What happens when economists hit the road?

Stanford’s Paul Oyer, on the right, travels with fellow economists Mike Mazzeo and Scott Schaefer as part of Roadside MBA, an on-the-road adventure to learn more about small- and medium-size companies.

Three economists, including Stanford’s PAUL OYER, hit the road to learn about small business in America—a journey based on their book, Roadside MBA: Backroad Lessons for Entrepreneurs, Executives and Small Business Owners.

Their adventures started in 2010, when the three lamented that most MBA case studies focus on large companies, rather than the small- and medium-sized companies that characterize the American economy. So, according to their website, they “decided to hit the road in search of stories that we could use to help translate MBA strategy frameworks for owners of small- and medium-sized businesses.”

Over the years, their travels have taken them, for instance, from Memphis to Omaha, Denver to Oklahoma City, Charlotte to Atlanta and Chicago to Cincinnati. Traveling with Oyer are MIKE MAZZEO of Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and SCOTT SCHAEFER of the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business.

For more, see the Stanford Business videos of their travels.