McMaster University · DeGroote School of Business
Goran Calic
Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurial Leadership, and Associate Professor of Strategic Management
I study why some organizations make better decisions than others — and what leaders can do about it. My work sits at the intersection of strategy, innovation, and energy, drawing on cases from industries like nuclear power, airlines, and tech to surface principles that apply broadly.
What I study
Strategy. What turns a set of choices into a strategy — and what makes that strategy effective? I study how leaders build advantage through simple, stable, and differentiated choices.
Innovation. Organizations say they want creativity; research shows they systematically reject it. I study why some organizations are more innovative than others — and why the most creative people are often the least rewarded.
Generative AI. AI hasn't changed what strategy is. It has changed who can execute it. I help boards and executives separate the myths from the real strategic implications of generative AI.
Technology & energy. Technology and energy are the richest strategy laboratory in the world. I study the organizational challenges of technology broadly, and the energy industry — nuclear especially — in depth.
Selected writing
- Tech Companies, Nuclear Power, and the Problem of Strategic Timing Harvard Business Review, 2025
- AI is consuming more power than the grid can handle — nuclear might be the answer The Conversation
- Is Nuclear Power Green? DeGroote, McMaster
- Does Elon Musk Have a Strategy? Harvard Business Review, 2022
- 4 Types of Innovators Every Organization Needs Harvard Business Review, 2022
- The Challenges of Transforming Twitter Harvard Business Review, 2022
Elsewhere