Why did you decide to get involved with the Strategic Management Society?

“My involvement with the Strategic Management Society comes from a strong-held belief that participating in a vibrant and cohesive community – one that shares a common language, promotes a sense of belonging, and engages with a multitude of ideas without prejudice – serves the dual purpose of promoting high-quality research while making the process fun and personally fulfilling.

Members of our SMS community are passionate about ideas and changing the world. However, pressure for research productivity creates the risks of forgetting to enjoy the research process or ignoring opportunities to interact with the brilliant people surrounding us. Engaging with the Strategic Management Society is a perfect remedy to these risks. SMS fuels my passion for strategy research while enabling me to nurture a healthy community that will do the same for several other scholars. The opportunity to develop strong ties with scholars worldwide makes the SMS community irreplaceable to me.”

What’s your favorite part of being a member of the Strategic Management Society?
“My favorite part of being a member of the SMS is engaging with a geographically and academically diverse group of scholars. The more the SMS includes scholars located in Latin America, Europe, Australasia, and Africa (beyond scholars based in North America), the more the value of SMS increases to me. Attending in-person events and participating in virtual seminars with diverse researchers expands my view of how we – as strategy scholars – can bring to the table when discussing organizational and social challenges.”
What advice would you give to someone who wants to enter the field of strategic management?

“Think big, think deep, and be cohesive.”

When considering what to study, consider the following questions: Would CEOs and managers be interested in discussing your research? Would the answer to your research question make organizations operate better? Would it also make the world a better place? Are you passionate about the topic? Would you be happy to discuss your research in a bar with friends? Can you improve our understanding of relevant organizational phenomena?

If you answer “YES” to all these questions, stick with this research question and focus on studying it as best as possible. Start your research with a question, not with a method.

The incentives in our profession – especially for juniors such as myself – may lead us to overly focus on “What is the project that will give me the best identification strategy?” or “How can I implement an advanced computational technique to showcase my technical skills?” Fight the urge to focus on these questions only.

As time goes by and I learn from my senior mentors, I am getting more convinced that “big questions” trump “big identification” in terms of academic impact, real-world impact, and even in making your life more fun and meaningful as a researcher.”

What does a perfect Sunday look like to you?

“Weather: Sunny and around 25 degrees Celsius.

Morning: a walk/run in the park followed by a nice brunch, which must include eggs and a fruit+granola combo. If I were in Brazil, I would have papaya, but finding good papaya has been difficult in Europe and in the US.

Afternoon: pick a random coffee place and chill / hang out with friends while talking about everything. If traveling, walk around the entire city.

Evening: Go for delicious stone-oven pizza.”