Accounting Research Rankings rank Tafkov first worldwide in managerial accounting research over the most recent six-year period. He is also an accomplished instructor at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and has made significant contributions to doctoral education. Tafkov holds the KPMG and E. Harold Stokes Professorship in Accounting and joined Georgia State in 2009.
Yusen Xia
Yusen Xia: Analytics Built Around Real-World Problems
Yusen Xia is an internationally recognized scholar in operations management and applied analytics whose work crosses traditional academic boundaries. His research spans business analytics, supply chain management, machine learning, finance, healthcare, and law. His scholarship has also influenced practice and generated meaningful societal impact. For example, healthcare facilities have adopted findings from his research on precision treatment for substance use disorders and acquired brain injuries.
As founding director of Robinson’s Institute for Insight, Xia has brought computer scientists and data scientists together with business faculty, building an environment in which interdisciplinary research on problems that matter to business is the norm. He also served as founding director of Robinson’s M.S. in Analytics program and created its signature analytics sprint model, through which students work directly with organizations to address real business challenges. His extensive collaborations with businesses and other organizations have provided real-world problems and data that have informed his research and teaching. Xia is the Anne and Michael D. Easterly Distinguished Professor.
Glenn Harrison
Glenn Harrison: Understanding Decisions Under Risk and Uncertainty
Glenn Harrison is an internationally renowned economist whose research examines how people make decisions when outcomes are uncertain. His work crosses experimental and behavioral economics, finance, insurance, public policy, and other fields. Recent research has challenged conventional understanding of gender differences in standardized test performance, while his 2025 book, “The Gambling Animal,” draws on decades of research to explore the role of risk management in human behavior and evolution.
Harrison directs Georgia State’s Center for the Economic Analysis of Risk (CEAR), which brings together researchers from across Georgia State and around the world to address questions involving risk and uncertainty. Its collaborations extend across academic disciplines and include the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and other external partners. Harrison holds the C.V. Starr Chair in Risk Management and Insurance.
Lars Mathiassen
Lars Mathiassen: Research With Practitioners, Not Just About Them
Lars Mathiassen is an internationally recognized scholar of digital innovation whose research examines how organizations design, implement, and sustain technology-enabled change. A defining feature of his work is engaged scholarship, in which research is conducted in close collaboration with organizations facing real problems and is designed to produce knowledge with both theoretical and practical value. His research has included collaborations with companies such as Volvo, Intel, Ericsson, Georgia-Pacific, and AstraZeneca.
Mathiassen’s commitment to engaged scholarship shaped his leadership in establishing Robinson’s Doctor of Business Administration program, a research doctorate designed for experienced executives and professionals. He served for 15 years as the program’s founding academic director. Mathiassen is a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar and a Fellow of the Association for Information Systems.
About the Appointments
The Distinguished University Professor is Georgia State University’s highest faculty rank and recognizes sustained, outstanding achievement in scholarship and instruction. A Regents’ Professorship is the highest distinction conferred by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents and recognizes faculty whose scholarship has earned significant national and international recognition, complemented by sustained excellence in teaching, mentoring, and service.
About the Robinson College of Business
Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business brings together people and ideas across disciplines to address questions that matter to scholars and business leaders alike. With locations in the heart of Atlanta and in Buckhead, Robinson’s close industry connections foster a continuous exchange in which business challenges inspire new knowledge, research informs practice, and students learn by doing. The college serves more than 8,500 students and has more than 80,000 alumni worldwide.