Robert J. House, 79, Wharton professor

Robert J. House, 79, of Center City, a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania who was a founder and principal investigator of a global project on leadership and organizational behavior, died of heart failure Tuesday, Nov. 1, at Hahnemann University Hospital.

Dr. House joined the Wharton faculty in 1988. From 1993 to 2003, he was active with the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) research project at Wharton and he coedited three books compiled from the research. The last volume is scheduled to be published in 2013.

In the introduction to the first volume, Culture, Leadership, and Organizations, Dr. House wrote that "as economic borders come down, cultural barriers will most likely go up and present new challenges and opportunities in business."

The researchers set out to understand how culture influences leadership and organizational behavior by studying 62 societies over 10 years.

Recently, Dr. House established a nonprofit foundation to sustain the research of the project.

While involved with the project, he visited universities in 38 countries. He had also been a visiting scholar or visiting professor at 14 universities, including several in Europe and Asia.

He was the author of more than 130 journal articles and many book chapters.

"His passion was his research," his wife, Tessa Wanio House, said.

Dr. House retired in February 2010.

A native of Toledo, Ohio, Dr. House earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Detroit. He earned a master's degree in business administration and a doctorate in management in 1960 from Ohio State University. He then held faculty appointments at Ohio State, the University of Michigan, and City University of New York.

From 1973 to 1988, Dr. House was on the faculty of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, where he helped establish the school's Ph.D. program.

He was a past president of the Administrative Science Association of Canada and was a former chairman of the Organizational Behavior Division of the Academy of Management.

Dr. House wore a patch over his right eye, which had been damaged by complications from surgery in the 1970s. Friends said he looked like John Wayne in True Grit, his wife said.

In addition to his wife, Dr. House is survived by sons Danny and Tim; a daughter, Mary; two sisters; and five grandchildren.

A memorial service is planned for Saturday, Dec. 3, in Toronto.