Peter Thurston Carrera, Marketing, Information, and Decisions Sciences

Name:

Peter Thurston Carrera

Title:

Assistant Professor

Department:

Marketing, Information, and Decisions Sciences

Describe your research in about 200 words.

My research within the field of operations management focuses on leveraging learning and organization practices to drive service quality performance. I study how service organizations learn from and make decisions about their experiences (knowledge creation) and the experiences of others (knowledge transfer) in the pursuit of service excellence. Specifically, I study the influence of performance feedback, operational disruptions, success, and failure on organizations and how they learn and improve. I deeply believe in engaged scholarship, and my research is done in tandem with major, global, travel and tourism companies. My academic pursuits are heavily inspired by a decade of work experience in operational, management, and executive positions at Accor Hotels, Cornell University, Sabre, Starwood (now Marriott), Relais & Châteaux, and NASA. I conduct empirical, econometric, field based, and lab based research. As someone who studies learning, I love to incorporate my research in the classroom. At the University of New Mexico, I am excited to instruct classes on operations management, service operations, and operational excellence. My work with hospitality companies helps inform operational challenges faced by organizations today.

What’s the most interesting thing you have learned from a student?

Students have taught me that, regardless of who they are, their background, or their experiences, they can and will succeed when they have the time, support, and resources to pursue what they care about. This success tends to lead to success in other areas of their life too. As a professor it is my goal to educate and empower every student so they reach that place where they are able to pursue their dreams. They also put me on to new music!