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Glenn R. Carroll
Glenn R. Carroll
The Adams Distinguished Professor of Management
Professor of Sociology (by courtesy), School of Humanities and Sciences
Academic Area:
Additional Administrative Titles
Co-Director, Stanford-NUS Executive Program in International Management
Research Statement
Glenn Carroll’s research addresses questions about organizations, strategic management, and industrial evolution. His most recent project studies socially constructed authenticity — how consumers and others value authenticity, how consumers search for authenticity in products and services, and how consumers interpret organizational behavior and structure as reflecting authenticity.
Research Interests
- Authenticity
- Organizations
- Organizational Culture
- Strategy
- Evolution
Teaching Statement
Glenn Carroll teaches both executives and MBA students. With executives, he has taught in many programs, including most prominently several high-level custom executive education programs for global Fortune 50 companies, including currently the General Motors’ “Transformational Leadership Program” (seven cohorts so far) and previously Caterpillar's “Digging Deep” (four cohorts) and “Powering the Future” (two cohorts) programs. Approximately a year-long, these programs typically engage a cohort of top and high potential executives in multiple modules taught at various locations throughout the world. The programs review, apply and integrate basic principles of management including critical analytical thinking, innovation and adaptiveness, personal leadership, strategy, supply chain, institutional analysis, and organizational design. The programs culminate in high-profile action projects that intend to impact current and future corporate performance. Designed and directed by Carroll (and colleagues), GM’s program is educating its seventh cohort of executives; Caterpillar's programs ran for six cohorts. With MBA students, Carroll currently teaches an MBA elective course on Leading Through Culture. He has also taught Critical Analytical Thinking, Organization Design and Strategy in MBA programs and Executive Education programs. Carroll’s classes typically involve the application of theoretical ideas to real-world settings and managerial problems. He has supervised a number of business cases, including companies such as Caterpillar, Nike, GlobeOp, Coppersea, Attune Foods, Illy Caffe, Cocoa Pete’s, Wind River Systems, the American Heart Association, Agilent Technologies, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, American Craft Brew International, and the Mendocino Brewing Co.
Bio
Glenn Carroll grew up in Indiana and attended Indiana University, followed by Stanford University, where he received his master’s and doctorate degrees. Carroll has been on the faculties of Brown University, the University of California - Berkeley, Columbia University, and Stanford University. Carroll has visited many universities and institutes outside the U.S., including the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the National University of Singapore. He has taught executives from many corporations, large and small.
Academic Degrees
- PhD, Stanford University
- MA, Stanford University
- BA, Indiana University
Academic Appointments
- Adams Distinguished Professor of Management, Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2019–present
- Laurence W. Lane Professor of Organizations, Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2001–2019 (Professor in 2000)
- Professor of Sociology (by courtesy), Department of Sociology, Stanford University, 2000–present
- Sandra Dawson Visiting Professor, Cambridge Judge School of Business, University of Cambridge, 2023
- Chair (part-time), Durham Business School, Durham University, Durham, U.K., 2004–2019
- Dean’s Visiting Professor, National University of Singapore Business School, Singapore, 2009–2013
- Professor II, Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo, Norway, 2003-2009
- Professor, Management Division, Columbia Business, Columbia University, 2004–2006
- Professor (by courtesy), Department of Sociology, Columbia University, 2004–2006
- Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, 1989–2000
- Director of Ph.D. Program, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, 1989–1996
- Associate Professor, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, 1986–1989
- Assistant Professor, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, 1982–1986
- Affiliated Faculty Member, Department of Sociology; Faculty Associate, Institute of Industrial Relations; UC Berkeley, 1982–2000
- Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology; Director, Social Science Data Center, Brown University, 1982
Awards and Honors
- Spence Faculty Fellow, 2017–2019
- Robert T. Davis Faculty Award, 2018
- Richard D. Irwin Outstanding Educator Award, Academy of Management, 2017
- Doctor Honoris Causa (Applied Economics), University of Antwerp, 2002
- Fellow, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, 1997–1998
- Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, 1987-1988
- Fellow, Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study, 1990
- Max Weber Award, American Sociological Association, 2002
- Cheit Award for Teaching Excellence, 1995 & 2000
Publications
Journal Articles
Books
Book Chapters
Working Papers
Academic Publications
Teaching
Degree Courses
Executive Education & Other Non-Degree Programs
Drive and sustain innovation and operational excellence. Strengthen collaboration with C-suite leaders to translate strategies into actionable plans.
Effectively diagnose and solve problems using proven frameworks for executing change in this multidisciplinary strategic management course.
Explore international management, strategy, and leadership perspectives from both sides of the Pacific Rim with NUS Business School and Stanford GSB.
Other Teaching
Programs and Non-Degree Courses
Carroll has directed and taught in several high-level custom executive education programs for global Fortune 50 companies, including currently the General Motors’ “Transformational Leadership Program” (five cohorts so far) and previously Caterpillar’s “Digging Deep” (four cohorts) and “Powering the Future” (two cohorts) programs. Approximately a year long, these programs typically engage a cohort of top and high potential executives in multiple modules taught at various locations throughout the world. The programs review, apply and integrate basic principles of management including critical analytical thinking, innovation and adaptiveness, personal leadership, strategy, supply chain, institutional analysis and organizational design. The programs culminate in high-profile action projects that intend to impact current and future corporate performance. Designed by Carroll and colleagues, GM’s program is soon enrolling its sixth cohort of executives; Caterpillar’s programs ran for six cohorts. Carroll also co-directs the Stanford-NUS Executive Program in International Management, held annually in Singapore in August. In this program, he teaches Organizational Culture and Social Networks among other topics.
In the Stanford-NUS Executive Program in International Management, held annually in Singapore, participants explore general management concepts in all major functional areas while gathering the latest insights on management strategy from faculty members at the National University of Singapore and Stanford GSB. Carroll serves as co-director of the program.
Stanford Case Studies
Teachings Materials
Leading Through Culture (OB518)
Conferences, Talks & Speaking Engagements
Survey of working US men and women about their perceptions, beliefs and experiences regarding culture at their employing organization.
"Exposition and essentialism: Authenticity in the craft-based microdistillery movement," (with J. Cameron Verhaal)
Academy of Management Annual Meetings, Boston, August 2019.
"Generating authenticity in automated work," (with Arthur S. Jago and Mariana Lin)
Academy of Management Annual Meetings, Boston, August 2019.
"Authenticity and institutional context: China," (with Mi Feng, Qiong Heyuanqiong, Kieran O’Connor and Lihua Wang)
Presented at the Academy of Management Meetings, Chicago, August 2018. This paper explores how and when the institutionalized classification system for products (or services) in a specific market domain affects perceptions and demand for authenticity. We argue that “type” authenticity presupposes a well-established and taken-for-granted classification system for a product or service. In market domains with such systems, individuals will place greater value on products or markets that exhibit high type authenticity, and craft, moral, or idiosyncratic authenticity will be less salient. By contrast, in market domains without institutionalized classification systems, individuals will prioritize craft or moral or idiosyncratic authenticity over type authenticity. To test these arguments, we conducted experiments and a survey in China where we asked participants to express preferences and make choices about products described to evoke various types of authenticity. We also ask these individuals to assess the authenticity of the producers as well as their willingness to pay for associated products. Specifically, we test the arguments with data on the appeal of various fictitious producers of leather handbags and green tea among Chinese individuals. While the leather handbag is known in China, it is not highly institutionalized whereas white tea is. The findings generally support our hypotheses.
Comments on the Dark Side of Authenticity
Symposium Commentary. Presented at the Academy of Management Meetings, Chicago, August 2018.
Irwin Award ceremony
From the presentation of the Irwin Award, Academy of Management, 2017
Panel on Authenticity
Academy of Management Meetings, 2017.
"Authentic Kitsch? Donn, Vic and the Emergence of the Tiki Bar Social Category," (with Dennis Ray Wheaton)
Academy of Management Meetings, Anaheim, August 2016.
"Authentication: Self-Proclamations and Audience Perceptions" (with Balázs Kovács and David Lehman)
Workshop on Organizational Ecology, Barcelona, Spain, July 2014.
"On the evaluation of authenticity by audiences and the supply of authenticity by organizations"
Medici Summer School in Management Studies, Bologna, Italy, June 2015.
Stanford GSB Affiliations
- Faculty member Organizational Behavior Group, Stanford GSB 2000–present
Stanford University Affiliations
- Professor (by courtesy) Department of Sociology 2000–present
Service to the Profession
Editor or Editorial Board
- Co-Editor, Industrial and Corporate Change, 2000-present
- Departmental Editor (Organization Design and Management), Management and Business Review, 2021-present
- Editorial Board, Organization Studies, 2003-2015
- Editorial Council, Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2002-2008
- Editorial Board, Organization Science, 2004-2015
- Consulting Editor, Sociological Science, 2013-2016
- Editorial Board, California Management Review, 1988-2005
- Editorial Board, Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, 1989-1997
- Associate Editor, American Sociological Review, 1989-1991; 1994-1996
- Consulting Editor, American Journal of Sociology, 1990-1994
- Editorial Board, European Sociological Review, 1990-1994
- Editorial Board, Administrative Science Quarterly, 1983-1989
- Advisory Editor, Sociological Methodology, 1984-86
- Board of Reviewers, Industrial Relations, 1987-2000
Advisory Board
- International Academic Advisory Board, Russian Management Journal, 2004-present
- Advisory Board, Evolutionary Theories in the Social Sciences Web Page (www.etss.net), 1999-present
- International Advisory Panel, School of Business, National University of Singapore, 2008
External Affiliations
- Chair (part-time), Durham Business School, Durham University, Durham, U.K. (2004-19)
In the Media
Describes research with Arthur Jago on credit received for assistance from AI or humans. (Hint: choose an AI assistant for more credit.)
After winning a Grammy, an artist tends to release albums that are more likely to stand out stylistically from other artists. Surprisingly, artists who were nominated but did not win a Grammy became more similar to other artists than they were before the nomination.
Authenticity inspires consumers today — people want to know if brands live up to their principles: Interview with Professor Glenn Carroll of the Stanford Graduate School of Business
Tribute essay in memory of Oliver Williamson
Recommended books to read
Describes research on authenticity and makes connections to FDA labeling issues. Op-ed written by Henry Miller.