Robert K. Jaedicke's research and teaching were in the fields of financial and management accounting with special emphasis on the application of management economics concepts to those fields. As a teacher, Jaedicke was rated highly on the basis of student evaluations of his courses. He was best known for his ability to teach difficult subject matter in a clear and understandable manner. His skill in teaching earned him the 1985 Distinguished Professor Award for outstanding service to accounting education by the California Certified Public Accountants Foundation for Education and Research. He also won awards in 1961 and 1962 for outstanding research from the National Association of Accountants.

Robert K. Jaedicke was the sixth dean of the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University from 1983-1990. Jaedicke also served as acting dean in 1979-80 and as associate dean for academic affairs from 1969 to 1981. Jaedicke joined the accounting faculty at the School in 1961.

As dean, Jaedicke sought ways to further strengthen the academic excellence of the School. He broadened and enhanced the curriculum in order to meet the challenges of management in the 1980s. For instance, the School expanded its offerings in the area of international dimensions of management and other global issues in the belief that managers must be effective and comfortable in a world marketplace. Other areas which were expanded during his deanship include the area of corporate responsibility and management ethics; the management of complex technology and the process of technological change; the management of operations, with a particular emphasis on manufacturing; and field of information technology and systems. Jaedicke also expanded the size of the permanent faculty.

Jaedicke moved rapidly to incorporate personal computers into the School’s MBA curriculum in both core and elective courses. In so doing, the School's inventory of computing equipment mushroomed to meet the burgeoning new uses of high technology in management research and teaching. Jaedicke also showed himself to be a champion fund-raiser for the School. During his tenure, eleven endowed professorships were established, including the Philip H. Knight deanship, which Jaedicke was first to hold. The School’s endowment reached over $53 million. The School also grew physically under Jaedicke. The Edmund W. Littlefield Center was created in honor of the principal donor. In 1988-89, Jaedicke served as president of the American Academy of Collegiate Schools of Business, which is the national accrediting agency for U.S. business schools.

Currently, Jaedicke serves on the Board of Advisors for the College of Business at Montana State University in Bozeman and is on the Board of Directors of C.M. Capital, Inc. in Palo Alto, which is part of the Cha Group. Jaedicke lives with his lovely wife, dog, and horses in Montana. He and his wife Bette are actively involved with the Yellowstone Park Foundation Board of Advisors and support many of the Homeless initiatives in the Bozeman area.