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Alex Murray

Assistant Professor of Management

Affiliations: Management, Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship
Phone: 541-346-3318
Office: Anstett 398C

About

Biography:

Alex Murray's research focuses on developing theoretical frameworks to explain how entrepreneurs mobilize resources from distributed resource providers and how distributed resource providers use novel technologies to coordinate resource allocations. He addresses empirical and theoretical puzzles stemming from the technologically-driven phenomena of crowdfunding, blockchain-based firms, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). Theoretically, he contributes to the literatures on organizational theory, strategy, and entrepreneurship by unpacking how entrepreneurs obtain and maintain support from many distributed resource providers over time. Methodologically, he complements inductive field-based approaches with statistical analyses to develop novel insights and advance existing theories in intriguing ways.

Degree History:
  • PhD, University of Washington, 2018
  • MS, University of Virginia, 2012
  • BS, University of Alabama, 2011
Previous Positions:
  • Senior Researcher, ETH Zurich, 2018–2019
Professional Leadership:
  • Editorial Review Board Member, Academy of Management Review
Honors and Awards:
  • Best Paper Award, Academy of Management Review, 2022
  • Best Reviewer Award, Academy of Management Review, 2022
  • Outstanding Faculty in Entrepreneurship, Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship, 2022
  • Best Reviewer Award, Journal of Business Venturing, 2021
  • Most Developmental Reviewer Award, Academy of Management Review, 2021
  • Translational Research Grant, Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship, 2020
  • COVID-19 Impact Grant Award, 2020
  • New Junior Faculty Research Award, University of Oregon, 2019

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Areas of Expertise

  • Crowdfunding
  • Decentralized governance
  • Distributed ledger technology
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Innovation
  • Resource mobilization
  • Technology entrepreneurship
  • Venture finance

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Current Projects

  • Jones, Jessica, and Alexander Murray. "Maintaining Legitimacy with Multiple Stakeholder Groups: A Study of Impact Investing."

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Publications

Journal Articles:

Murray, Alex, Dennie Kim, and Jordan Combs. "The Promise of a Decentralized Internet: What is Web 3.0 and How Can Firms Prepare?" Business Horizons, forthcoming. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2022.06.002.

June 2022

Murray, Alex, and Greg Fisher. "When More is Less: Explaining the Curse of Too Much Capital for Early-Stage Ventures." Organization Science, forthcoming. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2021.1568.

November 2021

Murray, Alex, Scott Kuban, Matthew Josefy, and Jonathan Anderson. "Contracting in the Smart Era: The Implications of Blockchain and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations for Contracting and Corporate Governance." Academy of Management Perspectives 35, no. 4: 622-641. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2018.0066.

November 2021

Murray, Alex, Jen Rhymer, and David G. Sirmon. "Humans and Technology: Forms of Conjoined Agency in Organizations." Academy of Management Review 46, no. 3: 552-571. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2019.0186.

July 2021

Hallen, Benjamin L., Jason P. Davis, and Alex Murray. "Entrepreneurial Network Evolution: Explicating the Structural Localism and Agentic Network Change Distinction." Academy of Management Annals 14, no. 2: 1067-1102. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2018.0063.

July 2020

Murray, Alex, Suresh Kotha, and Greg Fisher. "Community-Based Resource Mobilization: How Entrepreneurs Acquire Resources from Distributed Non-Professionals via Crowdfunding." Organization Science, 31, no. 4: 960-989. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2019.1339.

July 2020
Cases:

Huang, Laura, Maximilian Enthoven, Alex Murray, and Erik Hofmann. "modum.io (B): Bidding Farewell to Crypto." Harvard Business School Case N9-421-068.

January 2021

Huang, Laura, Dominik Roeck, Alex Murray, and Erik Hofmann. "modum.io: Funding a Blockchain-based Start-up's Supply Chain Solution." Harvard Business School Case N9-420-006.

January 2020

Murray, Alex, and Suresh Kotha. "Kickstarter: Using Crowdfunding to Launch a New Board Game." In Strategic Management, edited by F. T. Rothaermel. Burr Ridge, IL: McGraw-Hill.

January 2020

In the News

Four awardees earned special funding to continue and expand the study of financial literacy and wellness.
Research by management professor Alex Murray and coauthor examined why some tech ventures fail on crowdfunding platforms despite meeting their financing goals.
The Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship has launched a new funding opportunity to support research activities of Lundquist College faculty.
Eight Lundquist College of Business researchers brought their papers to life during the inaugural Research Slam.
When it came to delivering engaging coursework virtually, Lundquist College faculty and staff didn’t miss a beat.
Research by management professor Alex Murray and coauthors explored how new companies fuel success in online fundraising campaigns.
Management professor Alex Murray's research focuses on the interface of humans and technologies.
November brings fall colors, midterms, and a host of events and updates from the Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship.