Ph.D., The University of Texas at San Antonio
M.B.A., University of Maryland-College Park
M.S., Colorado School of Mines
M.P.H., Tulane University
M.S.A., Central Michigan University
B.S., Kent State University Kent Campus
Dr. Craig Armstrong is a professor of entrepreneurship and strategic management whose research examines entrepreneurial resourcefulness, effectuation, organizational learning, and the processes through which emerging ventures and industries build legitimacy. His current projects explore how artificial intelligence is changing entrepreneurial judgment, scholarly inquiry, innovation, and the ways organizations generate and evaluate knowledge. His research has been published in the Journal of Management, Academy of Management Learning & Education, Strategic Management Review, Journal of Small Business Management, Journal of Small Business & Enterprise Development, and he has presented his work at regional, national, and international conferences.
A major focus of Dr. Armstrong’s recent work is the design of AI-guided innovation pedagogy. He develops simulations, decision environments, and conversational learning tools that help students practice opportunity development, entrepreneurial finance, customer discovery, effectuation, and strategic decision-making. In 2015, he received the Academy of Management Entrepreneurship Division’s Innovation in Pedagogy Award. In 2024, the International Council for Small Business named him a finalist for its Global Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year Award.
Dr. Armstrong serves as a Field Editor for the Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development and regularly reviews research manuscripts across major entrepreneurship and management journals. He is active in professional communities including the Academy of Management, Strategic Management Society, United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and Southern Management Association.
Dr. Armstrong earned his Ph.D. in Management from the University of Texas at San Antonio and his MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the University of Maryland. His earlier graduate training in public health, resource ecology, and administration contributes to his interdisciplinary interest in complex problems, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Armstrong, C. E., Ellinger, A. E., Chen, H., Tian, Y. (2015). Learning Orientation, Integration and Supply Chain Risk Management in Chinese Manufacturing Firms. International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications, 18(6).
Amstrong, C. E., Jackson, W. E., Craig, B., Thomson, J. (2014). The moderating influence of financial market development on loan guarantees for SMEs and employment rates. Journal of Small Business Management, 52(1).
Armstrong, C.E., and Lengnick-Hall, C.A. 2013. The Pandora’s box of social integration mechanisms: Can they make it more difficult to realize absorptive capacity? Journal of Strategy & Management, 6(4).
Armstrong, C.E. (2014). I meant to do that! Manipulating entrepreneurial intentions through the power of simple plans. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 21(4)
Armstrong, C.E. 2012. Overqualified and disadvantaged: Exploring the barriers to growth of family businesses to second-generation leaders. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 17(2): 160-175.
Armstrong, C. E., Lorenz, M., Ramsey, J. R. (2014). A quest for global entrepreneurs: the importance of cultural intelligence on commitment to entrepreneurial education. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 23(3).
