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Impact through Ideas. in Writing. by Careful Study.
I study to find clarity. I write to share insights. Through a mix of academic publications, writing for leaders in the field, and engagement with broader cultural trends, I seek to draw out insights into the world to better drive the way each of us engages.
In my academic study of organizations, I focus on the role of structure in shaping individuals within systems. For example, one recent project looked at how a change in an organization’s structure impacted its network of employees. Another piece explores how the investment networks of venture capitalists guide their deal flow and downstream investment opportunities. In either case, the common thread in much of my writing is identifying the dynamics that create inertia in organizations and how we might redesign them toward more optimal ends.
In many ways, our organizations are living entities. The leaders within them are daily making decisions shaped by how they see the world. One way I seek to make an impact, therefore, is by informing the thinking of these leaders. This influence requires entering into conversation with leaders living and engaging in organizations and the world more broadly, using the written word to shape thinking and downstream action.
In his work on cultural transformation, the sociologist James Davison Hunter points to the decreasing collective relevance of the university, family, church, and other institutions. He instead points to the rising prominence of commerce, technology, and entertainment for shaping society. I am broadly interested in the consequences of such shifts and how leaders within and across such institutions might nudge such patterns more thoughtfully.
Selected Publications and Working Papers
Selected Academic Publications – Business
- Gray, S., Bunderson, S., Boumgarden, P., and Bechara, J.. (2019). Engineering Interaction: Structural Change, Locus of Identification, and the Formation and Maintenance of Coss-Unit Ties. Personnel Psychology 72(4), 599-622.
- Mislin, A.A., Boumgarden, P., Jang, D., & Bottom, W.P. (2015). “Accounting for reciprocity in negotiation and social exchange.” Judgment and Decision-Making.
- Baker, V.L., Boumgarden, P.A. (2015) “A model for engaged executive education: A liberal arts perspective.” Academe.
- Boumgarden, P.A., Nickerson, J, & Zenger, T. (2012) “Sailing into the wind: Exploring the relationships among ambidexterity, vacillation, and organizational performance.” Strategic Management Journal.
- Bunderson, J.S., Boumgarden, P.A. (2010) “Structure and learning in self-managed teams: Why bureaucratic teams might actually be better learners.” Organization Science.
Formal Business Teaching Cases
- Boumgarden, P., Buell, R., Pierce, L, & Ryffel, R. 2020. “Union Square Hospitality Group: Hospitality Included.” Harvard Business School Publication.
Grant Funding – Entrepreneurship
- Peaslee, G., Boumgarden, P., & Ritter, E. 2015. “Development of a Business Model for a Rapid Screening Test for PFCs” NSF I-Corp, Proposal #1523455 ($50,000)
Selected Manuscripts in Preparation
- Boumgarden, P., Gray, S., Ranganathan, R. “Sending mixed signals: The importance of status homogeneity among investors in early state investors.” Data collected and in process of analysis. Targeting Strategic Management Journal or Administrative Science Quarterly.
- Boumgarden, P., Bottom, B., Luckman, E. “Technology transfer in the social sciences: Business schools as facilitators in the translation of knowledge to practice.” Data collected and in process of analysis. Manuscript in preparation, targeting Administrative Science Quarterly.
- Hand, M., Boumgarden, P., Gray, S., Ranganathan, R. “Strategy and chasing the money in political campaigns.” Data collected and in process of analysis.
- Boumgarden, P. & Horn, J. “The empathetic strategist.” Manuscript in preparation for Harvard Business Review. Boumgarden, P.
Selected Set of Practitioner Articles
- Boumgarden, P. (2015, June 21). “How a Cartoon Caption Contest Can Make You a Better Writer.” Harvard Business Review Online. < https://hbr.org/2015/07/how-a-cartoon-caption-contest-can-make-you-a-better-writer > Boumgarden, P., (2013, June 9).
- “Five ways to get the most out of your internship.” FoxNews.com. < http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/06/09/five-ways-to-get-most-out-your-internship/>
- Boumgarden, P & Branch, J. (2013). “Collective Impact or Coordinated Blindness” Stanford Social Innovation Review Online. <http://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/collective_impact_or_coordinated_blindness>.
Selected Set of Cultural Engagement
- Boumgarden, P., Van Engen, A. (2020) “In Praise of Classrooms.” Avidly, A Channel of the L.A. Review of Books
- Boumgarden, P.A. (2014). “Girls and Sarah Coakley through a theological lens of desire.“ Harvard Divinity Bulletin.
- Boumgarden, P., Johnson, K. “Earthly Peace in the Halls of the City Schools.” Corners in the City of God: Theology, Philosophy and The Wire (Eugene: Cascade, 2013), eds. M. Werntz, M & J. Tran. Boumgarden, P.A. (2012, May 29).
- [Review of the book Conversations about calling, by V.M. Myers]. Markets and Morality. Boumgarden, P.A. (2012).
- “The wordsmith’s two-edged power.“ Harvard Divinity Bulletin. Boumgarden, P.A. (2012, May 29).
- [Review of the book When I was a child I read books, by M. Robinson]. Christian Century.
