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Dr. Kyle Mao

  • Assistant Professor - Department of Accounting
Portrait of Dr. Kyle Mao

Biography and expertise

Dr. Kyle Mao is an Assistant Professor of Accounting and a Dean Paul R. Gowens Excellence Professorship Fellow at Texas State University. His research uses experimental methods to examine how management control systems and organizational practices influence employee behavior, with a focus on corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices, prosocial workplace behavior, and performance evaluation. His work has appeared in Contemporary Accounting Research, Journal of Management Accounting Research, and Journal of Economic Psychology.

Dr. Mao received the Robert J. Olney Early Career Research Award, the Presidential Distinction for Excellence in Teaching, and is an Alpha Chi Favorite Professor. He earned his Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of Arizona in 2023.

Education

Doctorate Degree

PhD in Management

Accounting Emphasis

University of Arizona, 2023

Master's Degree

MS in Finance

Michigan State University, 2018

Bachelor's Degree

BBA in Finance and Management

University of Iowa, 2017

Teaching Interests

Research Interests

  • Mao, Zhiping. 2025-2026 REP Grant, Texas State University, Texas State University, $12000. (Submitted: 2025, Funded: 2026 - 2027). Grant.
  • Mao, Zhiping. 2025 Faculty Development Fund, McCoy College of Business, Texas State University, $3000. (Funded: September 2025 - August 2026). Grant.
  • Mao, Zhiping. 2025 McCoy College Research Grant, McCoy College of Business, Texas State University, $5000. (Funded: March 2025 - March 2026). Grant.
  • Mao, Zhiping. 2024 Faculty Development Fund, McCoy College of Business, Texas State University, $1600. (Funded: September 2024 - August 2025). Grant.
  • Mao, Zhiping. 2023 Faculty Development Fund, McCoy College of Business, Texas State University, $2000. (Funded: September 2023 - August 2024). Grant.
View all grants
  • Brightbill, K., Mao, Z., & Thornock, T. (n.d.). Communicating ESG Outcomes to Employees: The Role of Language Formality in Shaping Employee-Firm Relationships. Contemporary Accounting Research.
  • Cardella, E., Kugler, T., & Mao, Z. (2026). Spillover Effects from Competitive Rank-and-Yank Systems on Employees’ Other-Regarding Behavior. Journal of Economics Psychology, 115, 102919. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2026.102919
  • Mao, Z. (2026). Employee Reactions to Opportunistically Motivated Selective Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 38(2), 127–149. https://doi.org/10.2308/JMAR-2024-073
  • Douthit, J. D., Mao, Z., & Martin, P. R. (2024). Tend to One’s Own House: The Effect of Firm CSR on Employee Effort. Contemporary Accounting Research, 41(4), 2488–2513. https://doi.org/10.1111/1911-3846.12987
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Robert J. Olney Early Career Research Award, McCoy College of Business. September 2026 - Present
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Dean Paul R. Gowens Excellence Professorship in Business Administration Fellow, McCoy College of Business. January 2026 - January 2027
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Outstanding Reviewer Award, American Accounting Association. January 2026
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Alpha Chi Favorite Professors of 2025, Alpha Chi National Honor Society. November 2025
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Presidential Distinction for Excellence in Teaching, McCoy College of Business. August 2025
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  1. Member

    Undergraduate Scholarship Committee

  2. Reviewer / Referee

    The British Accounting Review

  3. Reviewer / Referee

    Accounting and Business Research

  4. Member

    Accounting Department New Faculty Search Committee

  5. Member

    Accounting Department New Faculty Search Committee

  6. Reviewer / Referee

    Hawaii Accounting Research Conference

  7. View all activities