Carson College Directory

Curriculum Vitae

Alexander S. Kier (Alex) is an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship Department at the Carson College of Business at Washington State University Vancouver. He currently serves as an associate editor at the Journal of Business Venturing. He earned a B.S. and Master’s degree in accounting at the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management, and a Ph.D. in Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. His research focuses on the psychology of entrepreneurship examining topics such as entrepreneurial imagination, new venture ideation, escalation of commitment in entrepreneurial action, and entrepreneurship public policy. His work has been published in the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Perspectives, Business Horizons, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Business Venturing, and Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. His research has been featured in several media outlets including Forbes, Money Inc., U.S. News & World Report, and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)’s Executive Network. In 2021, he was awarded the Emerging Scholar Award from the Entrepreneurship Division of the Academy of Management. Alex currently teaches courses on new venture creation and small business strategy and planning. Prior to academia, Alex worked as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Grant Thornton.