Kalan G. Horton is a PhD candidate in Strategy at Florida State University's College of Business, expected to complete his degree in May 2025. His research agenda centers on two primary streams: the evolution of business ecosystems and the role of ideologies in non-market strategy.

Kalan's dissertation, "Evolution, Adaptations, and Complexity in Ecosystems: Three Essays on Ecosystem Evolution," addresses critical gaps in understanding ecosystem dynamics. It comprises an integrative literature review, a process model of ecosystem evolution, and an empirical study on power-dependence and network evolution. This work aims to provide actionable insights for managing ecosystem dynamics and their strategic implications.

His research portfolio includes a published article in the European Management Journal examining integration, employee resistance, and acquisition performance. Kalan is actively working on several manuscripts in various stages of development. These include studies on platform dependence and contentrepreneurs, complementor network evolution, industry cluster dynamics, ideological competition in top management teams, and the relationship between biodiversity and business ecosystem stability.

Kalan's work has garnered recognition at major conferences. His research on complementor network evolution, nominated for the best PhD Student Paper at the Strategic Management Society (SMS) 2024 conference, explores power balancing in platform ecosystems. He has presented/will present at the SMS Annual Conference, the MIT Rising Scholars Conference, and the Southern Management Association Conference, among others.

In addition to his research, Kalan is developing a strong teaching portfolio at Florida State University, instructing undergraduate courses in Competitive Dynamics and Strategic Management. He also contributes to the academic community through his roles as a research mentor in the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) and as an ad-hoc reviewer for journals such as the Academy of Management Review.

Prior to his academic career, Kalan gained industry experience in supply chain management at The Boeing Company. He holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

RESEARCH

PUBLICATIONS

Horton, K., King, D., Bauer, F., Lamont, B., and Schriber, S. (In Press) Integration, Employee Resistance, and Acquisition Performance. European Management Journal. [doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2024.02.003]{doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2024.02.003}

CONFERENCES & PRESENTATIONS

Horton, K., Hodge, A., and Lamont, B. (2024). Complementors’ Network Evolution: Power Balancing in Platform Ecosystems. Strategic Management Society 44th Annual Conference; Istanbul, Türkiye.

Horton, K. (2024) The Case for a Review on Ecosystem Evolution. PhD Project – Baruch Research Symposium; New York, NY.

Horton, K. (2024) Evolution, Adaptation, and Complexity in Managed Ecosystems: Three Essays on Ecosystem Evolution. The PhD Project: MDSA’s Inaugural Research Day.

Horton, K. & Hodge, A. (2023) Complementor Evolution, Power-Dependence and Performance: Evidence from the Video-game Industry. MIT Rising Scholars Conference.

Horton, K., King, D., Bauer, F., Lamont, B., and Schriber, S. (2022) “Acquisition Performance: The Role of Integration and Functional Disruption”, Southern Management Association Conference; Little Rock, AR.

Horton, K., Hodge, A., de la Haye, DC, and Paik, M. (2022) “Compleme-tition: Multilateral Competition and Ecosystem Strategy”, Southern Management Association Conference; Little Rock, AR.

NOTABLE AWARDS & ACCOLADES

2024 Harvard Business School Case Study Method - Fundamentals Certification

2024 Baruch College Doctoral Research Fellow

2023 MIT Rising Scholar | “Complementor evolution, dependence, and performance”

2022 Darden School of Business, Summer Stakeholder Theory Fellow

2022 Southern Management Association Conference, Late-stage Doctoral Student Consortia attendee

2020 McKnight Doctoral Fellow (Florida Education Fund)

TEACHING EXPERIENCE