John Dobson

John Dobson is a Professor in the Finance Department at the Orfalea College of Business, California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly). He earned a B.Sc. in Economics from Lancaster University (UK) in 1979, followed by an M.Sc. in Economics (1982) and Ph.D. in Financial Economics (1988) from the University of South Carolina's College of Business. After a year as an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, he joined the University of Mississippi before accepting a permanent position at Cal Poly in 1990.

• Education:
  • B.Sc. in Economics, Lancaster University (UK), 1979
  • M.Sc. in Economics, University of South Carolina, 1982
  • Ph.D. in Financial Economics, University of South Carolina, 1988

Dobson's research bridges financial economics with moral philosophy and aesthetics. His work critiques the narrow behavioral assumptions in traditional financial theory, exploring how economic models can better incorporate ethical and aesthetic dimensions of human activity. Recent projects investigate poststructural interpretations of business as an aesthetic pursuit, integrating virtue ethics and economic theory to redefine organizations as moral, economic, and artistic entities.

He has authored two books and over fifty scholarly publications, focusing on behavioral finance, financial ethics, and interdisciplinary approaches to business theory. Currently, Dobson is working on a book synthesizing economic theories of the firm with ethical and aesthetic frameworks.