Alan Benson

Alan Benson is an Associate Professor at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, specializing in the Work and Organizations group. He has been in this role since August 2021, having previously served as an Assistant Professor from June 2013 to August 2021. His academic background includes a PhD in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management, which he obtained in 2013, and a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University in 2007.123

Benson's research focuses on personnel economics, where he applies economic analysis to human resources issues such as hiring, promotions, and incentives. He collaborates with companies to analyze their HR data using econometric methods and has published extensively in esteemed journals like the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Management Science, and Organization Science .24 Additionally, he serves as a Senior Editor for Organization Science and has been recognized with several awards for his teaching and research contributions, including the Upjohn Institute Early Career Research Award and the LERA Best Dissertation Award .245

In terms of teaching, Benson covers various subjects including compensation, statistics, management, business economics, and negotiations at both undergraduate and graduate levels. He also offers a popular online course on Coursera titled "Managing Employee Compensation" .146

His professional involvement extends beyond academia; he actively engages with local and national organizations to interpret HR data and contributes to discussions at conferences related to people analytics and management .34