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Matt Allen

  • Associate Professor
Academic Division: Entrepreneurship
781-239-4296

Bio

Matt Allen is an Associate Professor in the Entrepreneurship Division and Faculty Director of the Family Entrepreneurship Amplifier Program and Family Learning at Babson College. His expertise is in the area of family learning and the development of key capabilities within business families with an emphasis on the development of entrepreneurial capabilities. Professor Allen teaches entrepreneurship and family entrepreneurship courses at the undergraduate, graduate and executive levels. His teaching approach has earned him numerous teaching awards and invitations including as one of Poets and Quants Best Undergraduate Business Professors for 2020. At the executive level, Professor Allen has worked with audiences across the globe with a special interest in both the Asian and Latin American markets. Fluent in Spanish, Professor Allen is comfortable teaching in both English and Spanish.

As a youth and young adult after college, Professor Allen worked for his own family's business so the issues family businesses face are personal and relevant to him. His research addresses how families learn, how to prepare the next generation for their individual roles in the family business, and how family members can be more entrepreneurial individually and as a family. This research is creating a fundamental shift in our understanding of how families learn and how business families are taught in university and executive programs. Professor Allen is a leader in the field of family entrepreneurship and his research has been published in top academic and practitioner outlets including the Harvard Business Review, Personnel Psychology and Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. In addition, he has played a significant role both at Babson and in the broader academic family business community. He was the founding Faculty Director of the Institute for Family Entrepreneurship at Babson College and the Academic Director of the Global STEP Project.

Professor Allen is active as a consultant to family businesses around the world and in addition to his independent consulting work has done work with various global consultancies including the Family Business Consulting Group, Lansberg and Gersick and Banyan Global Family Business Advisors. Along with the experience gained working for his family's business, he worked as a financial analyst at both IBM and Hewlett Packard before entering academia. Professor Allen earned his B.A. in accounting from the University of Utah, M.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and Ph.D. from Cornell University.

Academic Degrees

  • Ph D, Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations
  • MBA, University of Notre Dame
  • BA, University of Utah

Academic Interest / Expertise

Entrepreneurship, Family Entrepreneurship, Family Learning

Awards & Honors

  • 2019 — Dean Award for Excellence in Teaching - Executive Education and Babson Academy, Babson College
  • 2015 — Outstanding Reviewer Award, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice
  • 2014 — Outstanding Reviewer Award, Family Business Review
  • 2013 — Outstanding Reviewer Award, Family Business Review
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Courses

  • Degree Courses 2023

    • EPS 3551 ENTREPRENEURIAL FAMILIES
    • MSM 6110 GLOBAL EPS EXPERIENCE: CHILE

  • Degree Courses 2022

    • EPS 3551 ENTREPRENEURIAL FAMILIES
    • EPS 3553 ENTREPRENEURIAL FAMILIES PROJECT
    • MOB 3526 VALUES BASED ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP
    • MSM 6110 GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP EXPERIENCE

Publications

Journal Articles

  • Allen, M.R. (2022). How Parents Can Promote Resilience in the Family Business. Harvard Business Review (Digital Edition). Harvard Business Publishing. link
  • Allen, M., Jno-Charles, A.B., Gartner, W.B. (2022). Sustaining an Entrepreneurial Spirit in Your Family Business . Harvard Business Review (Digital Edition). link
  • Choi, E., Allen, M.R., Altbach, P., de Wit, H. (2022). The Family Narrative in the Expanding Higher Education Landscape: Opportunities and Challenges Faced by Family-Owned or -Managed Higher Education Institutions . Policy Reviews in Higher Education.
  • Allen, M.R. (2020). How to prepare your family business for the unexpected. Harvard Business Review (Print Edition). link
  • Allen, M.R., George, B.A., Davis, J. (2018). A Model for the Role of Trust in Firm Level Performance: The Case of Family Businesses. Journal of Business Research. Vol: 84, Page: 34-45.
  • Colakoglu, S., Allen, M.R., Miah, k., Bird, A. (2016). Are we there yet? Comparing adoption, internalization, and effectiveness of high-investment HR values among local firms and MNC subsidiaries of U.S. firms in South Asia. International Journal of Human Resource Management. Vol: 27, Issue: 13, Page: 1426-1447. Routledge. link
  • Allen, M.R., Adomdzab, G.K., Meyer, M.H. (2015). Managing for innovation: Managerial control and employee level outcomes. Journal of Business Research. Vol: 68, Issue: 2, Page: 371–379. Elsevier Inc.. link
  • Allen, M.R., Ericksen, J., Collins, C.J. (2013). Employee Exchange Relationships, and Performance in Small Businesses. Human Resource Management. Vol: 52, Issue: 2, Page: 153-173. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. link
  • Allen, M.R. (2011). The Challenge of Career Path Uncertainty for Internal Ventures. Journal of Applied Management & Entrepreneurship. Vol: 16, Issue: 4. Whitney Press.
  • Allen, M.R. (2010). Is Blood Thicker than Water: A Study of Stewardship Perceptions in Family Business. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. Vol: 34, Issue: 6, Page: 1093-1116. Wiley - Blackwell.
  • Allen, M.R. (2010). Ready seafood : business model innovation and venturing in a mature industry. International Review of Entrepreneurship. Vol: 8, Issue: 3, Page: 231-244. Senate Hall Academic Publishing.
  • Allen, M.R. (2008). The danger of misinterpreting short-window event study findings in strategic management research: an empirical illustration using horizontal acquisitions. Strategic Organization. Vol: 6, Issue: 2, Page: 151-184. Sage.

Books

  • Allen, M.R., Gartner, W.B. (2021). Family Entrepreneurship - Insights from Leading Experts on Successful Transgenerational Entrepreneurial Families: Family Entrepreneurship. Palgrave MacMillan.
  • Altbach, P.G., Choi, E., Allen, M.R., DeWitt, H. (2019). The Global Phenomenon of Family Owned or Managed Universities: The Global Phenomenon of Family Owned or Managed Universities. Page: 280. Brill. link

Book Chapters

  • Allen, M.R. (2021). Can entrepreneurship be continued from one generation to the next? The answer to that question can be found in the socialization process: Family Entrepreneurship - Insights from Leading Experts on Successful Transgenerational Entrepreneurial Families. Palgrave MacMillan .
  • Allen, M.R. (2021). Idea generation, a family affair: Teaching Entrepreneurship, Volume 2. Edward Elgar.
  • Choi, E., Allen, M.R., Altbach, P.G., DeWitt, H. (2019). A Model of Family Based Higher Education Management - Challenges and Opportunities: The Global Phenemon of Family Owned or Managed Universities. Brill.
  • Allen, M.R., Choi, E. (2019). Family Involvement in University Management: The Global Phenomenon of Family Owned or Managed Universities. Brill.
  • Allen, M.R., Snell, S.A. (2014). Human Resource Strategy, Entrepreneurial: Wiley Encyclopedia of Management. Vol: Volume 3. Entrepreneurship, Issue: 3rd. John Wiley & Sons, Inc..
  • Brush, C.S., Allen, M.R. (2014). Exercises to practice creation: Resource acquisition game: Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach. Page: 214-218. Edward Elgar Pub.
  • Allen, M.R. (2014). Exercises to practice empathy: Family systems: Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach. Page: 178-183. Edward Elgar Pub.

Reports

  • Kelley, D.J., Gartner, W.B., Allen, M.R. (2020). Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Family Business Report: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Family Business Report. Babson College.

Presentations

  • Passing the torch: family business growth structures from the first to second generation using the resource base view growth model Canova, J. Allen, M. Davis, J. Family Enterprise Research Conference, Online this year (2021)
  • Entrepreneurial Legacy and Resilience in Family Businesses Gartner, W. Allen, M. Small Business Economics Virtual Paper Development Workshop “Economic effects of the COVID-19 2020 Pandemic on Entrepreneurship and Small Firm, ONLINE (2020)
  • Gerontocracy, CEO Entrepreneurial Orientation and Firm Performance Davis, J. Allen, M. Creech, C. Strategic Managment Society Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN (2019)
  • The Effects CEO Entrepreneurial Orientation on Gerontocracy and Firm Performance Davis, J. Allen, M. Creech, C. Family Enterprise Research Conference, Burlington, VT (2019)
  • Gerontrocy and Family Business Succession Leadership, Entrepreneurship and the Next Generation Davis, J. Allen, M. James, A. Botero, I. Gonzalez, A. STEP Global Academic Conference, Cartegena, Colombia (2018)
  • Motivating Next Generation Members Into The Family Business Botero, I. Gonzales, A. James, A. Allen, M. Davis, J. STEP Global Academic Conference, Cartegena, Colombia (2018)
  • The Eternal Parental Question: A model of value transmission across generations in the presence of a countering zeitgeist Allen, M. James, a. Allen, M. Davis, J. Gonzalez, A. STEP Global Academic Conference, Cartegena, Colombia (2018)
  • Human Capital in Family Businesses: Different context, different rules Allen, M. Wharton People Analytics Conference, Wharton School, PA (2018)
  • Entrepreneurship in Family Business Allen, M. James, A. Davis, J. Strategic Management Conference, Houston, TX (2017)
  • Transgenerational Survival: Lessons from family business leaders Allen, M. , . Family Enterprise Research Conference, Asheville (2017)
  • Family Functioning, Entrepreneurship and Performance: The case of family business Davis, J. James, A. Ferrar, H. Allen, M. Worthington, B. STEP Academic Conference , Boston, MA (2016)
  • Identity Threats and Family Business Succession Ferrar, H. James, A. Davis, J. Allen, M. Worthington, B. STEP Academic Conference , Boston, MA (2016)
  • Lessons from Indigenous Families: Rethinking Successful Family Business Succession James, A. Davis, J. Ferrar, H. Allen, M. Worthington, B. STEP Academic Conference , Boston, MA (2016)
  • Redefining Wealth in the Family Business Davis, J. Allen, M. James, A. Ferrar, H. Worthington, B. STEP Academic Conference , Boston, MA (2016)
  • Family Functioning, Entrepreneurship and Performance: The case of family businesses Allen, M. Davis, J. SMS, Berlin, Germany (2016)
  • Effective management of human capital within a business family: Different systems, different rules Allen, M. Family Enterprise research Conference FERC, Brazil (2016)
  • El estilo de dirección y su influencia en el desarrollo de la capacidad de innovar en la empresa familiar Estrada, P. Allen, M. Alvarado, C. FERC - Family Enterprise Research Conference, Portland, OR (2014)
  • Human resource management in family businesses under conditions of uncertainty: A comparative study Allen, M. Davis, J. FERC - Family Enterprise Research Conference, Portland, OR (2014)
  • Comparing Adoption, Internalization, and Effectiveness of High-Investment HR Values in South Asia Colakoglu, S. Allen, M. Miah, K. Bird, A. Academy of Management 2013 Annual Meeting, Lake Buena Vista, FL (2013)
  • Are We There Yet? Comparing Adoption, Internalization, and Effectiveness of High-Investment HR Values among Local Firms and MNC Subsidiaries of U.S. Firms in South Asia Colakoglu, S. Allen, M. Miah, K. Bird, A. AIB 2013 Annual Meeting, Istanbul, Turkey (2013)
  • Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Peruvian Family Businesses: Implications for Performance Araneda, L. Estrada, P. Alvarado, C. Allen, M. 9th Family Enterprise Research Conference, Viña del Mar, Chile (2013)
  • Sucesión en empresa familiar agroindustrial en Chile Gonzalez, R. Pinaud, N. Allen, M. 9th Family Enterprise Research Conference, Viña del Mar, Chile (2013)
  • Situational Agency and the Relationship Between Entrepreneurs and Their Sources of Financing Allen, M. Reutzel, C. Davis, J. SMS 32nd Annual International Conference, Prague (2012)
  • A Model for the Role of Trust in Firm level Performance: The Case of Family Businesses Allen, M. Davis, J. 2012 AOM Annual Meeting, Boston, MA (2012)
  • Competitive Advantages of Family Business Governance Structures: The Role of Relational Governance Allen, M. The Family Enterprise Research Conference 2012, Montreal (2012)
  • The Role of Leadership in the Relationship Between Human Resources Management and Firm Performance Allen, M. Strategic Management Society Meetings, Miami, FL (2011)
  • Human Resource Management and Resource Constraints: The Role of Intrinsic Human Resource Management Allen, M. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Montreal, Canada (2010)
  • Managing for Innovation: The Role of Managerial Control in Supporting or Impeding Corporate Venture Allen, M. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Montreal, Canada (2010)
  • Synergy or Substitution? the Interacting Bases of Trust in New Ventures Allen, M. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Montreal, Canada (2010)
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Department & College Wide Services

  • Institute for Family Entrepreneurship (Fall 2018 - Spring 2020)