Lori Kendall | Fisher College of Business

Sr. Lecturer

Academic Director, Full-Time MBA

Management & Human Resources

Background

Dr. Lori Kendall is the Director of the Full-Time MBA Program and Senior Lecturer in Management and Human Resources at the Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University. She received her PhD in Management from Case Western Reserve University, where she studied under Richard Boyatzis, and her MBA from Holy Names University.

Dr. Kendall’s research examines the conditions under which individuals, teams, and organizations develop the capacity to act under uncertainty, which is the foundational challenge of entrepreneurial and innovative action. Drawing on the neurobiological distinction between convergent and divergent cognitive processing, she studies how specific leadership behaviors and relational conditions enable people to move between these modes rather than becoming locked in stress-driven premature closure. Her work connects entrepreneurship as practice, effectuation theory, and the cognitive microfoundations of dynamic capabilities to questions of organizational ambidexterity and innovation performance. Current research extends this agenda into the domain of generative AI and learning, examining how AI reshapes the conditions for higher-order thinking in management education. She has presented at the Academy of Management and published in Organizational Dynamics and the Journal of Applied Business and Economics, among other outlets.

Dr. Kendall teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in entrepreneurship, leadership, experiential learning, and professional development. She is the recipient of the Fisher College Westerbeck Teaching Excellence Award at both the undergraduate (2024) and graduate (2021) levels. She also supervises doctoral candidates at Hult International Business School and teaches quantitative research methods, specializing in structural equation modeling.

Prior to her academic career, Dr. Kendall spent more than thirty years as a serial entrepreneur and technology executive, holding VP and senior leadership roles at Cisco, Polycom, Alcatel/Genesys, and Transera Communications, among others. She co-founded Transera Communications, which was acquired by Broadsoft and subsequently by Cisco. She continues to consult with early-stage ventures and established firms navigating strategic inflection points.

Areas of Expertise

Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Entrepreneurship
- Entrepreneurship
- Small Businesses
- Social Entrepreneurship
Ethics and Leadership
- Leadership
Marketing
- Product Development
- Structural Equation Models
Production/Operations Management
- Project Management
- Technology Management
Strategy
- Strategy
- Organizational Change
- Strategy Development
Sustainability/Corporate Responsibility
- Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility

Education

PhD, Management — Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society

MBA — Holy Names University, Oakland, CA
Sigma Beta Delta Honor Society
Kappa Gamma Pi Catholic College Graduate Honor Society

BA, Business — Holy Names University, Oakland, CA
Summa Cum Laude and Student Commencement Speaker
Sigma Beta Delta Honor Society

Publications

Journal Publications

Pavez, I., Kendall, L.D., and Laszlo, C. (2021). Positive-impact Companies: Toward a New Paradigm of Value Creation. Organizational Dynamics (ISSN# 0090-2616) volume 50, issue 4, October-November 2021, 100806 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2020.100806.

Ladd, T., Kendall, L.D. (2017). Resolving the Risk Paradox: Entrepreneurial Cognition in the Lean Startup Method. The Journal of Applied Business and Economics (ISSN# 1499-691X), volume 19(11/12), Dec 2017: 28-42.

Kendall, L.D., Pavez, I., and Bao, L. (2014). The Business Sector Path Towards a Civilization of Oneness with Diversity: A Research Study on Behalf of the Goi Peace Foundation (United Nations NGO). Republished (2015) in World Futures: The Journal of New Paradigm Research (E. Laszlo, Ed).

Publications in Refereed Proceedings and Academic Paper Presentations

Kendall, L.D. (2025). "From Copy-Paste to Cognitive Lift: A Design Theory for AI-Assisted Mastery." AI in Business Conference, Fisher College of Business. October 2, 2025.

McGuire, C.M., Kendall, L.D. (2024) “Project Reality: Flourishing in Innovation-driven Realities Through Organizational Ambidexterity.” Academy of Management Annual Conference (AOM). Symposium #1254.

Cohen, M.P., Johnson, G., Krummaker, S., Koonce, R., Haley U., Coomber, N. Sheehan, R., Palmer, J., Pitsis, T., Olsen, J.E., Bumblauskas, D., Prochno, P., Sackmann, S., Perkins, K., Dastidar, P., Hand, C., Kendall, L.D., Hillon, Y.C., Pierce, A., Madonna, C., Anzengruber, J., Markman, G. (2022) “Translating Theory into Practice: Organizations and the Future of Work.” Academy of Management Annual Conference (AOM). Professional Development Workshop #411.

Cohen, M.P., Johnson, G., Krummaker, S., Koonce, R., Haley U., Coomber, N. Sheehan, R., Palmer, J., Pitsis, T., Olsen, J.E., Bumblauskas, D., Prochno, P., Sackmann, S., Perkins, K., Dastidar, P., Hand, C., Kendall, L.D., Hillon, Y.C., Pierce, A., Madonna, C., Anzengruber, J., Markman, G. (2021) “The Third Mission and the Transformation of the Business School in the New Economy.” Academy of Management Annual Conference (AOM). Professional Development Workshop #370.

Cohen, M.P., Seaver, G., Backhaus, C., Dharm, B., Johnson, G., Krummaker, S., Koonce, R., Haley U., Coomber, N. Sheehan, R., Palmer, J., Pitsis, T., Olsen, J.E., Bumblauskas, D., Prochno, P., Händschke, S., Sackmann, S., Ruigrok, W., Sander, G., Norman, R.T., Perkins, K., Dastidar, P., Hand, C., Kendall, L.D., Hillon, Y.C., Pierce, A., Madonna, C., Anzengruber, J., Markman, G., (2019). TRANSLATING THEORY INTO PRACTICE: Developing Strategic Objectives and Actions. Academy of Management (AOM). PTC, ODC, MED, MC, OB Professional Development Workshop, #424.

Thundiyil, T., Vardaman, J., Smendzuik-O'Brien, J., Woodman, R., Manning, M., Kendall, L.D., Stensaker, I., Baker, M.,Bernerth, J. (2017). Becoming Scholars and Scholar-Practitioners in Organization Development and Change. Academy of Management (AOM).ODC Professional Development Workshop, #406.

Ladd, T., and Kendall, L.D. (2017). Entrepreneurial Cognition in the Lean Startup Method. Academy of Management (AOM. ENT Divisional Paper Presentation, #1419.

Rochford, K., and Kendall, L.D. (2016). Relational Climate, Product Innovation, and the Mediating Role of OCB-Voice. Academy of Management (AOM). TIM Divisional Paper Presentation, #16090.

Kendall, L.D. (2015). The Effects of Emotional Intelligence and Relationship Quality on Innovation and Performance. 2016 Conference Proceedings. Fourth International Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Conference Paper Presentation. Ryerson University. ISSN (2049-6834).

Kendall, L.D. (2016). Antecedents of Contextual Ambidexterity. Fourth International Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Poster Presentation.

Kendall, L.D., Van Esch, C., Delbecq, A., Stoner, J., Case, S. et al., Pavez, I. et al., Leah, J. et al. (2016). Transformation through Inclusion: Business as an Agent of World Benefit (All Academy Symposium). 2016 Annual Meeting Proceedings (J. Humphreys, Ed.), Academy of Management (AOM), #14345.

Eisenberg, J., Antonacopoulou, E., Byrne, B., Cearley, P., Kendall, L.D., and others. (2015). Business School Rankings: Is it Time to Click the ‘Refresh’ Button? (Symposium). 2015 Annual Meeting Proceedings (J. Humphreys, Ed.), Academy of Management (AOM), #12455.

Pavez, I., and Kendall, L.D. (2015). The Arc of Interconnectedness: A Theory of Business Evolution Towards Flourishing. 2015 Annual Meeting Proceedings of the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability (D. Minor, Ed). Roundtable Presentation, Northwestern University.

Kendall, L.D. (2014). When Businesses Falter: How Relational Climates Foster or Hinder Recovery. 2014 Annual Meeting Best Paper Proceedings (J. Humphreys, Ed.), Academy of Management (AOM). ODC Divisional Paper Presentation, #1703.

Working Papers

Kendall, L.D., Bowes-Sperry, L., Berkley, R., and de Janasz, S. (under review). From Policing to Pedagogy: Redesigning Assignments to Improve Learning in the Age of Generative AI. Professional Development Workshop submitted to the Academy of Management, Management Education and Development Division, Annual Meeting 2026.

Kendall, L.D., Hudson, M.L., Cooke-Lauder, J., Moses, C.T., Soaries, C.E., Bishop, J.R., and Jones, D. (under review). Careers After AI Knowledge Commoditization: Building Capital through Doctoral Education. Professional Development Workshop submitted to the Academy of Management, Careers Division, Annual Meeting 2026.

Kendall, L.D. and co-investigators (in preparation). The AI-SC Ladder: A Framework for Mapping Generative AI Roles Across Cognitive Levels in Management Education. Integrates Laurillard's Conversational Framework, Bloom's Taxonomy, and the SAMR model. Multi-sample longitudinal field study in design.

Kendall, L.D. (under revision for new journal submission). “The Effects of Emotional Intelligence and Relational Climate on Explorative Innovation.”

Kendall, L.D. and McCullough, I. (in progress). Instinctive Drives in Sensemaking within Startup Firms: A Mixed-Method Study.

Kendall, L.D. (in progress). Thriving in Rapidly Changing Markets: How Technology Leaders Innovate with Human Connection. Book proposal in development (based on dissertation).

Courses