David A. Owens
Clinical Professor of Business Strategy and Innovation
Faculty Director, Professional Development Institute
Assistant to the Provost for Strategy Process Innovation
Subject Area(s):
Entrepreneurship, Organization Studies, Ethics and Social Responsibility
Biography:
Professor Owens serves on the faculty at Vanderbilt University's Graduate School of Management in the area of organizational behavior. Specializing in strategic innovation and product development, Owens also delivers executive education programs and consulting services to a wide range of clients around the world. Owens' research has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, London Guardian and San Jose Mercury News, as well as on NPR's Marketplace. His recent education and consulting work in the area of business strategy, innovation process, and product development have included engagements with NASA, LEGO, Gibson Guitars, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Sygen International, OrangeUK, Alcatel, Tetra Pak, the Nashville Airport Authority, and Baptist Hospital among others. He has also performed product design consulting work for a variety of firms including Daimler Benz, Apple Computer, Coleman Camping, Corning World Kitchen, Steelcase and IDEO. Owens earned his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management through a four-year joint fellowship program between the Graduate School of Business and the School of Engineering at Stanford University. He also holds an M.S. in Engineering Product Design and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford. Before pursuing his Ph.D., Owens became registered as a Professional Electrical Engineer while working at the San Francisco International Airport after which he worked as a product design engineer at IDEO Product Development Inc. in Palo Alto, California. Currently, Owens teaches graduate-level core courses in leadership, workteam management, and organization design in the Organizational Studies area at Owen, and he teaches elective courses in strategic innovation and product design in the Entrepreneurship and Innovation area. Professor Owens' research focuses on innovation and change in organizations, informal status processes in groups, and group composition.
Education:
Ph.D., Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University, 1998
M.S., Engineering Product Design, Stanford University, 1993
P.E., Registered Professional Electrical Engineering, 1991
B.S., Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, 1987
Course(s) Taught:
- MGT 449: Innovation Strategy
- MGT 342: Leading Teams and Organizations
- MGT 541: New Product Development: Design for Sustainability
- MGT 543: Advanced Product Design & Development
Other Course(s):
Social Entrepreneurship,
Strategy in the New Economy,
Innovation Strategy (Executive Course)
Research Interest(s):
Professor Owens' research focuses the management of innovation in product, process, and and service industries. He also studies the effects of social status on organizational effectiveness and design.
Area(s) of Expertise:
Strategic Innovation, New Product Design and Development, Organizational Design
Chapter(s):
Phillips, D., and Owens, D. A., (2004), "Incumbents, Innovation, and Competence: The Emergence of Recorded Jazz, 1920 - 1929." Poetics Journal of Empirical Research on Culture, the Media, and the Arts, Vol. 32. No. 3. London, UK: Elsevier BV.
Podcast(s) & Video:
AntiTrust Podcast
Media Mentions:
Marketplace (NPR); Wall Street Journal; New York Times Magazine; Fast Company; Industry Standard; Money Magazine; San Jose Mercury News; Seattle Times; and others
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