PhD Candidate · Strategic Management & Organizational Theory

Aaron Pagel

University of Oregon, Lundquist College of Business

I study how hype, expectations, and innovation shape our relationship with the future. My work is grounded in the space industry, where firms promise enormous value across long time horizons using technologies that do not yet exist. I work primarily in qualitative methods, augmented by computational approaches.

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Research, teaching, and service

An overview of my current work: theory-building on hype, courses taught, and the professional service that supports the field.

01 · Research

Hype, Expectations, & Innovation

A working theory of hype developed through the empirical context of space resource ventures, plus working papers, presentations, and reviewing.

02 · Teaching

Strategy in the Classroom

Case- and project-based courses in strategy, management, and decision-making for undergraduates, MBAs, and executives.

03 · Service

Field & Community

Workshop and symposium organizing for the Academy of Management, ad-hoc reviewing, and program coordination.

04 · About

Personal History

From theatre and Groupon to space commerce and a PhD, the path that led to studying hype.

Current Work

Hype and Asteroid Mining

The Role of Foil Legacies and Desired Futures in Early-Stage Resource Mobilization

This paper, with Alex Murray and Andrew Nelson, examines how ventures in a nascent industry encourage audiences to adopt a collective vision of the distant future, using the 2010s asteroid mining industry as the empirical case. It is being prepared for submission to the Journal of Management. See the Research page for the full working paper agenda.