Michael Conger, PHD, MBA

Michael Conger is Associate Professor of Management at the Lindner College of Business. His research is focuses on social entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship and identity, entrepreneurial ecosystems, and the role of business in society. Michael received hisPh.D. in Management and Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
 
Prior to entering academia, Michael worked for 12 years as a software engineer, business analyst, project manager, and director in the consulting, insurance, investment banking, medical supply, and software industries. He has also been on the founding team of three startups and has served as an advisor to many new and nascent startups in both the for-profit and non-profit space.

BM: Wheaton College Wheaton, IL, 1997 (Bachelor of Music, Vocal Performance)

MBA: Iowa State University Ames, IA, 2008 (MBA - Entrepreneurship and Strategy)

Ph.D.: University of Colorado, Boulder Boulder, CO, 2014 (Business Administration: Entrepreneurship and Strategy)

Michael's research and teaching focus on how entrepreneurial action can contribute to solving social and environmental problems and the ways in which social enterprises are changing the role of business and organizations in society. The research context of his work includes rural and small town entrepreneurship, benefit corporations, green building, religious organizations, post-disaster rebuilding, developing economies, and craft/artisan industries.

2014 -2020 Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, Miami University, Oxford, OH

2020 -2026 Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, Miami University, Oxford, OH

2025 -2025 Interim Chair, Department of Entrepreneurship, Miami University, Oxford, OH

2025 -2025 Interim Director, John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship, Miami University, Oxford, OH

2023 -2026 Director, Miami University Center for Social Entrepreneurship, Miami University, Oxford, OH

2023 -2026 Endres Associate Professor Fellow, Miami University, Oxford, OH

2019 -2020 David F. Herche Endowed Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, Miami University, Oxford, OH

2020 -2024 Co-Founder/Owner, Misrule Brewing Company, Oxford, OH

2008 -2010 Senior Business Analyst / Project Manager, ITA Group, Inc, Des Moines, IA

2003 -2006 Team Lead / Senior Developer, FBL Financial, Emerging Business and Technology Group, Des Moines, IA

2001 -2003 Team Lead / Senior Developer, Datatel, Inc, Fairfax, VA

1999 -2001 Director of Internet Services, Revolutions, Inc, Columbus, OH

1997 -1999 Co-Founder / CTO, Student-2-Student.com, Columbus, OH

2026 -To Present Associate Professor of Management, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

2026 -To Present Director, Center for Entrepreneurship, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

Peer Reviewed Publications

Conger M.; Welter C.  (01-01-2026). Planting churches, growing identities: how religious entrepreneurship changes those who ARE called t. Entrepreneurship and Regional DevelopmentMore Information

Conger M.  (10-31-2012). The role of personal values in social entrepreneurship. Patterns in Social Entrepreneurship Research, 87-109

Cannatelli B.; Smith B.; Giudici A.; Jones J.; Conger M.  (10-01-2017). An Expanded Model of Distributed Leadership in Organizational Knowledge Creation. Long Range Planning, 50 (5) , 582-602More Information

Young S.L.; Welter C.; Conger M.  (05-01-2018). Stability vs. flexibility: The effect of regulatory institutions on opportunity type. Journal of International Business Studies, 49 (4) , 407-441More Information

Conger M.; McMullen J.S.; Bergman B.J.; York J.G.  (03-01-2018). Category membership, identity control, and the reevaluation of prosocial opportunities. Journal of Business Venturing, 33 (2) , 179-206More Information

Sarason Y.; Conger M.  (01-01-2018). Ontologies and epistemologies in 'knowing' the nexus in entrepreneurship: Burning rice hay and track. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 34 (4) , 460-479More Information

Smith B.R.; Conger M.J.; McMullen J.S.; Neubert M.J.  (06-01-2019). Why believe? The promise of research on the role of relgion in entrepreneurial action. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 11More Information

Dinger J.; Conger M.; Hekman D.; Bustamante C.  (09-01-2020). Somebody That I Used to Know: The Immediate and Long-Term Effects of Social Identity in Post-disaste. Journal of Business Ethics, 166 (1) , 115-141More Information

Gras D.; Conger M.; Jenkins A.; Gras M.  (05-01-2020). Wicked problems, reductive tendency, and the formation of (non-)opportunity beliefs. Journal of Business Venturing, 35 (3) More Information

Jones J.; York J.G.; Vedula S.; Conger M.; Lenox M.  (01-01-2019). The collective construction of green building: Industry transition toward environmentally beneficial. Academy of Management Perspectives, 33 (4) , 425-449More Information

Vedula S.; York J.G.; Conger M.; Embry E.  (11-01-2022). Green to Gone? Regional Institutional Logics and Firm Survival in Moral Markets. Organization Science, 33 (6) , 2274-2299More Information

Rawhouser H.; Sutter C.; Holzaepfel N.; Conger M.; Newbert S.L.  (01-01-2025). Knowledge-Related Resourcefulness for Growth in Weak Entrepreneurial Ecosystems. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 49 (1) , 159-195More Information

Rawhouser H.; Islam M.; Jones Christensen L.; Embry E.; Williams T.A.; Conger M.; Trussel C.  (11-01-2024). Supporting refugees: An entrepreneurial resourcefulness approach. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 22More Information

Book Chapter

Michael Conger, Jeffrey G. York (2013). The Evolution of the Green Building Supply Industry: Entrepreneurial Entrants and Diversifying Incumbents. In Constructing Green: The Social Structures of Sustainability. Boston, MA, MIT Press (Co-Author)

Invited Presentations

Conger, Michael (2026. ) (In Press. ) Gather 4 Good: Building a Regional Social Impact Ecosystem .Impact Catalyst Midwest, Cincinnati, OH, USA. Conference. . Level:Regional

Conger, Michael, Chris Welter (2026. ) (In Press. ) Planting Churches, Growing Identities: How Religious Entrepreneurship Changes Those Who Are Called To It .L.I.F.E Research Conference, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA. Conference. . Level:International

Paper Presentations

Bergman, Brian J. Jr., Jeffery S. McMullen, Michael Conger. (2026. ) Is This For Me? Identity Work, Identity Play, and Autonomy-Respecting Support in a Maker Space .University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA. Conference. Level:International

Al Bahrani, Jeni, Michael Conger, Chris Sutter, Chamina Curtis, Rebecca Arwine (2006. ) The Wisdom of (Which) Crowds? A Novel Methodology and Test of Crowdsourced Venture Evaluations .Salt Lake City, UT, USA. Conference. Level:International

Sutter, Chris, Michael Conger, Hans Rawhouser, Filipe Symmes (2025. ) Resourcefulness: What Do We Know, What Do We Not Know, And Why Does It Matter? .Las Vegas, NV, USA. Conference. Level:International

Monsen, Erik, Greg Bertsch, Michael Conger, Bob Milner, Michael Valdez (2025. ) Panel: Rural Entrepreneurship Education and Training .Las Vegas, NV, USA. Conference. Level:International

2025 -2025 USASBE Social Entrepreneurship Excellence in Co-Curricular Programing Award Status:Recipient Level:International Type:Recognition

2024 -2024 B Academics Instructor of the Year Status:Recipient Level:International Type:Recognition

2023 -2023 Richard K. Smucker Teaching Excellence Award Miami University Status:Recipient Level:University Type:Recognition

2023 -2026 Endres Associate Professor Fellow Miami University Status:Recipient Level:University Type:Fellowship

2022 -2022 Miami University Prodesse Quam Conspici Award Status:Recipient Level:University Type:Recognition

2006-2008 Master of Business Administration, Specializtion in Entrepreneurship and Strategy, Iowa State University, , Ames, IA

2010-2014 Ph.D., Business Administration, Entrepreneurship and Strategy, University of Colorado, Boulder, , Boulder, CO

Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneurship, Social Enterprise, Identity, Business in Society

Academic - Lindner School of Business
2906 Woodside Dr
Cincinnati  Ohio, 45221
Phone: (513)556-5557
michael.conger@uc.edu