Vern Glaser, PhD, MBA, BA

Area of Study / Keywords

Organizational Theory Strategy Artificial Intelligence

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About

Vern Glaser is the Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise at the Alberta School of Business’ Department of Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Management. He holds a bachelor of arts in economics from the University of California at Los Angeles, an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and a PhD in management and organization from the University of Southern California, which he received in 2014. He also accepted a position at the University of Alberta that year, and began in his current position in 2024. 

Glaser’s research deals with how organizations strategically change practices and culture, and understanding how organizations use algorithms, arguments and analogies to change routines and create new capabilities. He primarily uses qualitative research methods and has conducted studies on predictive analytics and online display advertising. He has also conducted ethnographic work with an entrepreneurial start-up in the analytics industry.

Prior to entering academia, he gained experience in sales, customer service, operations management, business development, merger integration and management consulting. In 2005, he founded Red Hill Advisors, Inc., a niche consulting firm which provided management consulting services for medium-sized businesses in a variety of industries. He also co-founded Red Hill Technology Solutions, a joint venture software company that utilizes dashboarding technology and mobile devices to provide real-time business intelligence solutions for the construction materials industry. 

In addition to consulting experience, Glaser has worked in the areas of finance, operations, sales, customer service and maintenance. He has held positions including being the controller for Southdown, Inc.'s concrete and aggregates group and the production manager for Cemex, Inc.'s Southern California ready-mixed concrete operations. Previously, he also worked as a business analyst for ARCO Products Company's Los Angeles Refinery.

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Research

Articles

• Joel Gehman, Vern L. Glaser, and Paul Merritt. An Assemblage Perspective on Hybrid Agency: A Commentary on Raisch and Fomina’s Combining Human and Artificial Intelligence. Academy of Management Review. (forthcoming)
• Vern L. Glaser, Jennifer Sloan, and Joel Gehman. Organizations as Algorithms: A New Metaphor for Advancing Management Theory. Journal of Management Studies. (forthcoming)
• Christine Moser, Vern L. Glaser, and Dirk Lindebaum. Taking Situatedness Seriously in Theorizing about Competitive Advantage through AI—A Response to Kemp’s “Competitive Advantages Through Artificial Intelligence”. Academy of Management Review. 49(3) (2024)
• Vern L. Glaser and Joel Gehman. Chatty Actors: Generative AI and the Reassembly of Agency in Qualitative Research. In M. Kulkarni (ed.), The Future of Research in an Artificial-Intelligence Driven World. Journal of Management Inquiry. 33(3) (2024)
• Dirk Lindebaum, Christine Moser, Mehreen Ashraf, and Vern L. Glaser. Reading The Technological Society to Understand the Mechanization of Values and its Ontological Consequences. Academy of Management Review. 48(3) 575-592. (2023)
• Vern L. Glaser, Omid Omidvar, and Mehdi Safavi. Predictive Models Can Lose the Plot. Here’s How to Keep Them on Track. MIT Sloan Management Review. 64(4) 20- 25. (2023)
• Omid Omidvar, Mehdi Safavi, and Vern L. Glaser. Algorithmic Routines and Dynamic Inertia: How Organizations Avoid Adapting to Changes in the Environment. Journal of Management Studies. 60(2) 313-345. (2023)
• Dirk Lindebaum, Vern L. Glaser, Christine Moser, and Mehreen Ashraf. When Algorithms Rule, Values Can Wither. MIT Sloan Management Review. 64(2) 66-69. (2022)
• Vern L. Glaser and Michael Lounsbury. Designing Legitimacy: Expanding the Scope of Cultural Entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing Design. 1(1) 1-11. (2021)
• Vern L. Glaser, Neil Pollock, and Luciana D’Adderio. The Biography of an Algorithm: Performing Algorithmic Technologies in Organizations. Organization Theory. 2 1-27 (2021)
• Vern L. Glaser, Mariam Krikorian-Atkinson, and Peer C. Fiss. Goal-Based Categorization: Dynamic Classification in the Display Advertising Industry. Organization Studies. 41(7) 921-943. (2020)

Edited Books

• Christopher W.J. Steele, Timothy R. Hannigan, Vern L. Glaser, Madeline Toubiana, and Joel Gehman (ed.), Macrofoundations: Exploring the Institutionally Situated Nature of Activity. Research in the Sociology of Organizations. 68. Emerald Publishing (2021)

Edited Book Chapters and Conference Publications

• Giuseppe Criaco, Vern Glaser, and Joel Gehman. Becoming Minoritarian: How De Novo Associations Change Institutional Fields from the Inside Out. Academy of Management Proceedings. (2022)
• Henrik Berglund and Vern L. Glaser. The Artifacts of Entrepreneurial Practice. In Neil Thompson, Orla Byrne, Bruce Teague, and Anna Jenkins (ed.), Research Handbook on Entrepreneurship as Practice. Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc. 168-186. (2022)
• Vern L. Glaser, Rodrigo Valadao, and Timothy R. Hannigan. Algorithms and Routine Dynamics. In Luciana D’Adderio, Katharina Dittrich, Martha S. Feldman, Brian Pentland, Claus Rerup, and David Seidl (ed.), Cambridge Handbook of Routine Dynamics. Cambridge University Press. 315-328. (2021)
• Frithjof Wegener and Vern L. Glaser. Design and Routine Dynamics. In Luciana D’Adderio, Katharina Dittrich, Martha S. Feldman, Brian Pentland, Claus Rerup, and David Seidl (ed.), Cambridge Handbook of Routine Dynamics. Cambridge University Press. 301-314. (2021)
• Christopher W.J. Steele, Timothy R. Hannigan, Vern L. Glaser, Madeline Toubiana, and Joel Gehman. Introduction: Macrofoundations: Exploring the Institutionally Situated Nature of Activity. Research in the Sociology of Organizations. 68 3-16. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. (2021)
• Evelyn Micelotta, Vern L. Glaser, and Gabrielle Dorian. Qualitative Research in Family Business: Methodological Insights to Leverage Inspiration, Avoid Data Asphyxiation, and Develop Robust Theory. In Alfredo De Massis and Nadine Kammerlander (ed.), Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods for Family Business. 25-47. Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc. (2020)

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Teaching

I teach several classes in the BCom, MBA, and Executive MBA programs.

DATA ANALYSIS AND DECISION MAKING (EXECUTIVE MBA) AND STRATEGIC DECISION-MAKING WITH DATA ANALYTICS (MBA). 

This class will help students understand how to use data and algorithms to generate organizational value. Our intention is not to turn you into a quantitative analyst or data scientist, but rather to enable you to be an information consumer of analytics. More specifically, to:Use data to frame decisions,Ask effective questions about the data presented to you,Understand and critique the methods by which data has been collected and organized,Use data to improve organizational outcomes, andTo advocate for others in your organization to do the same.

ORGANIZATION STRATEGY (MBA).

This course introduces the concepts, tools, and first principles of strategy formation and competitive analysis. It is concerned with managerial decisions and actions that materially affect the success and survival of business enterprises. The course focuses on the information, analyses, organizational processes, skills, and business judgment managers must use to design strategies, position their business and assets, and define firm boundaries. The goal: to learn how to maximize long-term profits or other strategic objectives in the face of uncertainty and competition.

STRATEGIC CONSULTING FOR FAMILY BUSINESS (MBA/BCOM).

This course introduces the concepts, tools, and first principles of advising family businesses. It is concerned with how professional service advisors help family businesses make managerial decisions and actions that materially affect the success and survival of their business enterprises. The course focuses on the information, analyses, organizational processes, skills, and business judgments advisors to family businesses are expected to understand and apply. 

EUROPEAN STUDY TOUR: Competitive Dynamics and Cultural Differences - Family Business and Entrepreneurship in European Governance Systems (MBA/BCOM).

This course stresses the important role of entrepreneurship and family business in different corporate governance systems throughout the world. The field trip focuses on Europe and examines Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands in particular. There are four objectives: (1) to become familiar with the diversity and relevance of family business and entrepreneurship in different governance systems, with focus on Europe; (2) to understand governance differences within Europe that impact family businesses and entrepreneurship; (3) to provide face-to-face interactions with key business executives and scholars regarding issues affecting entrepreneurship and family businesses in Europe; and (4) to understand European culture, the political and economic dynamics of that continent, and its role in the global economy.

Classes I teach or have taught in the PhD program include:

• Qualitative Methodology for Business Management,
• Seminar in Strategic Management,
• Technology and Sociomateriality in Organizations,
• Quantitative Methods II: Networks, Topic Modeling, and QCA, and
• Foundations of Sociological Theory.

BUS 701 - Qualitative Methodology for Business Research

Examines qualitative research methods as they apply to business research. Includes: the terrain and history of qualitative research, exploring different approaches to qualitative research, designing qualitative research, strategies of inquiry, qualitative data analysis, writing up research, and professional and ethical issues. Prerequisite: Registration in Business PhD Program or written permission of instructor. Approval of the Business PhD Program Director is also required for non-PhD students.

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MGTSC 820 - Data Analysis and Modeling

Developing the ability to collect information and to use information technology to analyze statistically and draw conclusions; developing computer skills and understanding research methods. Restricted to Executive MBA students only.

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SEM 620 - Strategic Decision-Making with Data Analytics

This course examines how leaders can leverage data analytics to inform strategic decision-making in organizations. Students will develop skills in using data to frame decisions, asking critical questions about data, understanding and critiquing the methods by which data has been collected and organized, and leveraging data to improve organizational outcomes. The course is organized around two parallel modules: a decision-making module and a data analysis module. Through interactive lectures, case studies, and real-world projects, students will learn to use data to formulate strategies, facilitate change, and create value. The focus is on using data analytics for strategic management rather than intensively analyzing quantitative data.

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SEM 810 - The Manager as Strategist

A week-long intensive course. Identifying and developing the human resources, leadership, and strategy skills essential for today's successful executive. Restricted to Executive MBA students only.

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Browse more courses taught by Vern Glaser

Vern L. Glaser, Jennifer Sloan, Joel Gehman

Journal of Management Studies. 2024 September; 10.1111/joms.13033

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Vern L. Glaser, Omid Omidvar, and Mehdi Safavi

MIT Sloan Management Review. 2023 October;

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Dirk Lindebaum, Vern L. Glaser, Christine Moser, and Mehreen Ashraf

MIT Sloan Management Review. 2022 December;

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