Michael Finney, Thunderbird School of Global Management (CGI 2013)
Michael L. Finney, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Global Leadership and Management at Thunderbird School of Global Management. He teaches international consulting to students and global leadership and organizational behavior to both students and corporate executives. He is also the Faculty Director of the Thunderbird Emerging Market Laboratory (TEM Lab), a capstone international consulting practicum. His work with TEM Lab involve the academic oversight of teams of Thunderbird MBA candidates assigned to social and economic infrastructure development consulting projects in emerging markets for the Exxon Mobil Foundation, the Grameen Foundation, the InterAmerican Development Bank, and other institutional partners.
Finney’s current research emphasis is concerned with a multiphase, multi-level research investigation of strategies for accelerating microenterprise growth toward SME (Small to Medium Enterprise) status in Emerging Markets. The research also considers the global microfinance phenomenon and the role it plays in supporting the movement of microenterprises toward SME status (including MFI characteristics and effects within and across multiple countries). The research is an attempt to identify if and how microfinance can serve as a facilitator and accelerator of the transformation of lesser-developed economies to such an extent that cross border business activities increase and whether or not increases in cross border business activities attract economic activity from more developed countries.
