A Q&A with Christine Beckman, Professor in Technology Management

By Jamie Hu

Our department is very excited to introduce the newest addition to our faculty lineup, Professor Christine Beckman! She recently joined our team in July of 2024, and will be providing her expertise to our students on the topics of social innovation, entrepreneurship, technology and work, and more. Our team is incredibly lucky to have her. We’re beyond thrilled to be able to offer her classes, as well as to work with her as colleagues! 

What to know about Christine, at a glance

Christine is a California native (5th generation, in fact!). She was born in San Francisco, and has bounced between Northern and Southern California over the course of her life.

She has published extensively in peer-reviewed management journals. Some standouts include her book, Dreams of the Overworked: Living, Working and Parenting in the Digital Age, co-authored with Melissa Mazmanian, published by Stanford University Press in 2020, as well as her 2021 edited volume, Carnegie goes to California: Advancing and celebrating the work of James G. March, which celebrates the work of her late mentor Jim March. Her research published widely, including in the Administrative Science Quarterly, Organization Science, Academy of Management Journal, American Sociological Review, and Journal of Business Venturing. On top of this, she’s also the current editor at Administrative Science Quarterly!

Finally, Christine has held many prestigious positions, including but not limited to: 

• Division Chair of the Organization and Management Theory division of the Academy of Management
• The Price Family Chair in Social Innovation and Professor of Management and Public Policy
• Director of the Price Center for Social Innovation in the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California, with joint appointments with the Management and Organization Department at the Marshall School of Business and the Department of Sociology
• Academic Director of the Center of Social Value Creation (CSVC) at the University of Maryland

About Christine’s research

Christine’s research focuses on organizational learning, inter-organizational networks, entrepreneurship, and social innovation. She considers herself an organizational scholar who spans traditional disciplinary and methodological boundaries, and who has a particular interest in studying how collaborative relationships and diverse experiences facilitate change. She conducts interdisciplinary research, has done extensive work on high-tech entrepreneurship, and has also studied how organizations use technology to control behavior. Her recent work examines the organizational reaction to and individual experience of operating in a tech-enabled world, especially when the boundaries between the personal and professional begin to blur.

In her current studies, Christine is looking into the role of new technologies in social innovation. Specifically, she is interested in studying how technologies are used to tackle a wide spectrum of social problems, from those that emerge from technical problems, to those that emerge from human relationships, to those that catalyze entire reshapings of the structure of work. In her own words, Christine says, “Understanding the ways in which new as well as everyday technologies mitigate, reinforce, and exacerbate existing social problems is an area of research I am excited to continue exploring.” 

What’s next? 

If you’re curious to learn more about Christine, I had the opportunity to ask her a few more questions about her background, research, and teaching. Check out the Q&A I’ve compiled below to learn more! 

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Tell us a little about what brought you to our department.

Q: What made you decide to come to UCSB/Santa Barbara? 

A: I am excited to be with a terrific group of colleagues – and to return to the UC system where I had worked previously (UCI). I love the outdoors, the water, and SB seems to be a beautiful place to live!

Q: What drew you to Technology Management? 

A: The strength of the faculty and the PhD students. A collegial and accomplished set of folks.

Q: What are you most excited about for this new leg of your career? 

A: Helping to continue to build the department, to get to know a new place and people, and to work with doctoral students on exciting new projects!

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Tell me about your research & academic interests. 

Q: Describe a current project you’re working on.

A: One of the projects I’m working on looks at cash-based assistance as a tool that has helped the humanitarian and development fields better help refugees who have been displaced from their homes. This type of assistance relies on a technical infrastructure that can provide short term and long term aid from a variety of sources. 

Q: What would you say is the most surprising thing about your research? 

A: You might say I’m eclectic! I’ve worked on an array of topics in many different topics. 

Q: How did you first get interested in your research topic?

A: I first became interested in organizational theory when I was a sophomore in college. I took a class from one of the founders of the field, the late Jim March, and the ideas captured my imagination. It didn’t hurt that he was a spectacular teacher.

Q: What do you think has been your greatest contribution to your field so far?

A: I don’t know about my greatest contribution, but working on my book with Melissa Mazmanian—Dreams of the Overworked: Living, working and parenting in the digital age—was the most fun.

Q: What are some current topics that are important in the world right now that your research speaks to?

A: I think my work really speaks to gender inequality and digital innovations.

Q: What are you most excited about when it comes to continuing your research at UCSB in the Department of Technology Management? 

A: I’m looking forward to integrating research on technology with work on social problems! 

Q: Are you associated with any academic organizations that you would like to highlight? 

A: I’m currently the editor of a major journal in the field—Administrative Science Quarterly.

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Tell us about your teaching experience prior to joining our department. 

Q: During your career, what has been your favorite class to teach?

A: I have loved teaching social innovation (but it’s also the most recent class I’ve taught, so perhaps it will be whatever class I teach next).

Q: How do you bring your research into the classroom?

A: When I teach scaling entrepreneurial organizations, I enjoy sharing my work on silicon valley start-up firms. 

Q: If you could tell your students just one thing, what would it be?

A: Class is more useful and enjoyable if you do the reading and share your thoughts.

Q: What are you most excited about when it comes to teaching at UCSB in the Department of Technology Management? 

A: The variety of different students. I taught many engineering students who were getting an MBA when I was at UC Irvine, and I enjoyed that student population.

Read more of Christine’s profile on our site here! You can also find her at her website link here, as well as her LinkedIn profile here.