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If HBO’s Succession offers a cutthroat look at dynastic power plays and legacy wars, Evelyn R. Micelotta’s work explores what really unfolds behind the scenes of real — life family — run enterprises. Originally from Italy, Micelotta brings a global perspective to how organizational identity, tradition and change collide in the life cycle of family firms. Her research has evolved to include professions, institutional dynamics, and value prioritization in the implementation of AI systems.

Of this year’s eight 40th anniversary conversations with alumni from the PhD program, Micelotta represents our most recent decade of graduates, earning her doctorate in Strategy, Entrepreneurship & Management (SEM, formerly Organizational Analysis) at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ School of Business in 2015. After graduation, she began her academic career as an assistant professor of Strategic Management at the University of New Mexico, but in 2020 returned to Canada to take up the Desmarais Associate Professorship in Family Business at the University of Ottawa — a move that deepened her engagement in the family business domain.

Today, she’s an associate professor at the University of Vermont’s Grossman School of Business, where she holds the Steven Grossman Chair in Family Business. She teaches entrepreneurship and strategy, and co-leads global initiatives like the SG—Family Enterprise Case Competition, which brings together student teams from more than 15 countries each year.

Before diving into her current research and reflections on academic life, Micelotta shares a note of appreciation for her alma mater: “Thank you for the opportunity to be part of the anniversary celebrations,” she says. “I am happy to see the PhD program at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ School of Business reaching this important milestone. Cheers to all the careers you have helped form (including mine) and to the many that will come.”  

Tell us about your current area of research.

My research is about and around organizations and their dynamics of change and maintenance. I have studied various phenomena of organizational life, from corporate social irresponsibility to innovation post succession in family business, to value prioritization in the implementation of AI systems. These are just some of my current projects. I am also intrigued by occupations and professions, where I am interested in processes of identity formation. 

How has the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ School of Business PhD program influenced your approach to organizational analysis and management research?

I am deeply grateful to the PhD program at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥. I truly had an amazing formative experience there. I joined the U of A from Italy, so obtaining my doctorate required to learn how to conduct rigorous and theory — driven research, but also to navigate living and working in a different country and a foreign language. I was so lucky (!!) to have two supervisors — and   — for whom I have tremendous respect.

The ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ School of Business PhD program is such a fun community, made vibrant by the faculty of the school but also at the center of a network of visiting students and professors from around the world. 

Can you describe a moment or project during your PhD that had a lasting impact on you?

There are so many memories that make me smile, and others that are still a little terrifying! The walk to the Hub Mall with Royston where he would bring a coffee mug for him, and one for you and buy you coffee! The PhD students in the Fishbowl, a study room with a glass door and walls where we used to study but there was always a little time to chat and encourage each other. My dissertation defense in Banff was a special moment for me and my family (thank you Mike!). Working very closely with faculty and peer students was challenging, but also inspiring. I learned so much and now that I have worked with my own students I appreciate the patience they had with us! 

What’s the most unusual or surprising place your research has taken you?

Geographically, I have worked on international projects, for example the paper on Japanese shinise, long—lasting family firms, but unfortunately I did not get to go and collect data on Japanese firms. Visiting Japan is on my bucket list. I like to do archival and historical research, and sometimes you are transported in the past, which is a different country in itself. Sometimes I examine the future, AI for example, and you are surprised by the possibilities of what is not here yet. Every research project I am involved in has something a little unusual and surprising, that pushes you to dig deeper. The beginning of a project is always an exciting place to be.

As far as career highlights, I have been fortunate to work with amazing colleagues across institutions on questions that were very relevant to me. I am an organization theorist and an institutional scholar by training, but my research tends to be eclectic, depending on opportunities and my intellectual curiosity. To be able to do this, often with friends, is indeed a great privilege. 

What advice would you give to current or prospective PhD students?

In terms of research, theorizing is one of the most difficult skills to develop. I am a qualitative researcher and learning to go beyond description or beyond a story or a narrative is something that requires hard work, no matter the career stage you are in. So the suggestion for students is to use those years in the program to hone the skill on how to abstract and create theory from data. Trying to understand why research matters to whom is also very important. Know your audiences — academic or not — and you will know what questions are most relevant and pressing to answer. Focus on the ones that speak to you!

Meet more ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ School of Business PhD alumni: Tulin Erdem ‘93 | Alan Webb ‘01 | Tyler Wry ‘12 | Olubunmi Faleye ‘02 | Kris Hoang, ‘13 | Ujwal Kayande, ‘98 | Vaughan Radcliffe, '95