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Brian Pentland

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Main Street Capital Corporation Intellectual Capital Professor
Department: Accounting and Information Systems
Office:
North Business Building
632 Bogue St Rm N255
East Lansing, MI 48824
Phone: (517) 432-2927
  • Biography
    Brian T. Pentland is the Main Street Capital Corporation Intellectual Capital Endowed Professor in the Department of Accounting and Information Systems at Michigan State University. His research is focused on the analysis of repetitive patterns of action, such as organizational routines. He has used this perspective to study software support, auditing, invoice processing, customer service and most recently, electronic medical record keeping. With support from the National Science Foundation and an amazing set of co-authors, he has helped build the field of Routine Dynamics by introducing concepts and tools for analyzing and visualizing action patterns. His creative work has appeared in Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Administrative Science Quarterly, JAIS, Journal of Management Studies, Management Science, MIS Quarterly, Organization Science, Organization Studies, YouTube, Soundcloud, and elsewhere.  He received his PhD in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1991 and SB in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981.  He is a recipient of the 2015-16 William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award and the EMBA Excellence in Teaching Award in 2021 and 2022. 
  • Education
    PhD Management 1991, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Publications
    Article
    Hansson, M., Hærem, T., and Pentland, B.T. (2022) “The Effect of Repertoire, Routinization and Enacted Complexity: Explaining Task Performance Through Patterns of Action,” Organization Studies.
    Article
    Pentland, B.T., Yoo, Y., Recker, J., and Kim, I. (2022) “From Lock-in to Transformation: A Path-centric Theory of Emerging Technology and Organizing,” Organization Science, 33(1): 194-211.
    Article
    Pentland, B.T., Vaast, E. and Ryan Wolf, J. (2021) "Theorizing process dynamics with directed graphs: A diachronic analysis of digital trace data," MIS Quarterly, 45(2) 967-984.
    Article
     Pentland, B.T., Liu, P. Kremser, W., and Hærem, T. (2021) "Do small variations accumulate into big changes?" In Lounsbury, M., Anderson, D.A. and Spee, P. (Eds.) On Practice and Institution: New Empirical Directions(Research in Sociology of Organizations, Vol 71), p. 29-44.
    Article
    Pentland, B.T., Liu, P. Kremser, W., and Hærem, T. (2020) “Dynamics of Drift in Digitized Processes,” MIS Quarterly, (44:1), 19-47.
    Article
    Mendling, J. Pentland, B.T., Recker, J. (2020) "Building a Complementary Agenda for Business Process Management and Digital Innovation," European Journal of Information Systems (EJIS), 29(3), 208-219.
    Article
    Pentland, B.T., Recker, J., Ryan Wolf, J., and Wyner, G.  (2020) "Bringing Context into the Analysis of Process with Digital Trace Data," The Journal of the Association for Information Systems (JAIS), 21(5),1214-1236.
    Article
    Goh, K. and Pentland, B. T. (2019) "From Actions to Paths to Patterning: Toward a Dynamic Theory of Patterning in Routines," Academy of Management Journal, 62(6), 1901-1929. 
    Article
    Pentland, B.T., Recker, J. and Wyner, G.  (2017) "Rediscovering Handoffs," Academy of Management Discoveries, 3(3), 284-301. doi:10.5465/amd.2016.0018
    Article
    Pentland, B.T., Mahringer, C., Dittrich, K., Feldman, M.S. and Ryan Wolf, J. (2020) "Process Multiplicity and Process Dynamics: Weaving the Space of Possible Paths," Organization Theory, 1(3), 1-21.
    Article
    Feldman, M.S. Pentland, B. T., D’Adderio, L. and Lazaric, N. (2016) “Beyond routines as things: Introduction to the special issue on routine dynamics,” Organization Science, 27(3), 505-513.
    Article
    Hærem, T. Pentland, B. T., and Miller, K. D. (2015) “Task complexity: Extending a core concept,” Academy of Management Review, 40(3): 446-460.
    Article
    Wimble, M. Tripp, J. & Pentland, B.T. (2015) "Want pudding? An analytic model of the benefits and constraints of process standardization," Journal of Management Systems, 25(1): 25-44.
    Article
    Miller, K.D., Choi, S. and Pentland, B.T. (2014) “The role of transactive memory in the formation of organizational routines,” Strategic Organization, 12(2): 109-133. 

    Article
    Pentland, B. T. (2013) “Desperately seeking structure: Grammars of action in information systems research,” The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems, 44(2): 7-18.
    Article
    Pentland, B. T., Feldman, M. S., Becker, M. and Liu, P. (2012), "Dynamics of Organizational Routines: A generative Model"� Journal of Management Studies, 49(8).
    Article
    Miller, K.D., Pentland, B.T. and Choi, S. (2012) "Dynamics of Performing and Remembering Organizational Routines"� Journal of Management Studies, 49(8).
    Article
    Pentland, B. T. (2011) "The foundation is solid if you know where to look: Comments on Felin and Foss"� Journal of Institutional Economics, 7(2), 279-293.
    Article
    Pentland, B. T., T. Haerem and D. Hillison (2011) "The (n)ever changing world: Stability and change in organizational routines"� Organization Science, 22(6), 1369-1383.
    Article
    Pentland, B. T., T. Haerem and D. Hillison. (2010). Comparing Organizational Routines as Recurrent Patterns of Action. Organization Studies. 31: 7. 917-940.
    Article
    Lee, J., Wyner, G and Pentland, B. T.. (2008). Constraining the Search Space with Grammar-Based Design. MIS Quarterly. 32: 4. 757-778.
    Article
    Pentland, B. T. and Feldman, M. S.. (2008). Designing Routines: On the folly of designing artifacts, while hoping for patterns of action. Information and Organization. 18: 4. 235-250.
    Article
    Pentland, B. T. and Feldman, M. S.. (2007). Narrative Networks: Patterns of technology and organization. Organization Science. 18: 5. 781-795.
    Article
    Pentland, B. T., Pentland, A. P. and Calantone, R. (2017) "Bracketing off the actors: Towards an action-centric research agenda," Information and Organization, 27, 137-143.
    Article
    Pentland, B. T. and Feldman, M. S.. (2005). Organizational routines as a unit of analysis. Industrial and Corporate Change.
    Article
    Pentland, B T. (2003). Conceptualizing and Measuring Variety in Organizational Work Processes. Management Science.
    Article
    Feldman, M. S. and Pentland, B. T.. (2003). Reconceptualizing Organizational Routines as a Source of Flexibility and Change. administrative science quarterly.
    Article
    Pentland, B T. (2003). Sequential variety in work processes. Organization Science.
    Article
    Kwon, P. M. J. Chung, and B. Pentland,. (2002). A Grammar-Based Framework for Integrating Design and Manufacturing. Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering.
    Article
    Chung, M.J., P. Kwon and B. Pentland. (2002). Making Process Visible: A Grammatical Approach To Managing Design Processes. Journal of Mechanical Design.
    Article
    Pentland, B T. (1999). Building process theory with narrative: From description to explanation. Academy of Management Review.
    Article
    Pentland, B. T. (2013) “Desperately seeking structure: Grammars of action in information systems research,” The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems, 44(2): 7-18.
    Article
    Hansson, M., Hærem, T., and Pentland, B.T. (2022) “The Effect of Repertoire, Routinization and Enacted Complexity: Explaining Task Performance Through Patterns of Action,” Organization Studies.
  • Courses
    • ITM 911: Doctoral Seminar in Information Systems
    • ACC 822: Project Management
    • PIM 813: Information Systems for Executive MBA
  • Awards
    • John D. and Dortha J. Withrow Teacher-Scholar Award.
       Eli Broad College of Business, 2013.
    • William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award
      University-wide award, 2015-2016
    • EMBA Excellence in Teaching
      Eli Broad College of Business, 2021
    • EMBA Excellence in Teaching
      Eli Broad College of Business, 2022
  • Media Mentions
  • Links

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Broad Matters podcast hosted by the MSU Broad College of Business, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts
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