Biography: Duncan Pelly

R. Duncan M. Pelly Ph.D.

Utilizes perspectives from humanities, social sciences, and management to inspire research interests in entrepreneurship, public health, healthcare administration, business management, and operational strategy.  Works hand-in-hand with practitioners to provide more holistic perspectives and is one of less than a dozen autoethnographers in the field of management worldwide, resulting in cutting-edge and boundary defining research and management strategies.  Applies professional experience to bridge praxis and theory in business ethics, resulting in unrivaled pedagogical success. Incorporates Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and True Storytelling Triple Learning to develop corporate strategy, optimize operational efficiencies, and maximize corporate profit potential.  Excellent communicator with exceptional leadership and diplomacy skills, and strong organizational and implementation skills.  Multilingual with fluency in English, French, German, and Russian.


Education:

Ph.D.   EM Lyon Business School, Ecully, Rhone-Alpes (France), 2011 – 2015 

            Specialized in Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management

B.A.     University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA), 2002 – 2006  

             Graduated Cum Laude

             Triple Major in International Relations, French, and German

Contact information:

Office Location: Park Johnson, 1st Floor
Office Phone Number: 615-329-8500
Office email: dpelly@fisk.edu

R. Duncan M. Pelly Ph.D. Research & Publications

  • Pelly, R. Duncan M.  (2016) “A Bureaucrat’s Journey from Technocrat to Entrepreneur through the Creation of Adhocracies” Entrepreneurship and Regional Development
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. (2017) “The Story of Captain Baby Face and the Coffee Maker: An Entrepreneurial Perspective on Corruption" Journal of Management Inquiry 
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. (2017) “Entrepreneurial Opportunity – A Perspective from the Theory of Forms” American Journal of Management
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. (2017) “Russian Diaspora and the Sharing Economy” Entreprendre et Innover 
  • Pelly. R. Duncan M.; Zhang, Yang; and McGuire, Stephen (2018) “Homeboy Industries: Stopping Bullets with Jobs” Chapter in Humanistic Management: Social Entrepreneurship and Mindfulness. (Published with a former MBA student who is now a who is now a tenure track assistant professor) 
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M.; McGuire, Stephen; and Zhang, Yang (2019) “Homeboy Industries: Redefining Social Responsibility” Journal of Case Research and Inquiry (Published with a former MBA student who is now a tenure track assistant professor) 
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. and Boje, David. (2019) “A Case for Follettian Interventions in Public Universities” Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education 
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. and Boje, David. (2019) “Follettian Differentiated Relational Ontology and The American Public University” Communication and Language at Work
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. and Fayolle, Alain (2020) “Ethnography’s Answer to the Plus Zone Challenge in Entrepreneurship” Chapter in Research Handbook on Entrepreneurial: Behavior Practice and Process
  • Frandsen, Sanne and Pelly, R. Duncan M. (2020) “Organizational Resistance and Autoethnography” Chapter in Routledge Handbook of Autoethnography Best Book Award by the National Communication Association's Ethnography Division (2021); The Distinguished Book Award by Association For Business Communication (2021); The Outstanding Edited Book Award by International Association of Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry (2022) 
  • Mendez, Oscar, & Pelly, R. Duncan. M. (2021). Failed entrepreneurship in a heterotopia: the story of Villa Ahumada. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies
  • Boje, David; Pelly, R. Duncan M.; Saylors, Rohny; Saylors, Jillian; and Trafimow, Sabine. (2022).   Implications of Tamara-Land Consciousnesses Discourses for Organization Culture Studies.  Discourses on Culture
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. (2022).  How Can Lean Six Sigma Foster Organizational Entrepreneurship in a Military Bureaucracy.  Discourses on Culture
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. and Brandon-Hopper, Rachel (2022).  Failures in Sensemaking: An Exploration of Sadean Hetereotopias.  Discourses on CultureCo-Authored with an Undergraduate Student   
  • Pelly, R. D. M., & Roberson, M. (2022). Sadism, Heterotopia, and Entrepreneurship: The Role of the “Family” in Family Business. In Family Business Debates (pp. 283-307). Emerald Publishing Limited.

 

R. Duncan M. Pelly Ph.D. Professional Service

McMurry University, 2018-2022 

Department Chair, Johnson School of Business 

Director of International Programs (Dean-Level Equivalent), McMurry University 

Associate Professor, Johnson School of Business 

Director, Center for Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, Johnson School of Business 

Director, International Business Programs, Johnson School of Business 

Serves as the executive officer to the Dean of the Johnson School of Business with responsibility for developing the annual budget, course schedule, and all activities pertaining to AACSB accreditation for the school of business.  Directly supervises and evaluates 14 faculty members across all business disciplines.  Develops, executes, and oversees the new entrepreneurship and international business majors, and teaches ten distinct courses.  Teaching sectionals include The Art of Entrepreneurship, The Science of Entrepreneurship, Family and Prosaic Enterprises, Entrepreneurial Finance, International Management, Business Responsibilities in Society, Strategic Management, Ethics for Managers, Entrepreneurship Internship, and the Senior Thesis Project. Reports directly to the Provost and Vice President of Enrollment Management as Director of International Programs to launch campaigns to grow full-time international student enrollment and cultivates international exchange partnerships, including stewardship with Estonian Business School, University of Tallinn, EDC Paris Business School, European Business School-Paris, and Academy of Social Sciences (Warsaw).  Manages The Center of Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, and represents McMurry University as a powerhouse of entrepreneurship within the Abilene community. Activities include the inaugural Women’s Entrepreneurship Luncheon, grants for the development of Taylor and Coleman counties, course instruction for the community in coordination with the Kauffman Foundation (as a certified Kauffman FastTrac Instructor), launching the monthly entrepreneurship speaker series, Erasmus+ Mobility Grants, presentations at Venture Call, the annual business pitch competition, partnerships with local hospitals and public health officials, 1 Million Cups Abilene, and engagements with the Christian Service Center.  Represents McMurry at both domestic and international conferences.

 

Alliant University, 2017-Present 

Adjunct Instructor, Ph.D. Program in Industrial Organizations 

Taught doctoral seminars in general business and strategic management.  Successfully supervises Ph.D. students.

Serves as an external doctoral thesis examiner at Alliant University.

California State University, Los Angeles, 2015—2018  

Assistant Professor, College of Business and Economics, Department of Management 

Responsibilities included serving as the senior faculty board member for the University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Incubator with three direct reports.  Mentored the winning team for the Mayor’s Cup Challenge and organized the annual business pitch competition.  Coached more than a dozen newly minted entrepreneurs from beginning to new organization launch.  Conducted dozens of seminars on entrepreneurship and strategy for both undergraduate and graduate students.  Served as the director of the entrepreneurship and business ethics programs with supervisory responsibility over 15 faculty members.  Teaching sectionals included:  Introduction to Business Ethics, Ethics for Managers, and Introduction to Entrepreneurship. Served as the faculty advisor for the undergraduate Entrepreneurship Club and the Hispanic Business Society. Recipient of a $50,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for launching technology entrepreneurship.   

 

International Business Journal and Conference Peer-Reviewer, 2014—Present   

Organization Studies

Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal

Journal of Management Inquiry

Human Relations

Entrepreneurship and Regional Development

Management Learning

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies

Academy of Management Entrepreneurship (ENT) Division

Academy of Management Public and Non Profit (PNP) Division

European Academy of Management Conference Entrepreneurship Track

Western Academy of Management

 

EM Lyon Business School, Ecully, France, 2011 – 2015   

Graduate Lecturer, Strategy Department

Teaching assistant and lecturer for Master’s level international business and strategy classes, including Introduction to Strategy and Introduction to Entrepreneurship.  

United States Army, 2006 – 2011  

Served in multiple positions from Postal Platoon Leader to Brigade Adjutant.  Directly managed a staff-section of 24 soldiers and maintained administrative responsibility for more than 5,000 soldiers.  Served as an advisor to the Commander on Personnel Accountability and Strength Reporting, Human Resources, Finance, Legal Matters, Lean Six Sigma, Postal Compliance, Detainee Administration, Public Affairs, Automated and Manual Personnel Systems, and Training of Third Country Nationals.  Selected as an attaché in the Korean War Games.  Deployments included Republic of Korea and Iraq.

R. Duncan M. Pelly Ph.D. Conference Presentations

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS 

  • Pelly, R. Duncan M.  “How Entrepreneurship and Scientific Management Can Reduce Developing Countries’ Competitive Advantage of Imitation” Association Francophone de Management International, University of Lyon 3, France, April 2012
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. “Size Doesn’t Matter, But Longevity, Context, and Identity Do:  An Examination of How Ownership and Investor Turnover Affect Profit Growth” European International Relations Summer School, University of Groningen, Netherlands, June 2012
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M.  “Managing without a Manager, Scientific Management Revisited” Asia-Pacific Researcher in Organization Studies, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, Japan.  February 2013
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M.  “Process Theory and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurial Opportunity” Academie de l’Entrepreneuriat et l’Innovation, EM Lyon, France.  June 2013
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M.  “Creativity is a Process” Process Symposium, Crete, June 2013
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M.  “A Case for Autoethnography" European Group for Organizational Studies, Athens, Greece, July 2015
  • Zhang, Yang, Pelly, R. Duncan M., McGuire, Steven.  “Homeboy Industries” Western Case Writers Association Conference, Portland, Oregon.  March 2016 (Presented with a former MBA student who is now a tenure track assistant professor)      
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M.  “A Case for Autoethnography" European Academy of Management, Paris, France, June 2016
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M.  “The Story of Captain Baby Face and the Coffee Maker: An Entrepreneurial Perspective on Corruption" European Group for Organizational Studies, Naples, Italy, July 2016  Nominated for Best Paper
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M.  “A Case for Autoethnography" Academy of Management, Anaheim, California, August 2016
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M., Zhang, Yang, McGuire, Steven.  “Homeboy Industries: Redefining Corporate Social Responsibility” Western Case Writers Association, Palm Springs, March 2017 Received Award for Best Mentored Case.  (Presented with a former MBA student who is now a tenure track assistant professor)   
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M.  “Entrepreneurial Opportunity - A Perspective From the Theory of Forms” Western Academy of Management, Palm Springs, March 2017
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M.  “A Case for Autoethnography” Western Academy of Management, Palm Springs, March 2017
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. “How Can Lean Six Sigma Foster Employee Driven Innovation in a Bureaucratic Organization?” Western Academy of Management, Palm Springs, March 2017
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. and Kulik, Sergey. “A Triography on the Sharing Economy” European Academy of Management, Glasgow, Scotland, June 2017 (Co-Authored with former Master’s Degree Student)
  • Pelly R. Duncan M. “Entrepreneurial Opportunity: A Temporal Storytelling Perspective” European Group for Organizational Studies, Copenhagen, Denmark, July 2017
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. “How Temporality Saved Christmas at the Military Post Office” Academy of Management Conference, Atlanta, August, 2017
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M.  “Sadism in Foreign Lands: The Burn Pit Atrocity” Quantum Storytelling Conference, Las Cruces, December 2018
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. “How Can Lean Six Sigma Foster Employee Driven in a Bureaucratic Organization?” Western Academy of Management, Salt Lake City, March 2018
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. “Entrepreneurial Opportunity: A Temporal Storytelling Perspective” Western Academy of Management, Salt Lake City, March 2018
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. “How Temporality Saved Christmas at the Military Post Office” Western Academy of Management, Salt Lake City, March 2018
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. “Sadism in Foreign Lands: The Burn Pit Atrocity” European Group of Organization Studies, Tallinn, Estonia, July 2018 Finalist for Best Paper and “That’s Interesting” Awards
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. “Using Autoethnography to Address the Plus Zone Challenge in Entrepreneurship” Quantum Storytelling Conference, Las Cruces, December 2019
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. “Opening the Sadean Menagerie: Metaphors of Marquis de Sade in a Contemporary Business School PhD Program” European Academy of Management, Lisbon, Portugal June 2019
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. “Using Autoethnography to Address the Plus Zone Challenge in Entrepreneurship” Academy of Management, Boston, August 2019
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. “How can Lean Six Sigma Foster Entrepreneurship in a Military Bureaucracy” Academy of Management, Boston, August 2019
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. and Boje, David.  “Return to Tamara-land: Plus Zone Challenges of Marquis de Sade and Mary Parker Follett to Give New Insight into the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”  Quantum Storytelling Conference, Virtual, December, 2020
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M.  “Revelation: An Entrepreneurial Articulatory Mechanism Based in Faith and Geared Towards Sustainability” European Group of Organization Studies, Hamburg, Germany, July 2020
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. “Sadism in Foreign Lands: The Burn Pit Atrocity” Academy of Management Conference, Vancouver, Canada, August 2020
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M.  “How Emergencies Launched Restorying at the Military Post Office” Academy of Management Conference, Vancouver, Canada, August 2020
  • Montiel, Oscar; Pelly, R. Duncan M. Pelly.  “I have to survive”…Young microentrepreneurs in Mexico under Covid-19.  Southwest Academy of Management, Virtual March 2021
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. and Boje, David.  “Return to Tamara-land: Plus Zone Challenges of Marquis de Sade and Mary Parker Follett to Give New Insight into the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”  Western Academy of Management, Virtual, April 2021
  • Ori, Z., Pelly, R. Duncan M., and Ori, I. ”Cyber-Physical System Supported Primary Prevention — Social Entrepreneurship as a Framework for Attaining Age Adequate Health and Preventing Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer.  ACIEK, Paris, France, June 2021
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. and Boje, David.  “Return to Tamara-land: Metaphors of the Marquis de Sade and Mary Parker Follett in Frank Baum’s Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”  European Academy of Management, Montreal, Canada, June 2021
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. and Boje, David.  “Return to Tamara-land: Metaphors of the Marquis de Sade and Mary Parker Follett in Frank Baum’s Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”  European Group of Organization Studies, Rotterdam, Netherlands, July 2021
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M. and Boje, David.  “Return to Tamara-land: Metaphors of the Marquis de Sade and Mary Parker Follett in Frank Baum’s Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” Academy of Management, Philadelphia, August 2021
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M.  “How can we use Marquis de Sade’s Literary Critique to Improve Entrepreneurial Storytelling”  Quantum Storytelling Conference, Las Cruces, New Mexico, December 2021
  • Pelly,R. Duncan M.  “What can the Marquis de Sade Teach Us About Entrepreneurship?”  European Academy of Management Conference, Zurich, Switzerland, June 2022
  • Pelly, R. Duncan M.  “Entrepreneurial Opportunity Revelation as the Anti-Ante Narrative” Academy of Management Conference, Seattle, Washington, August 2022

MASTER’S THESES SUPERVISED 

 

  • Kulik, Sergey. “The Sharing Economy in Russia: Competing Perceptions of the Extended Self” EM Lyon Business School, December, 2015
  • Anaya, Flor.  “Long Beach, California: The Next No Kill City?” California State University, Los Angeles, June 2017

 

PH.D THESES COMMITTEES 

 

  • Bueno, Roberto. “How Personality Traits Influence Passion, Engagement, and Satisfaction” Alliant University March, 2019
  • Walker, Janis. “Te mana o te Ao Tūroa, hei tipu i te koru, he tirohanga whakaaro: A Tangata Whenua autoethnography, rights and power of the natural world, growing koru economies.” University of Canterbury, New Zealand, March 2021
  • El Kazzy, George.  “The Alternative Financing Choices Facing Lebanese Enterprises: Being Public or Staying Private.”  University of Lille, France, November 2022

R. Duncan M. Pelly Ph.D. Courses

  • Introduction to Business and to Entrepreneurship
  • Entrepreneurial Development
  • Management Principles and Practice
  • Leadership Development and Practice
  • Ethics and Decision Making