Facebook pixel Dr. Cole Short | Faculty | Pepperdine Graziadio Business School Skip to main content
Pepperdine | Graziadio Business School
Cole Short, PhD Assistant Professor of Strategy

Cole Short, PhD

Assistant Professor of Strategy
Graziadio Business School
Calabasas 137B

Biography

Dr. Short’s research frequently leverages financial and natural language data to examine perceptions of the firm and how strategic leaders can manage these perceptions to enhance performance. His work has covered topics such as strategic information disclosure, crisis and impression management, and how executive characteristics adapt and influence strategic decisions. He has published research in several leading academic journals such as Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management, Academy of Management Discoveries, and Journal of Business Venturing Insights. Dr. Short has received several research and service awards, including the Highly Cited Paper distinction by Thomson Reuters and several best paper and outstanding reviewer awards at international conferences.

Dr. Short’s professional background includes strategy consulting, medical diagnostics and information technology investing, and volunteer service as a first responder. He received his PhD in Strategy and Entrepreneurship from the University of Georgia, his MA in Economics from Boston University, and his BA in International Studies from Baylor University. Dr. Short has also completed professional education in applied data science and machine learning through the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Outside of work, he enjoys spending quality time with his wife and children, hiking, writing, and working on crafting the perfect cup of coffee. Dr. Short is also passionate about international education and has mentored exchange students for several years. He previously served as a reserve firefighter and completed his NREMT certification in Central Texas. 

Education

  • PhD in Strategy and Entrepreneurship, University of Georgia

  • MA in Economics, Boston University

  • BA in International Studies, Baylor University

 

  • "Managing Asymmetric Events with Anticipatory and Reactive Strategies", in press (With Michael Pfarrer). Journal of Management. 
  • "The Artificially Intelligent Entrepreneur: ChatGPT, Prompt Engineering, and Entrepreneurial Rhetoric Creation", 2023 (With Jeremy Short). Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 19: e00388.
  • "Extending Upper Echelons Theory: How Evaluator Characteristics Influence Signal Interpretation and Evaluation", 2023 (With Timothy Hubbard). In Sund, K., Galavan, R., & Gustafsson, R. (Eds.), Cognitive Aids in Strategy, 47-64. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing.
  • "Do Boards and the Media Recognize Quality? An Assessment of CEO Contextual Quality Using Pay, Dismissal, Awards, and Linguistics", 2022 (With Timothy Hubbard). Academy of Management Discoveries. DOI: 10.5465/amd.2021.0042.
  • "Serving Differently: CEO Regulatory Focus and Firm Stakeholder Strategy", 2020 (With Daniel Gamache, François Neville, Jonathan Bundy). Strategic Management Journal, 41: 1305-1335.
  • "Crises and Crisis Management: Integration, Interpretation, and Research Development," 2017 (With Jonathan Bundy, Michael Pfarrer, Timothy Coombs). Journal of Management, 43: 1661-1692.
  • Scholarly Impact Award (Finalist), Journal of Management (2022)
  • Outstanding Reviewer Award - Stakeholder Strategy Division, Strategic Management Society Annual Conference (2022)
  • Julian Virtue Professorship, Pepperdine Graziadio Business School (2021-2023)
  • Above and Beyond the Call of Duty Reviewing Award (OMT), Academy of Management Annual Conference (2021)
  • Overall Conference Best Paper Award (Nominated), Strategic Management Society Annual Conference (2021)
  • Highly Cited Paper - Business & Economics (Top 1% Globally), Thomson Reuters (2021)
  • Most-Read Publication (#1) in Journal of Management, SAGE Publications (2021)
  • Best Paper Award (Finalist) - Strategic Leadership & Governance Division, Strategic Management Society Annual Conference (2020)
  • Best Paper Award (Nominated) - Research Methods Division, Strategic Management Society Annual Conference (2020)
  • Outstanding Reviewer Award - Strategic Management Division, Academy of Management Annual Conference (2020)
  • Overall Conference Best Paper Award (Nominated), Strategic Management Society Annual Conference (2018)
  • Outstanding Reviewer Award - Stakeholder Strategy Division, Strategic Management Society Annual Conference (2018)
  • Outstanding Reviewer Award - Business Policy and Strategy Division, Academy of Management Annual Conference (2017)
  • Best Paper Award - Strategic Leadership & Governance Division, Strategic Management Society (2016)
  • Porck, J., & Short, C. E. “Can cognitive consensus soften the blow? TMT Language (In)congruence After a Negative Earnings Surprise.” Strategic Management Society Annual Conference, 2022, London, UK, 2022.
  • Short, C. E. (Presenter for Panel Symposium) “A Swarm of Scholars: Adopting & Improving on the Swarm Method of Collaborative Qualitative Research.” Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Seattle, WA, 2022.
  • Parker, O., Short, C. E., Titus, V. K., Nahm, P., & Crawford, W. "Negative Impression Management and its Contingent Use By Executives." Southern Management Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA, 2021.
  • Short, C. E., & Zhou, Y. "Determinants of Anticipatory Impression Management." Strategic Management Society Annual Conference, 2021. (Virtual)
  • Campbell, R. J., Short, C. E., & Graffin, S. D. “CEO sense of humor and organizational ambidexterity.” Strategic Management Society Annual Conference, 2020. (Virtual)

  • Parker, O., Short, C. E., & Titus, V. K. “Hold your horses: Negative anticipatory impression management and its motivations.” Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, 2020. (Virtual)

  • Parker, O., Short, C. E., & Titus, V. K. "Hold Your Horses: Negative Anticipatory Impression Management and Its Motivations." Strategic Management Society Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 2019.
  • Short, C. E. "Managing Failure: The Effects of Anticipatory and Reactive Strategies." Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Boston, MA, 2019.
  • Short, C. E., & Pfarrer, M. D. "Path Dependence in Organizational Impression Management." Strategic Management Society Annual Conference, Paris, France, 2018.
  • Short, C. E. "When Clinical Trials Fail: Managing Drug Development in the Pharmaceutical Industry." Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation Annual Symposium, Oxford, UK, 2018.
  • Short, C. E. (Presenter for Panel Symposium) "Firm Performance and Executive Succession." Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Chicago, IL, 2018.
  • Short, C. E. "Path Dependence in Organizational Impression Management." Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Chicago, IL, 2018.
  • Short, C. E., Hubbard, T. D., Quigley, T. J., & Graffin, S. D. "Who Gets It Right and When? Internal and External Evaluations of CEO Quality." Strategic Management Society Annual Conference, Houston, TX, 2017.
  • Short, C. E. (Symposium Speaker) "AIMing to Impress: Anticipatory Impression Management and the Organization." Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Atlanta, GA, 2017.
  • Gamache, D. L., Neville, F. P., Bundy, J., & Short, C. E. "CEO Regulatory Focus and Firm Stakeholder Strategy." Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Atlanta, GA, 2017.
  • Ashmore, Z., Alch, C., Coyle, C., Johnson, T., Kingry, C., Okunnu, R., Short, C. E., Jupiter, D., & Islam, J. "Improving Rates of Diabetic Foot Inspections to Prevent Complications: UTMB Family Medicine Quality Improvement Project." Annual Clinical Conference on Diabetes, American Diabetes Association. Orlando, FL, 2017.
  • Neville, F. P., Gamache, D. L., Bundy, J., & Short, C. E. "CEO Regulatory Focus, Shareholder Activism, and Corporate Social Performance." Strategic Management Society Annual Conference, Berlin, Germany, 2016.
  • Campbell, R. J., Graffin, S. D., & Short, C. E. "Just Playing Around? The Effects of CEO Sense of Humor on Financial Analysts." Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Anaheim, CA, 2016.

Topics

  • Crisis and Impression Management
  • Stakeholder Management
  • Corporate Governance and Upper Echelons
  • Textual Analysis and Natural Language Processing