Post by MIT Sloan School of Management

Robert B. McKersie, a professor emeritus at the MIT Sloan School of Management whose pioneering research on collective bargaining and negotiations is widely credited with shaping the field of industrial relations, died July 11 at the age of 96. McKersie’s landmark 1965 book, “A Behavioral Theory of Labor Negotiations: An Analysis of a Social Interaction System,” co-authored with his friend Richard Walton, influenced how negotiations are taught, practiced, and studied across the world. His active participation in the early civil rights movement in Chicago, where he studied and challenged discriminatory employment practices, reflected McKersie’s belief that academic research should contribute to meaningful institutional and social change. Variously hailed as a distinguished scholar, educator, author, and mentor, McKersie leaves a legacy of ideas and integrity. His friend and colleague MIT Sloan professor emeritus Thomas Kochan once described McKersie as “one of the most important industrial relations scholars and leaders of our time — if not the most important.” Read our full remembrance: https://lnkd.in/giG568Dm