Dev Jennings

Area of Study / Keywords

Organization Theory Sustainability Interpretive Data Science Research Methods

About

I am an organizational sociologist by training and in my orientation, one with an interest in institutions, technology, entrepreneurship and the natural environment. I have spent most of my academic life in the interdisciplinary spaces between sociology, business and the natural sciences.

Research

Research Interests

Currently, my main pursuits are work on entrepreneurship and technology, much of it with the Interpretive Data Science (IDeaS) group and around organizations and the natural environment, some of which is with the FES (Future Energy Systems) group.  Please see my CV for further details.

Teaching

Teaching Experience

• SMO 441 - Business Strategy 
• SMO 502/SEM 502 - Strategy and Organization
• SMO 641 - Capstone Business Strategy
• SMO 686/ SEM 601 - Innovation and Sustainability - Clean Technology
• SMO 704 - Ph.D. Strategy
• SMO 704 - Ph.D. Quantitative Research Methods I (Panel Models, Event History, Network Analysis, Topic Modeling)
• SMO 706 - Ph.D. Quantitative Research Methods II (Advances in Topic Modeling, Network Analysis, and QCA, co-taught with Tim Hannigan and Vern Glaser)

In the past, I have taught courses in research methods, organizational behavior, organization theory, and human resources management. Much of that teaching was done at the University of British Columbia, partly with the UBC MBA Core Team. At UBC, I also taught in the UBC - Shanghai Jiao Tong University Program and the former UBC - Hong Kong Program.

SEM 420 - Strategic Decision Making with Management Analytics

This course examines how leaders can employ data analytics to inform strategic decision making in organizations. Students will develop skills in using data to frame strategic decisions, asking critical questions about relevant data, understanding and critiquing the methods by which data have been collected and organized, and using data in analytics to improve organizational outcomes. Through interactive lectures, case studies, and real-world projects, students will learn to use data to formulate strategies, facilitate change, and create competitive value. Prerequisite: SEM 201, 301, 210 or 310. Open to third-and fourth-year students.

SEM 502 - Organization Strategy/Managing Organizations

The first part of this course examines the formation of business strategy. It recognizes the complexities and messiness of strategy formation and explores how organizations actually develop strategies. The second part examines the evolution, determinants, and relevance of alternative ways of organizing. Contemporary ideas (e.g. re-engineering, the learning organization, virtual organizations) are critically reviewed. Not open to students who have completed SEM 610. Prerequisite: SEM 500.

SEM 706 - Seminar in Quantitative Research Methods

Quantitative methods is an empirics-focused seminar that is intended to sharpen the student's ability to design and use quantitative and mixed methods in behavioral studies, as well as to broaden the student's knowledge of exemplary research in methods in this domain of research. The course complements standard regression or ANOVA course taken by students, and is particularly tailored for students of organization, strategy, and entrepreneurship. Prerequisite: Registration in Business PhD Program at the University of Alberta or written permission of instructor. Approval of the Associate Dean, PhD Program is also required for non-PhD students.

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