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Mary Crossan

Mary Crossan

Professor, General Management

  • Taylor/Mingay Chair in Business Policy

Education

  • BA
  • MBA
  • PhD, UWO

Contact Information

Profile

Mary Crossan is a Professor of Strategic Management at the Ivey Business School. Prior to joining the school, Crossan worked for such organizations as Bell Canada, the RCMP, Finance Canada and the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. She earned a BA, MBA, and Ph.D. from The University of Western Ontario.

Crossan teaches in the undergraduate, MBA, Ph.D. and Executive Programs. Her research on organizational learning, strategy, leadership and improvisation has been widely published in such journals as the Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Organization Science, the Journal of Management Studies, Leadership Quarterly and Organization Dynamics. She has extended her research to management practice through a collection of over 50 cases, many of which have been published in a book she co-authored entitled Strategic Management: A Casebook. She is also an author of the Strategic Analysis and Action textbook. In a joint venture between the Ivey Business School and the Second City Improvisation Company, she developed a management video entitled "Improvise to Innovate" which extends traditional concepts of strategic management to development tools and techniques for more innovative, flexible and responsive strategic action. Her research, case-writing and consulting have provided broad exposure to companies around the world. She has worked with HSBC, Mattel Asia, Bank of Montreal, TD Bank Financial Group, CIBC, Sears Canada, Sun Life and Grand & Toy. Her case on Starbucks has been Ivey's top selling case for many years.

Teaching

  • General Management (MBA, Executive MBA)
  • Strategic Analysis and Action (MBA, Executive MBA)
  • Transformational Leadership (MBA)
  • eLeadership (HBA, MBA)

Selected Publications

  • Bapuji, H.; Loree, D.; Crossan, M.; Connecting Knowledge Usage and Firm Performance, The Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, Vol. 28 No. 4, pp. 215-231, October-December, 2011.
  • Tang, J.; Crossan, M.; Rowe, G.; Dominant CEO, Deviant Strategy, and Extreme Performance, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 48, No. 7, pp. 1479-1503, November, 2011.
  • Crossan, M., Mauer, C., White, R.E.; Reflections on the 2009 Decade Award: Do we Have a Theory of Organizational Learning? Academy of Management Review, Vol. 36, No. 3, pp. 446-460, July 2011.
  • Maurer, C.; Bansal, T.; Crossan, M.; Creating Economic Value Through Social Values: Introducing a Culturally Informed Resource-Based View, Organization Science, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 432-448, March-April 2011.
  • Crossan, M.; Gandz, J.; Seijts, G.; Cross-Enterprise Leadership: Business Leadership for the Twenty-First Century, Wiley, September 2010, 320 pages.
  • Gandz, J.; Crossan, M.; Seijts, G.; Stephenson, C. (with research assistance from Daina Mazutis) Leadership on Trial: A Manifesto for Leadership Development. 2010.
  • Crossan, M.; Apaydin, M.; A Multi-Dimensional Framework of Organizational Innovation: A Systematic Review of the Literature, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 47, No. 6, pp. 1154-1191, September, 2009.
  • Jansen, J.; Vera, D. Crossan, M. Strategic Leadership for Exploration and Exploitation: The Moderating Role of Environmental Dynamism, Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 5-18, February, 2009.
  • Crossan, M.; Vera, D.; Nanjad, L.; Transcendent Leadership: Strategic Leadership in Dynamic Environments, Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 5, pp. 569-581, October, 2008.
  • Crossan, M.; Gandz, J.; Seijts, G.; The Cross-Enterprise Leader, Ivey Business Journal, July-August, 2008.
  • Crossan, M.; Bansal, P.; Killing, J.P.; White, R.E.; Zietsma, C.; Strategic Management: A Casebook; eighth edition, Pearson Prentice-Hall, July 2007.
  • Crossan, M.; Olivera, F.; Cross-Enterprise Leadership: A New Approach for the 21st Century, Ivey Business Journal, May-June, 2006.
  • Dutta, D.; Crossan, M.; Understanding Opportunity Recognition Using the "4I" Model of Learning, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, July, pp. 425-449, 2005.
  • Vera, D. Crossan, M.; Improvisation and Innovative Performance in Teams, Organization Science, Vol. 16, No. 3, May-June, pp. 203-224,  2005.
  • Bapuji, H.; Crossan, M.; From Questions to Answers: Reviewing Organizational Learning Research, Management Learning, Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 397-417, 2004.
  • Crossan, M.; Vieira Da Cunha, J.; Vera, D.; Pina E Cunha, M. Time and Organizational Improvisation, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 129-145, 2005.
  • Crossan, M.; Fry, J.N.; Killing, J.P. Strategic Analysis and Action; sixth edition, Pearson Prentice-Hall, August 2004.
  • Vera, D.; Crossan, M.; Theatrical Improvisation: Lessons for Organizations, Organization Studies, June (5), 727-751, 2004.
  • Vera, D.; Crossan, M.; Strategic Leadership and Organization Learning, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 29, No. 2, April, pp. 222-240, 2004.
  • Crossan, M.; Altering Theories of Learning and Action: An Interview with Chris Argyris. Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 17, No. 2, May, pp. 40-46, 2003.
  • Crossan, M.; Chris Argyris and Donald Schon's Organizational Learning: There is No Silver Bullet. Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 17, No. 2, May, pp. 38-39, 2003.
  • Crossan, M. Tiemessen, I.; Organizational Learning and Strategic Renewal. Strategic Management Journal, Vol 24, No. 11, November, pp. 1087-1105, 2003.

Research/Course Development

  • Strategic Analysis and Action
  • Improvisation and Strategy
  • Organizational Learning and Strategic Renewal
  • Developing and Executing Strategies
  • Leadership and Character

Experience

  • Bell Canada: Engineering Economics - Ottawa; Installation Foreman - Barrie, Toronto; Construction - London; Human Resource Management - London
  • Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics - Ottawa
  • Department of Finance - Ottawa
  • Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP): Human Resource Management - Ottawa; Criminal Investigations, Ottawa

Expertise

  • Strategic Management Science
  • Organizational Learning for Competitive Advantage
  • Improvisation
  • Cross Enterprise Management
 

Research Links

 

Related Links

 

Faculty Focus

Watch the latest episodes of our monthly Faculty podcast:

Demystifying China | Faculty Focus with Paul Beamish - May 2013

Eye on Asia | Faculty Focus with Jan De Silva - April 2013

The EMBA Experience In India | Faculty Focus with Jean-Louis Schaan - Jan. 2013

View Entire Video Series