Management Researcher, Educator & Entrepreneur
Thomas Lorenz, PhD
I'm a management scholar and entrepreneur whose research tackles how organizations build legitimate goals in a polarized world. After 23 years leading corporate strategy and 12 acquisitions at Cirrus Logic, I brought those real-world questions into a PhD program at the University of Denver.
Today I'm a full-time, tenure-track professor at St. Edward's University in Austin, TX, where I teach strategy, international management, and new venture creation. I also run a health-tech startup using photonic semiconductors for early cancer detection, and serve as inaugural Media Chair of the Strategic Management Society.
PhD, University of Denver · Tenure-Track Professor, St. Edward's University · CEO, Virchow Photonics
Research Streams
Organizational Legitimacy & Polarization
How do organizations establish broadly accepted goals when political identities create fundamental value disagreements among employees?
Read more →AI Impact on Teaching
Designing teaching methods that ensure authentic learning in the generative AI era through adversarial case design and oral defense assessments.
Read more →Affordability of Housing
Examining the long-term investment performance of HOA properties through comparative quantitative analysis, translating academic methodologies into insights for practitioners and policymakers.
Read more →Recent Work
Latest Publication
Assessing the Long-Term Investment Value of HOA Properties: A Comparative Analysis
Journal of Housing Research, 2026
Co-authored with B. Rugg — examining whether HOA-governed properties deliver superior long-term returns for homeowners and investors.
Read the article →Upcoming
Strategic Management Society Annual Conference
October 2026 · Berlin
Presenting two papers: “Beyond Polarization: How Strategic Legitimation Builds Goal Acceptance in Divided Workforces” and “Preserving the Case Method: A Holistic Strategy for AI Resilience in Management Education”
See all speaking →