Steven C. Michael

Education

PhD, Business Economics, Harvard University
MBA, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Master of Engineering, Systems Engineering, University of Virginia
BA, Computational and Applied Mathematics, Rice University

Areas of Expertise

Dr. Michael's research focuses on how opportunities are identified and exploited to create new businesses, markets, and organizations. One of his current research streams examines the business model of franchising, a worldwide venue of entrepreneurship and a vehicle for economic growth and development. A second research stream examines how entrepreneurs’ human capital affects their entrepreneurial decision making. His primary research tools include entrepreneurship theory, economic theory, economics of organizations, and advanced econometrics. A significant stream of research combines macroeconomics with management theorizing to advise entrepreneurs how to survive recessions. He is the author of over 50 published research studies, and his work has appeared in the Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Journal of Management, Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, Information Systems Research, Small Business Economics, and Management International Review, among other journals.

Professional  Activities

Dr. Michael is an active member of the Academy of Management, the Strategic Management Society, the American Economic Association, and INFORMS. He has been an Associate Editor of the Journal of Management, and serves or has served on the editorial boards of every major journal in entrepreneurship and strategy, including the Journal of Business Venturing, Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, and the Journal of Small Business Management, among others.

He has led corporate venturing and innovation projects with students for companies including Abbott Labs, John Deere, Boeing, eBay, and Caterpillar. He has twice led student teams on corporate and economic development visits to China, visiting a dozen company sites and facilities over two weeks in May 2016 and May 2019.

Dr. Michael has presented research ideas and results at over 100 conferences and institutions across the world. In addition, he has given guest lectures and lessons in entrepreneurship to several high school audiences. He is a frequent judge for Hackathons, Makeathons, and Business Plan Competitions.

Most recently, at the request of the U.S. State Department, Dr. Michael served as Visiting Scholar and Public Diplomat to the Republic of Turkmenistan in October 2019, where he gave lectures, workshops, and counsel in innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development to industrialists, small business owners, faculty, students, and government officials.