Michael E. Johnson-Cramer

Office: Taylor Hall 307

Phone: 570.577.1756

Email: mjohncra@bucknell.edu

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." -- Henry David Thoreau

My path to Bucknell has been long and winding. After graduating with an undergraduate degree in government from Harvard University, I worked for a high-tech company, helping them to expand their operations into Europe (allowing me to live and work in Ireland, France, and Belgium). While in Europe, I earned my masters in business administration from Ecole de Commerce Solvay (Universite Libre de Bruxelles). Subsequently, I spent time consulting on issues of executive and organization development at a large European company. Having decided to return to academia, I received my doctorate in business administration (with a focus on organization theory, business and society, and business ethics) from Boston University. I have taught previously at Boston University and the University of Massachusetts, Boston. I joined the Bucknell management department in the autumn of 2004.

I have enjoyed my time here at Bucknell immensely. The most unique feature of management education at Bucknell is the degree to which our department strives to balance the demands of professional training with the goals of a liberal arts education. This means that, on a daily basis, I look for new ways to encourage my students "to live deliberately", to think deeply, and to see their experience in relation to the broader human condition. I can think of no better way to spend one’s afternoons than sitting in a roomful of thoughtful Bucknell students and talking about some of the most pressing issues facing society today.

My research interests lie in the area of business and society studies. My current research deals with the nature of firm-stakeholder interactions, particularly the sources of conflict in these relationships. In short, my work addresses the question: Why do companies find themselves mired in intractable conflicts with their key constituencies? Having spent the better part of the past five years looking at this question in the context of cash balance pension conversions in Fortune 500 companies, I am currently expanding the scope of my work and exploring the role of institutional forces, authority patterns, and multi-stakeholder dialogue in exacerbating or preventing stakeholder conflict. I have also conducted research on organizational change and normative business ethics.