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Professor
Innovation & Marketing
Office: EB 3039
Phone: 403.560.0111
Email: dfinch@mtroyal.ca
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/drdavidfinch
WebLink: https://www.productivityproject.ca
Degrees
PhD (Walden University)
DDes (University of Calgary)
MA (University of Kent)
BA (Honours) (Western University)
VISITING FELLOW
Henley Business School, University of Reading
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. David J. Finch is an educator, scholar, and practitioner whose work focuses on higher education, labour markets, regional economic development, and adaptive learning systems. He holds a Ph.D. in Applied Management and Decision Sciences and a Doctor of Design at the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape. His dissertation, Open Learning Architecture: A Policy Guide to Unlocking Human Capital, examines how civic policy, institutions, and learning infrastructure can be redesigned to mobilize human capital more effectively amid accelerating disruption.
Dr. Finch is Professor of Innovation and Marketing at Mount Royal University and Research Director of The Productivity Project, a national research and policy initiative focused on Canada’s productivity challenge and the role of human capital in long-term prosperity. He is also a Research Fellow at Henley Business School, University of Reading, and has had past academic appointments at the University of Guelph, the University of Calgary, and Ohio University. From 2022 to 2025, he served on the Government of Alberta’s Ministers’ Council for Higher Education and Skills.
Dr. Finch has authored more than 50 scholarly articles, including in journals such as Academy of Management Learning & Education, Higher Education, International Journal of Management Education, Education + Training, Journal of Business Ethics, and Industry and Higher Education. During a secondment to Calgary Economic Development, he led a series of applied research initiatives on Calgary’s labour market and learning ecosystem. This work included mapping the city’s learning ecosystem, developing Calgary’s Skills Development Framework, conducting policy analysis on youth migration, and completing labour-market studies to inform regional economic and workforce strategy.
Before entering academia, Dr. Finch spent more than 15 years in senior corporate strategy and policy roles in the global technology sector, including with Bell Canada, Rogers Communications, and L3Harris Technologies.
PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Recognition and Awards
2017. Nominated. Article of the Year: The business school scorecard: Examining the systematic sources of business school value. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences.
2015. Best Paper (Honourable Mention)- Management Education Division (Award). Conferred by Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, Canada
2013 - 2014. 2013 Article of the Year: The Future of Marketing Education: A Practitioner's Perspective (Academic Prize) (USD). Conferred by Journal of Marketing Education.
2013. Best Paper (Honourable Mention) - Marketing Division (Distinction). Conferred by Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, Canada
2013. Jean Perrien Best Paper Award (Academic Prize). 500 (CAD). Conferred by Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, Canada
2012 - 2013. ACIFA Innovation in Teaching Award (MRU Nominee) (Teaching Award). Conferred by Mount Royal University Faculty Association, Canada
2011 - 2012. Teaching Award: "ACIFA Innovation in Teaching Award (MRU Nominee)" Awarded first runner-up. (Teaching Award). Conferred by Mount Royal Faculty Association
2011. 2011 Frank Dilley Award for Most Outstanding Dissertation (Academic Prize). Conferred by Walden University, United States
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Market-Driven Strategy
Evidence-Based Marketing
Strategic Management
Visiting Professor, Ohio University (teach undergraduate sports management)
Visiting Professor, Henley Business School, University of Reading (teach international MBA)
Faculty, Haskayne School of Business (teach Executive Education)
ILLUSTRATIVE RESEARCH AND SCHOLARLY WORK
Research Director, The Productivity Project
The Productivity Project is a national research and policy initiative focused on Canada’s productivity challenge and the role of human capital in long-term prosperity.
The Project examines how Canada can better develop, recognize, mobilize, and renew the capabilities people need as work, technology, and economic conditions change. Its work connects questions of productivity, learning, workforce adaptation, skills development, recognition systems, and opportunity.
Launched in 2024, the Project builds on more than a decade of research, policy development, and cross-sector collaboration involving postsecondary institutions, employers, community partners, researchers, and policy leaders.
The initiative is supported by a growing network of partners, including the Alberta Centre for Labour Market Research, Mount Royal University, the LearningCITY Collective, the Alberta Chambers of Commerce, and Canada’s Productivity Initiative, led by the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy.
Since its launch, The Productivity Project has published policy reports and briefs across multiple research series, translating evidence into practical insights for policymakers, employers, education leaders, researchers, and community partners.
Its central argument is simple: productivity is not only about capital investment, technology, or business conditions. It is also about people — and whether Canada has the systems needed to turn human capability into economic and social value.
Selected Research & Policy Publication
Focus Area 1: Human Capital, Career Adaptability & the Future of Work
Finch, D. J., Peacock, M., Levallet, N., & Foster, W. (2016). [A dynamic capabilities view of employability: Exploring the drivers of competitive advantage for university graduates](https://www.emerald.com/et/article/58/1/61/72530/A-dynamic-capabilities-view-of). *Education + Training, 58*(1), 61–81. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-02-2015-0013
Finch, D. J., Levallet, N., Saunders, C., Field, E., Ribeiro, J., Raby, S., Roberts, M., Uzoka, F.-M., & Campbell, A. (2023). [A dynamic capability view of career adaptation: An exploratory study](https://www.emerald.com/et/article/65/5/769/102355/A-dynamic-capability-view-of-career-adaptation-an). *Education + Training, 65*(5), 769–789. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-06-2021-0235
Finch, D. J., Dorland, A., Hudson, A., & Pust, M. (2026). [Empowering futures through hybrid careers: An innovative community-centric learning architecture](https://jipe.ca/index.php/jipe/article/view/297). *Journal of Innovation in Polytechnic Education, 8*(2), 61–74. https://doi.org/10.69520/jipe.v8i2.297
Finch, D., Levallet, N., Dovbischuk, I., Lane, J., Griffiths, J., Murgatroyd, S., & McIntyre, S. (2025). [*Unlocking productivity: The human capital supply chain*](https://www.productivityproject.ca/browse-by-series). The Productivity Project.
Finch, D., Murgatroyd, S., Cook, C., Griffiths, J., Levallet, N., & Saunders, C. (2026). [*Entry-level jobs: The canary in Canada’s labour market coal mine*](https://www.productivityproject.ca/browse-by-series). The Productivity Project.
Focus Area 2: Higher Education & the Education–Work Interface
Finch, D. J., Falkenberg, L., McLaren, P. G., Rondeau, K., & O’Reilly, N. (2018). [The rigour–relevance gap in professional programmes: Bridging the “unbridgeable” between higher education and practice](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0950422218768205). *Industry and Higher Education, 32*(3), 152–168. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950422218768205
Finch, D. J., Nadeau, J., Foster, W., O’Reilly, N., Bates, K., & Stec, D. (2019). [Extending the reach and impact of management research: A question of legitimacy](https://www.emerald.com/jiuc/article/1/2/58/258041/Extending-the-reach-and-impact-of-management). *Journal of Industry-University Collaboration, 1*(2), 58–78. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIUC-03-2019-0004
Dorland, A., Finch, D. J., Levallet, N., Raby, S., Ross, S., & Swiston, A. (2020). [An entrepreneurial view of universal work-integrated learning](https://www.emerald.com/et/article/62/4/393/188037/An-entrepreneurial-view-of-universal-work). *Education + Training, 62*(4), 393–411. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-11-2019-0260
Finch, D., McIntyre, S., Murgatroyd, S., Lane, J., Saunders, C., Al-Zyoud, H., Wilson, D., Levallet, N., O’Reilly, N., & Griffiths, J. (2025). [*Path to open learning: A policy framework for enabling incumbents and empowering new entrants*](https://www.productivityproject.ca/browse-by-series). The Productivity Project.
Finch, D. (2025). [*Open learning architecture: A policy guide to unlocking human capital*](https://www.productivityproject.ca/browse-by-series). The Productivity Project.
Focus Area 3: Regional Workforce & Learning Ecosystems
Finch, D. J., Levallet, N., Field, E. F., Raby, S., Saunders, C., Roberts, M., Uzoka, F.-M., McIntyre, S., Ribeiro, J., & Cressman, S. (2020). [*Calgary on the precipice: Learning our way forward*](https://www.learningcity.ca/our-research). Calgary Economic Development.
Finch, D. J. (2022). [*Calgary learning system audit: Comprehensive audit of certified and non-certified talent development programs in Calgary*](https://www.learningcity.ca/s/Policy-Report-Calgary-Learning-System-Audit-2022.pdf) [Final report]. Calgary Economic Development. [*Calgary’s skills development framework*](https://www.learningcity.ca/s/Policy-Report-Calgarys-Skills-Development-Framework-yyc9.pdf). (2022). LearningCITY Collective.
Finch, D., Weber, G., Lane, J., Levallet, N., O’Reilly, N., McIntyre, S., Griffiths, J., Raby, S., & Wilson, D. (2025). [*Untapped potential: Mapping the open learning system*](https://www.productivityproject.ca/browse-by-series). The Productivity Project.
Finch, D., Saunders, C., Levallet, N., Lane, J., McIntyre, S., Murgatroyd, S., Dovbischuk, I., & Griffiths, J. (2025). [*The coming storm: The eight forces reshaping regional labour markets*](https://www.productivityproject.ca/browse-by-series). The Productivity Project.
Focus Area 4: Productivity, Organizations & Talent Systems
Finch, D. J., & Levallet, N. (2020). [A dynamic capabilities view of talent acquisition: Resource verification and risk management](https://www.elgaronline.com/display/edcoll/9781788974370/9781788974370.00019.xml). In Y. Griep & S. D. Hansen (Eds.), *Handbook on the temporal dynamics of organizational behavior* (pp. 123–138). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788974387.00019
Finch, D. J., Levallet, N., McIntyre, S. M., & Pyde, K. (2023). [What makes a product manager? A dynamic capabilities view of product management](https://www.inderscience.com/info/inarticle.php?artid=133056). *International Journal of Product Development, 27*(3), 213–244. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJPD.2023.133056
Finch, D., Lane, J., McIntyre, S., Levallet, N., Murgatroyd, S., & Griffiths, J. (2025). [*Productivity and people: Exploring human capital’s role in productivity*](https://www.productivityproject.ca/browse-by-series). The Productivity Project.
Finch, D., Levallet, N., Lane, J., Nguyen, A. T., Murgatroyd, S., Braun, M., & Griffiths, J. (2025). [*Finding people: A risk management view of hiring*](https://www.productivityproject.ca/browse-by-series). The Productivity Project.
Finch, D., Murgatroyd, S., Cook, C., Griffiths, J., Levallet, N., & Saunders, C. (2026). [*How artificial intelligence is reshaping entry-level jobs*](https://www.productivityproject.ca/browse-by-series). The Productivity Project.