Keith Ferguson

Dr. Keith E. Ferguson is a Lecturer in the Department of Marketing and Department of Management at the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University.  He received his D.B.A. from Kennesaw State University in 2014, an M.B.A. in 2010 from Western Michigan University, and a B.A. from Alma College in 1985.  Dr. Ferguson had the honor of being inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma International Honor Society chapters at both Western Michigan University and Kennesaw State University.  In addition, Ferguson has had the honor of being selected as a 2017 Broad Integrative Fellow to develop more integrative thinking and teaching among the Broad College Faculty with the long-term objective of enhancing the college's teaching and learning culture, while increasing connections with key corporate partners.

Dr. Ferguson brings to MSU several years of experience from the medical sales industry and over 20 years of self-employment, founding and successfully operating seven small businesses since 1988.  He has also taught both undergraduate and graduate courses since 2006 at Grand Rapids Community College, Western Michigan University, Aquinas College, Michigan State University, and Florida State University.   

Dr. Ferguson's research interests include consumer behavior, sustainability, entrepreneurship, innovation, and family business.  He has presented and been a session chair at conferences in the U.S. and Europe.  In addition, he has published in the Journal of Family Business Strategy, International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development, and the International Journal of Business, Marketing, and Decision Sciences.  In 2011, he was awarded the best paper at the Academy of Business Research Spring conference for his work on identifying signals that lead to successfully employing ex-offenders based on his experience.  Ferguson also serves as a reviewer for various journals including:  Journal of Family Business Strategy, Qualitative Market Research, International Marketing Review, European Management Journal, and a conference reviewer for the International Family Enterprise Research Academy (IFERA).  

Dr. Ferguson uses both his practical experience and theoretical knowledge to teach MKT 880 (Consumer Decision Making and Behavior) and MGT 843 (Entrepreneurship and Innovation).  He is also an Associate Lecturer and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Florida State University in the Dr. Persis E. Rockwood School of Marketing.

Smith, D.R., Hair, J.F., & Ferguson, K. (2014). An investigation of the effect of family influence on Commitment-Trust in retailer-vendor strategic partnerships. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 5 (3), 252-263.Hopkins, L., and Ferguson, K.E. (2014).  Looking forward:  The role of multiple regression in family business research. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 5 (1), 52-62.Ferguson, K. E., Hair Jr, J. F., Silva, R. V., Oliveira-Brochado, A., Mollah, H., & Musharuf, M. (2017). Consumer perceptions of sustainability: an exploratory study. International Journal of Business, Marketing, and Decision Sciences, (1).Ferguson, K.E., Sztykiel, J., and Ingram, M. (in press).  Contemporary Product Development: A Focus on Innovation, GT-MAP.  Cognella, San Diego, CA.Ferguson, K.E. and Hopkins, L. (in press).  The Great Facilitator.  Reflections on the Contribution of Joseph F. Hair Jr. to Marketing and Business Research.  SpringerBinz, C. A., Ferguson, K. E., Pieper, T. M., & Astrachan, J. H. (2017). Family business goals, corporate citizenship behaviour and firm performance: disentangling the connections. International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development, 16(1-2), 34-56.

Ferguson, K.E., and J.,L., Jackson (2022). Using Invitational Theory and Practice as a Framework for Optimizing Marketing Education. The Journal of Invitational Theory and Practice, 28, 31-44.Ferguson, K.E. (2022).  An Introduction to Entrepreneurship:  An Applied and Theoretical Approach.  Cognella, San Diego, CA.Ferguson, K.E., Ingram, M. and Sztykiel, J., (2023).  Contemporary Product Development: A Focus on Innovation.  Second Edition.  Cognella, San Diego, CA.Elsworth, J., Ferguson, K.E., Kirca, A., Miller, J., & Yidiz, H. (2020). The Home Depot: A digital transformation for customer experience.  Ivey Publishing.