About Me

I'm Derek Lief, a Ph.D. candidate in Strategy at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.

My research focuses on better understanding how firms can most competitively position themselves through the selection of human capital, and the incentive structures they implement to attract, retain and motivate job seekers and employees alike. I also examine how incentives affect both an entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial outcomes. Theoretically, I adopt an interdisciplinary approach that draws on insights from strategic management, organization theory, economic sociology, and political science. Methodologically, I run experiments, conduct econometric analyses on observational data, and employ qualitative methods.

My dissertation examines these questions by studying how different forms of corporate purpose differentially affect workers at different locations on the organizational hierarchy, as well as religion as a non-monetary incentive affects entrepreneurial outcomes. In the first, I examine religion as a form of corporate purpose and its effect on labor market outcomes. In the second, in a project co-authored with Professor Diana Jue-Rajasingh and Professor Mijeong Kwon, we examine how four different forms of corporate purpose affect the recruitment of blue- and white-collar workers. Finally, in the third, I focus on how both individual religiosity and denominational differences affect an entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial entry.

My interest in human capital, entrepreneurship and the intersection of religion and business stems from my experience as a consultant with FTI Consulting from 2008 - 2012, and the roughly seven years I have spent living in the Middle East, including both Israel and Jordan. I grew up in San Francisco, went to boarding school in Santa Barbara, and college in Philadelphia. 

You can find my CV here.

Contact: dlief@umich.edu