The arenas of business, politics, and society are undergoing a radical structural shift that challenges longstanding assumptions about their separation. Socio-political backlash, government intervention, and geopolitical conflict will increasingly shape the next generation of firms and their leadership.

My research examines these developments through the lenses of organizational sociology and strategy, using rigorous qualitative and interpretive methods to clarify how firms navigate increasingly complex social and political environments.

I work closely with executives and senior leaders at Fortune 500 firms, global consulting partnerships, the United Nations, and major philanthropic institutions, as well as with leading business and political scholars to analyze the decisions shaping the evolving relationship between firms and the societies in which they operate.

I am affiliated with the Oxford Centre for Corporate Reputation and the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship.

Working Papers & Research in Progress

  1. Miner, K. Adaptive Recombination: How Activated Ideas Persist in Organizations Amid Socio-Political Reversal. [Dissertation] Data collection in progress.Keywords: corporate social and political activity, innovation, decoupling
  2. Miner, K. The External Control of an Organization’s Core: Socio-Political Influence on Organizational Purpose and Culture. Data collection in progress.Keywords: corporate social and political activity, corporate purpose, management consulting
  3. Holzaepfel, N. and Miner, K. Surveillance, Tear Gas, and Arrest: How Firms Use Security Services to Repress Activism. Data collection in progress.Keywords: corporate social and political activity, energy industry, repression
  4. Miner, K., Hawbaker, A., Hallett, T., and Ventresca, M. Inhabiting Ambiguity: An Interactionist Approach to Ambiguity in Organizational Life. Research in progress.Keywords: ambiguity, micro-institutional theory, inhabited institutions

Published Articles & Reports

  1. Besharov, M. L., Miner, K., Grewal, A. K., & Wunsch-Vincent, S., 2024. Special Theme 2024: Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship. Pp 85–111 in Dutta, S., Lanvin, B., León, L., Wunsch-Vincent, S. (Eds.). Global Innovation Index 2024. Geneva: World Intellectual Property Organization.
  2. Besharov, M., Rayner, C., and Miner, K., 2025. Mapping the Social Innovation Terminology Landscape for Policymakers. Working Paper prepared for the Government Council on Social Innovation (GCSI).

Teaching Materials

  1. Nelson, R. & Miner, K., 2021. Digital Transformation at the Washington Post: Innovating for the Next Generation. Darden School of Business Publishing.

Teaching

Change Management (with Prof. Lisa Rohrer)
MBA · Boston University, Questrom School of Business · January 2026
Principles of Macroeconomics (with Prof. Lee Coppock)
Undergraduate · University of Virginia · Spring 2020, Spring 2021
Principles of Microeconomics (with Prof. Ken Elzinga)
Undergraduate · University of Virginia · Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020

Education

  • DPhil in Management · University of Oxford, Saïd Business School · 2023–present
  • MPhil in Economic and Social History · University of Cambridge · 2021–2022
  • BSc in Commerce and Economics · University of Virginia · 2017–2021

Doctoral Committee

  • Marya Besharov (Supervisor)
    Professor of Organisations and Impact · Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
  • Marc Ventresca (Supervisor)
    Associate Professor of Strategic Management · Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
  • Tom Lawrence (Examiner)
    Professor of Strategy · Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
  • Siobhán O’Mahony (Examiner)
    Feld Family Professor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship · Questrom School of Business, Boston University

Work Experience

McKinsey & Company · Business Analyst
Washington, DC · 2022–2023