PROFILE:
PhD: The London School of Economics

Dissertation: The Transformation of IT Governance: A Neo-Institutional Interpretation

Primary Advisor: Professor Chrisanthi Avgerou
Secondary Advisor: Provost Robert Galliers
Internal Examiner: Professor Ian Angell
External Examiner: Professor Wendy Currie

Dr. Lawrence's research interests are focused on technological mediated organizational transformation, the application of neo-institutional theory into information systems research as well as the organization and management of the IT function within large organizations. His teaching interests are in the areas of management information systems, technology and organizational strategy and quantitative methods. 

While teaching at the London School of Economics he was awarded the highest teaching award that can be bestowed upon Ph.D. candidates for demonstrated excellence in the classroom.  Dr. Lawrence's undergraduate and graduate teaching evaluations are consistently amongst the highest in the School of Business Administration. In May of 2006 and again in 2008, Dr. Lawrence was selected as the outstanding IS faculty member by UM's students. He has also been honored twice by the University of Montana's Division of Student Affairs for the generous support and encouragement he has provided to UM's students through the years. Most recently, he was appointed to the MBA program's Admissions and Curriculum Committee. He also completed a term on the University of Montana's Faculty Senate.

Dr. Lawrence's academic work has been published in some of the leading international journals in the field of Information Systems including the European Journal of Information Systems and the Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application.

Dr. Lawrence's business background spans technology startups, consulting and real estate. Most recently he and his partners completed a project that includes a 60,000 square foot self-storage facility that employs a sophisticated portfolio of technologies to manage security and site access. His consulting expertise includes the  integration of technology and organizational strategy as well as the management of complex IT infrastructures. His recent activities have centered around building processes to ensure business continuity in the event of system failures.  Dr. Lawrence is currently developing a new product that helps organizations plan for and effectively recover from the failure of mission critical technological systems.

Prior to entering the hallowed halls of academe, Dr. Lawrence spent six years assigned to the U.S. Forest Service and BLM Smokejumper programs where he made approximately 145 jumps using both the Ram-Air canopy system as well as the FS-12 and FS-14. It was during this time that he learned a timeless lesson that has been passed down through the ages, which is: if you are going to be tough, it sure helps to be dumb.  If you would like to learn more about the smokejumper program click (here).

When Dr. Lawrence has a break from teaching and writing, he can usually be found skiing, mountain biking, fly fishing, playing golf or shooting sporting clays. You can find more about these topics on his personal webpage.