Krista Pettit

Assistant Professor, General Management & Strategy

Faculty >

Contact Information

5196614130
Richard Ivey Building 2340
Contact By Email

Expertise

Strategic change and renewal
Occupations
Occupational identity work
Qualitative research
Process research

Faculty by Expertise

Research Publications

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Krista Pettit is an Assistant Professor in General Management, Strategy, at the Ivey Business School. As a researcher of strategic change and renewal from a strategy-as-practice perspective, she conceptualizes strategy as something organizational actors ‘do’, as opposed to the traditional focus on strategy as something an organization has. She is particularly interested in how the formal and informal roles of multiple stakeholders shape the direction of strategic change in contexts such as media organizations and multinational subsidiaries. Prior to returning to academia, she held senior level positions in the financial services, software and real estate industries in Canada and Japan.

Teaching

Strategic Analysis and Action
Power and Politics in Organization

Programs Taught

Education

PhD, Ivey Business School, University of Western Ontario
MBA, Ivey Business School, University of Western Ontario
BA, University of Alberta

Recent Refereed Articles

Pettit, K.; Crossan, M. M., 2020, "Strategic renewal: Beyond the functional resource role of occupational members", Strategic Management Journal, June 41(6): 1112 - 1138.
Abstract: Research summary In this qualitative study of strategic renewal at a North American news organization we reveal that the treatment of occupational members as resources in strategy literature is necessary, but insufficient. Their activities are critical for organizational survival and competition but also the work needed to maintain their occupational identity. Furthermore, the prevailing research evidence that occupational members impede strategic renewal is incomplete. Our study challenges the narrow view of occupational members as resources that constrain strategic renewal by illustrating how occupational identity ‘work’ is instrumental in facilitating and disrupting strategic renewal. Our findings emphasize the importance of adopting broader definitions of work than the functional definition used in strategic renewal research. We also highlight how the activities of non‐managerial actors contribute to strategic renewal. Managerial summary During times of change, research highlights how occupational members such as doctors, nurses, engineers and academics, disrupt and resist change. Our study demonstrates that the same cause of disruption — sustaining their distinctive occupational identity — is critical in facilitating strategic renewal. For managers, we illustrate how and why this occurs and provide practical guidance to leverage this understanding while managing change in occupationally‐dominated organizations.
Link(s) to publication:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smj.3115

For more publications please see our Research Database

Experience

2016-2019 – Post Doctoral Research Associate in Strategy-as-Practice, University of Liverpool Management School, Liverpool, U.K.
2004-2011 – Client Services Director (final position), PriceMetrix Inc., Toronto, Canada
2000- 2001 – Operations Manager – Commerce One Japan, Tokyo, Japan
1999-2000 – Sales and Facilities Manager – Servcorp Japan, Tokyo, Japan
1998-1999 – Translator – Fuji Bank, Tokyo, Japan