Rate My Professor Fiona Edgar

Professor Fiona Edgar is a Professor in the Department of Management at the Otago Business School, University of Otago, specializing in human resource management. She earned her PhD, BCom (Hons), and DipGrad from the University of Otago, along with the NZCSMgmt. Prior to academia, Edgar worked in industry and trained as a teacher before transitioning to management studies. Throughout her career, she has held positions including Lecturer in Management, Associate Dean (Postgraduate) in the Otago Business School from 2016 to 2019, and Head of the Department of Management from 2019 to 2024. She coordinates and teaches courses such as MANT553 Human Resource Management and MANT345 Strategic Human Resource Management.

Her doctoral research, supported by the prestigious Bright Futures Doctoral Scholarship—the inaugural award to a University of Otago Business School PhD candidate—examined legislation's influence on HRM policy and practice. Edgar has received the University of Otago Early Career Award for Distinction in Research in 2008 and an Emerald Management Reviews Citation of Excellence for her 2009 paper 'Workplace Values and Beliefs: An Empirical Study of Ideology, High Commitment Management and Unionization,' published in The International Journal of Human Resource Management. Recent publications include 'Understanding employees’ environmentally sustainable work behavior: The roles of self-transcendence values, innovative work attitudes and sustainable performance management' (2026, International Journal of Productivity & Performance Management), the book chapter 'SDGs and HRM in Australia and New Zealand' (2025, The Elgar Companion to Human Resource Management Beyond the Sustainable Development Goals), and 'Research Sparks: Turning intellect into HR impact' (2025, Human Resources). Other significant works are 'Factors influencing university research performance' (2013, Studies in Higher Education) and 'Employee voice on human resource management' (2005, Journal of Management & Organization). Edgar's research explores strategic HRM, sustainable practices, employee wellbeing, and organizational performance.