Faculty members from Virginia Tech’s Department of Management took center stage at the 2024 Strategic Management Society (SMS) Annual Conference in Istanbul, Turkey. Professors Devi Gnyawali, Karen Schnatterly, and Pankaj Kumar presented innovative research across strategic topics, emphasizing Virginia Tech’s impact on global strategy research.

Dr. Devi Gnyawali: Coopetition and Cybersecurity in Digital Alliances

Dr. Devi Gnyawali, known for his expertise in strategic alliances, presented in a symposium titled “Coopetition in a Digital World.” This session explored how digital transformation disrupts traditional competition, urging companies to adopt coopetitive strategies for resilience in an interconnected world. His presentation focused on opportunities and challenges for value creation through coopetition.  

In a collaborative research paper, “Cybersecurity, Data Breaches, and Interfirm Alliance Persistence,” co-authored with Dr. Kumar and Ph.D. candidate Abidul Islam, Dr. Gnyawali and the team examined the ripple effects of data breaches on alliances. Their study is among the first to assess how cybersecurity incidents threaten alliance stability, urging firms to address these vulnerabilities.   

Dr. Karen Schnatterly: Exploring AI in the Workplace and DEIB Initiatives

Dr. Karen Schnatterly co-organized a panel titled “AI at Work: AI as Your Co-Worker” and contributed significantly to the conference theme track on “Contradictions in AI.” The panelists included scholars from various universities around the world. The panel explored AI’s role in workplaces, particularly its impact on productivity, reskilling, and competitive advantage. This discussion offered fresh perspectives on AI’s evolving relationship with human labor.

As a member of the SMS DEI Committee, Dr. Schnatterly also co-led a bystander intervention workshop, providing tools to promote inclusive, respectful environments. The attendees practiced interventions and discussed topics like unconscious bias and data privacy in DEIB research, empowering scholars from diverse backgrounds to engage confidently.

Dr. Pankaj Kumar: AI and Network Strategy Research

In addition to the cybersecurity data breach paper with Dr. Gnyawali and Abidul Islam, Dr. Pankaj Kumar also presented several other papers. His presentation of “AI for Strategy Research,”highlighted AI’s powerful role in empirical strategy, particularly in causal inference. He demonstrated how using techniques like LASSO and causal machine learning models can improve rigor in strategic research.

In a paper titled “Navigating the Legal Minefield of Network Brokerage,” co-authored with Dr. Kiran Awate, Dr. Kumar presented findings on how strategic network positioning can both drive innovation and pose litigation risks. This research illuminates the balancing act firms face in leveraging network advantages without exposing themselves to legal pitfalls.

Dr. Kumar also presented “All About Him? Alliance Network Structural Holes, CEO Narcissism, and Gender,” analyzing how CEO personality and gender affect alliance structures. The study found that narcissistic male CEOs are more likely to build alliances with structural gaps, a pattern less prevalent among female CEOs.

These presentations underscore Virginia Tech’s leadership in strategy and DEIB. Through their work, Dr. Gnyawali, Dr. Schnatterly, and Dr. Kumar address key issues in the digital age.