---
id: "pisquared:interview/clark-adam"
type: "Pi-Squared interview"
title: "Anita McGahan in conversation with Adam Clark"
url: "https://pisquared.theburnescenter.org/interviews/clark-adam"
date: "2026-03-31"
people: ["Anita McGahan","Adam Clark"]
summary: "Adam Clark is assistant professor of strategic management at Chapman University. He holds a PhD in Strategic Management from the University of Utah. Adam is..."
recording: "https://vimeo.com/1179277213"
source: "Pi-Squared (pisquared.theburnescenter.org), The Burnes Center for Social Change"
licence: "none stated"
---

# Anita McGahan in conversation with Adam Clark

Adam Clark, Assistant Professor of Strategic Management, Chapman University · 31 March 2026

## About the guest

Adam Clark is assistant professor of strategic management at Chapman University. He holds a PhD in Strategic Management from the University of Utah. Adam is currently studying social enterprises, value creation, appropriable quasi-rents, hedge funds, and role of authenticity in markets.

## Reflections from the interview

Anita talks with **Adam Clark, **Assistant Professor of Strategic Management, Chapman University, about three main themes:

**What is Authenticity?** Adam distinguishes between two types: objective authenticity (verifiable facts about products, like whether champagne is from Champagne) and deeper organizational authenticity, where a firm's stated values and commitments genuinely shape its strategic choices rather than serving as "window dressing." The latter matters most for competitive advantage, because stakeholders want assurance that a company will stay true to its purpose even when it's not the most profitable path.

**The Authenticity-Imitation Tension** When a rival reveals a seemingly better strategy, an authentic firm faces a dilemma: imitate and risk appearing opportunistic, or stay the course and potentially underperform. Adam argues that a firm's willingness to stick with commitments even when financially costly is precisely what makes those commitments credible and valuable to stakeholders. Interestingly, this sometimes leads to profitability anyway — but only when the motivation is genuine, not instrumental.

**Can Purpose Evolve? The Saturn Case** Using GM's Saturn as an example, they explore what happens when a purpose-driven venture isn't working.  Adam argues that renegotiating commitments is possible but difficult — it requires a compelling justification, buy-in from affected stakeholders, and a new set of binding commitments to replace the old ones.

**What Makes Adam Optimistic** Adam draws on evolutionary theory — altruistic groups outperform selfish ones — and notes that despite visible global problems, cooperation at scale has improved dramatically over history, including a reduction in the total number of people living in abject poverty. He sees authenticity and cooperation as a "long game" that pays off over time, even if short-term incentives push toward defection.

## Related resources

- [Adam’s LinkedIn profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-clark-59934952/)
- [Adam’s Chapman website](https://www.chapman.edu/our-faculty/adam-clark.aspx)
- [Adam on Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=72v2koAAAAAJ&hl=en)
- [Adam’s project on corporate purpose credability](https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/AMPROC.2024.19742abstract)
- [Adam’s paper on imitation and authentic identity](https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/AMBPP.2019.15100abstract)

## Recording

Video: https://vimeo.com/1179277213

## Category

[Where Do We Go From Here?](https://pisquared.theburnescenter.org/category/where-next)

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Original page: https://pisquared.theburnescenter.org/interviews/clark-adam · Licence: none stated