DOUGLAS A. LEPISTO 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Fulton Hall #430, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 Phone: 517-490-4895 Email: douglas.lepisto@bc.edu www.douglaslepisto.com EDUCATION Expected June 2015 Ph.D. in Management and Organization Dissertation: Reason for Being: Exploring the Formation and Consequences of Organizational Purpose in an Athletic Footwear and Apparel Company (Finalist for INFORMS/Organization Science Dissertation Proposal Competition) Through two inductive field-studies at a global athletic footwear and apparel company, I unpack the construct of organizational purpose to explain how organizations form new understandings regarding their reason for being and the consequences for organizations and their members. Through a pilot study, I discovered that although this organization clearly understood what they do, members expressed concern and confusion regarding their reason for being why their organization and business activities were meaningful and important. Study One focuses at the organizational-level of analysis and explores the emergence of new understandings related to their purpose, how these understandings are being disseminated in the organization, and the potential organizational consequences of this dissemination. I frame Study One within literature on organizational identity formation and Selznick s institutionalism. Study Two focuses at the individual-level of analysis and explains the various ways members personally relate themselves to these new understandings and the organizational practices that foster some members' deep connections to them. This study draws upon interviews at multiple time points as well as observations. I frame this study around theories of transformational leadership, psychological contracts, and meaningful work. To date, I have collected 84 interviews, developed a database of internal and external documents, shadowed employees, and attended multiple company wide events and activities. I anticipate concluding data collection in Fall 2014. Committee: Michael G. Pratt (Chair), Spencer Harrison, Scott Sonenshein 2007 University of Chicago MA in Social Science 2004 Kalamazoo College BA in Psychology (honors), minor in Sociology RESEARCH INTERESTS Meaning and Purpose, Individual and Organizational Identity, Culture, Qualitative Methods PUBLICATIONS Lepisto, D. A., Crosina, E., & Pratt, M. G. forthcoming. Identity work within and beyond the professions: Toward a theoretical integration and extension. To appear in A. Desilva and M. Aparicio (Eds.) International Handbook about Professional Identities. 1
Pratt, M. G., Pradies, C., & Lepisto, D. A. 2013. Doing well, doing good, doing with: Organizational practices for effectively cultivating meaningful work. In B. Dik, Z. Byrne, and M. Steger (Eds.) Purpose and Meaning in the Workplace. New York: American Psychological Association. Lepisto, D. A. & Pratt, M. G. 2012. Politics in perspective(s): On the theoretical challenges and opportunities in studying organizational politics. In G. Ferris and D. Treadway (Eds.) Politics in Organizations: Theory and Research. New York: Taylor Francis Group. WORK IN PROGRESS Working Papers Pratt, M. G., Lepisto, D. A., & Dane, E. Trust under fire: Trustworthiness as future oriented sensemaking in early work relationships among firefighters. (Submitting October to Administrative Science Quarterly) Lepisto, D. A., & Pratt, M. G. Exploring meaningful work: Toward a dual conception, application, and research agenda. (Submitting November to Academy of Management Review) Lepisto, D. A. & Rouse, E. Identity in the making: Exploring self and object in work production. (Submitting Fall 2014 to Academy of Management Review) Ongoing Projects Lepisto, D. A. Reason for being: Constructing organizational purpose amidst strategic change. (Dissertation Data Collection) Lepisto, D. A. Shoes change lives: Meaning making, shared experiences, and the inbuilding of organizational purpose in an athletic footwear company. (Dissertation Data Collection) Lepisto, D. A, McArdle, S., & Pratt, M. G. Measuring work orientation. (Data Collection) Lepisto, D. A. & Rouse, E. Making me or making it? Exploring identity enactments in athletic footwear and video game design. (Data Collection) AWARDS AND HONORS 2014 INFORMS/Organization Science Dissertation Competition, Finalist 2014 OB Doctoral Consortium Participant, Academy of Management 2014 Donald J. White Teaching Excellence Award, Boston College 2012 OMT Division Best Symposium Award Finalist, Academy of Management 2012 OMT/OB/MOC Showcase Symposium, Academy of Management 2009- Ph.D. Program Fellowship, Boston College 2006-2007 Competitive Merit Scholarship, University of Chicago 2004 Highest Honors for Senior Thesis, Kalamazoo College 2001-2004 Dean s List, Kalamazoo College PRESENTATIONS & CONFERENCES 2014 Presented paper, Identity in the making: Exploring self and object in work production, (with Bess Rouse), Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. 2
Presented symposium paper, Identity Work Within and Beyond the Professions: Toward a Theoretical Integration and Extension, (with Eliana Crosina & Michael G. Pratt), Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. Co-Organized MOC division professional development workshop, Reviewing in the Rough, Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. Chaired MOC division paper session, Organizational Identity, Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. Presented, Reasons for being: Constructing organizational purpose amidst strategic change, 11 th Annual May Meaning Meeting, Yale School of Management. 2013 Presented paper, Trust under fire: Judgments of trustworthiness as occupationally-situated labeling (with Michael G. Pratt & Erik I. Dane), Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL. Co-Organized MOC division professional development workshop, Reviewing in the Rough, Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL. Co-Organized MOC division professional development workshop, Cognition in the Rough, Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL. Presented, Exploring cultural processes of meaningful work, 10 th Annual May Meaning Meeting, Yale School of Management. 2012 Co-Organized MOC division professional development workshop, Reviewing in the Rough, Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Boston, MA. Co-Organized MOC division professional development workshop, Cognition in the Rough, Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Boston, MA. Presented paper, The worth of work: Toward a reorientation of the meaning of work, (with Camille Pradies & Michael G. Pratt), Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Boston, MA. Organized OB/OMT/MOC Symposium, Finding meaning in the economic sphere: Revisiting and advancing a core question (designated Showcase Symposium; Finalist for OMT Division Best Symposium Award) Presented paper, Paycheck, book smart, spark, or worker: The role of work orientation in the process of trust building among firefighters, (with Michael G. Pratt), 9 th Annual May Meaning Meeting, Yale School of Management. Presented paper, Why Meaningful Work Matters (with Michael G. Pratt), 9 th Annual May Meaning Meeting, Yale School of Management. 3
2011 Presented paper, Politics in perspective(s): Re-energizing research on organizational politics, (with Michael G. Pratt), Academy of Management Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX. Presented paper, Reconceptualizing work orientation: On its origins, meanings, and outcomes, (with Camille Pradies & Michael G. Pratt), Academy of Management Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX. Presented, What Lies Behind: Toward a Better Understanding of What Makes Work Worth Doing, (with Michael G. Pratt), 8 th Annual May Meaning Meeting, Yale School of Management. 2010 Presented, Doing well, doing good, doing with: Linking sources of meaningfulness with work orientation, (with Michael G. Pratt & Camille Pradies), 7 th Annual May Meaning Meeting, Yale School of Management. 2007 Poster presentation, Replicated inhibition of unpleasant word identification under objective threshold conditions, (with E. Samuel Winer, Howard Shevrin, and J. Michael Snodgrass), Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness, Las Vegas, NV. 2005 Poster presentation, Unconscious inhibition of negative word stimuli, (with E. Samuel Winer, Howard Shevrin, and J. Michael Snodgrass), Association for Psychological Science, Washington, DC. TEACHING! Instructor, Organizational Behavior (Required BBA Course), 2012 o Rating: 4.4/5.0 (department average: 4.1)! Teaching Assistant (with Simona Giorgi), Organizational Behavior (BBA Course), 2011! Teaching Assistant, Leadership (with Mary Ann Glynn), (MBA Course), 2010 Kalamazoo College! Teaching Assistant, General Psychology (Undergraduate Psychology Course), 2004! Teaching Assistant, Experimental Methods (Undergraduate Psychology Course), 2004 ACADEMIC SERVICE Academy of Management! Student Representative at Large, Managerial and Organizational Cognition Division (MOC), 2011-2013! MOC Division Best Student Paper Award Committee, 2013, 2014 Boston College! Presented Mission and Education to new doctoral students in the Boston College Woods College of Advancing Studies, 2014! Boston Community Field Researcher Meeting, Organizing Committee, 2013, 2014! Presented, Meaning 101, Boston College Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics Summer Camp, 2013.! Doctoral Student Representative, 2009-2010 4
Reviewing! Ad-hoc reviewer: Journal of Management Studies, Management Research Review! Reviewer, AOM Annual Meetings (MOC, OB, and OMT Division), 2011-present MEDIA COVERAGE! Monitor on Psychology, http://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/12/job-satisfaction.aspx, 2013 EMPLOYMENT 2007-2009 Monitor Group (now Monitor Deloitte) Management Consultant 2005-2006 Young and Rubicam Brands Strategic Planning Analyst 2003-2005 University of Michigan Research Assistant REFERENCES Michael G. Pratt (Chair) O Connor Family Professor Ph.D. Director, Department of Management and Organization Affiliated Faculty, Department of Psychology Fulton Hall 424C 140 Commonwealth Avenue Chestnut Hill, MA 02467-3808 617-552-6992 michael.pratt@bc.edu Spencer Harrison Assistant Professor Department of Management and Organization Fulton Hall 430 140 Commonwealth Avenue Chestnut Hill, MA 02467-3808 617-552-6823 spencer.harrison@bc.edu Scott Sonenshein Jones School Distinguished Associate Professor of Management Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University 230 McNair Hall 6100 Main Street MS 531 Houston, TX 77005 713-348-3182 scotts@rice.edu 5