Portrait image of Fred Hoffman
Fred Hoffman, D.Sc.

Associate Professor and Department Chair

Contact Information

OFFICE: CAE 307
PHONE: 814-824-2465

Education

  • D.Sc., Information Systems and Communications, Robert Morris University
  • M.S., Strategic Intelligence, National Intelligence University
  • M.A., Asian Studies (Chinese), University of Michigan
  • B.A., Government, Lawrence University 

Fred Hoffman is an Associate Professor of Intelligence Studies and Chair of the Intelligence Studies Department. Before joining the faculty at Mercyhurst, Hoffman taught as an Associate Professor of Military Science at The Johns Hopkins University, where he taught courses on national security and the intelligence community. Hoffman has more than six years of experience as a competitive intelligence professional in the private sector. He also has 30 years of experience in the military and multiple intelligence community organizations as a human intelligence officer and as a military attaché, serving in 28 different countries, including Afghanistan and the Balkans. His favorite professional experience to date: Experiencing the opening of the Berlin Wall firsthand. His least favorite experience: Being in the Pentagon when the plane struck it on Sept. 11, 2001. Hoffman is fluent in German and conversational in Mandarin Chinese and Russian. 

Learn more about Dr. Hoffman's story

About Dr. Hoffman
    • RIAP 213: National Security & Intelligence
    • RIAP 240: Intelligence for Business
    • RIAP 250: Professional Communication
    • RIAP 340: Human Intelligence
    • RIAP 365: Advanced Competitive Intelligence
    • RIAP 371: Intelligence & Gray Zone Conflict
    • RIAP 435: Grand Strategy
    • INTL 501: Research Methods in Intelligence
    • INTL 510: Intelligence Theories and Applications
    • INTL 520: Advanced Analytic Techniques
    • INTL 540: Competitive Intelligence
    • INTL 627: National Security
    • INTL 633: Studies in Terrorism
    • INTL 655: Managing Strategic Intelligence
    • INTL 679: Intelligence Thesis Seminar
    • INTL 680: Thesis in Applied Intelligence 
    • Intelligence and national security
    • Information operations/Information warfare
    • National and organizational culture
    • Intellectual property (IP) protection
    • Human factors aspect of cybersecurity
    • Competitive intelligence 
    • Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP). American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS). CSCP certification #2006402  
    • Project Management Professional (PMP). Project Management Institute. PMP certification #1796079
    • Masters Certificate (Program Management). George Washington University, Washington, DC
    • Masters Certificate (Project Management). George Washington University, Washington, DC 

    Selected Publications

    Peer-reviewed Journal Articles:

    • Hoffman, F.P. (2024). Learning by doing: Acquiring the tacit knowledge of how to conduct an open-source intelligence collection and analysis project. Issues in Information Systems 25(3), 81-93.
    • Hoffman, F. P., Kesharwani, R., and Maynard, J. (2023). How an outside perspective can help an organization enhance their supply chain risk mitigation strategy. Issues in Information Systems 24(1), 70-83. DOI: https://doi.org/10.48009/1_iis_2023_106  
    • Freyn, S. and Hoffman, F. P. (2022). Competitive intelligence in an AI world: Practitioners' thoughts on technological advances and the educational needs of their successors. Journal of Intelligence Studies in Business 12(3), 6-17.  
    • Hoffman, F. P. (2021). A participant observation approach to assessing the validity of Hofstede’s dimensions of national culture. Issues in Information Systems, 22(2), 334-349.
    • Hoffman, F. P. (2021). Assessing US and Slovenian organizational security culture with Hofstede’s national culture framework. Issues in Information Systems, 22(3), 114-128.
    • Kuczynski, J., Wang, C., Glass, M., & Hoffman, F. P. (2021). Boeing 737 MAX: A case study of failure in a supply chain using system of systems framework. Issues in Information Systems, 22(1), 51-62.
    • Hoffman, F., & Skovira, R. J. (2020). The organizational security index: A tool for assessing the impact of national culture on information security attitudes in Slovenia and the United States. Issues in Information Systems, 21(3), 95-104.
    • Wang, C.J., Hoffman, F.P., Lim, A., & Kwon, J. (2019). From artificial to emotional intelligence: Integrating five types of intelligence to achieve organizational excellence. International Journal of Management, Knowledge and Learning 8(2), 125-144.
    • Hoffman, F.P., and Freyn, S. L. (2019). The future of competitive intelligence in an AI-enabled world. International Journal of Value Chain Management (IJVCM) 10(4), 275-289.
    • Hoffman, F.P. (2019). Industrial Internet of Things vulnerabilities and threats: What stakeholders need to consider. Issues in Information Systems, 20(1), 119-133.
    • Hoffman, F. P., Wang, C. J., Lim, A., & Kwon, J. (2019). The Yin and Yang of a Doctor of Science in Information Systems and Communications program: Personal reflections and reverse engineering. Issues in Information Systems, 20(2), 128-139.
    • Hoffman, F. P., Kempf, B., & Lim, A. (2018). Knowledge Management and Transfer: The Role of Cuisine in Transferring Cultural Knowledge. Issues in Information Systems, 19(1), 159-169.
    • Hoffman, F. P. (2018). Considerations for Successfully Investing in Commercial Intelligence and Knowledge Management. International Journal of Management, Knowledge and Learning, 7(1), 5-18.

    Conference Presentations and Articles

    • “Learning by doing: Acquiring the tacit knowledge of how to conduct an open-source intelligence collection and analysis project.” Presentation and participation in two-day inaugural Intelligence Studies Summit (ISS), hosted by the National Intelligence University in Washington, DC. March 13-14, 2025.
    • "Major Arthur Nicholson" Article, commemorating the tragic 1985 death of Major Arthur Nicholson, an American Army officer. March 24, 2025.
    • “Russian Information Warfare and Active Measures” presentation and participation in a panel discussion on this topic at the NATO International Security conference in Tbilisi, Georgia, 9-11 October 2023. Visit was coordinated by Republic of Georgia military intelligence and the Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC.
    • “How an outside perspective can help an organization enhance their supply chain risk mitigation strategy, presentation to the International Association for Computer Information Systems annual conference, 5 October 2023, Clearwater, Florida.
    • (1) “Hofstede’s Six Dimensions of National Culture”; (2) “How Putin (and Russians) view the world – and why”; (3) “Russia’s non-traditional instruments of national power”; (4) “Gray Zone strategy”. Four presentations given to Republic of Georgia military intelligence officials and analysts, Ministry of Defense, Tbilisi, Georgia, 11 October 2022. Visit was coordinated by Republic of Georgia military intelligence and the Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC.
    • “A participant observation approach to assessing the validity of Hofstede’s dimensions of national culture,” Presentation based on article given at International Association for Computer Information Systems annual conference, conducted online due to Covid, 8 October 2021.
    • “Assessing US and Slovenian organizational security culture with Hofstede’s national culture framework. Presentation based on article given at International Association for Computer Information Systems annual conference, conducted online due to Covid, 7 October 2021.
    • “Boeing 737 MAX: A case study of failure in a supply chain using system of systems framework,” Presentation based on article given at International Association for Computer Information Systems annual conference, Warsaw, Poland, 24 June 2021.
    • “The Organizational Security Index: A tool for assessing the impact of national culture on information security attitudes in Slovenia and the United States,” International Association for Computer Information Systems annual conference, Nashville, Tennessee, 7-10 October 2020.
    • HUMINT/CI Seminar, Romanian Military Intelligence Directorate, conference presentations entitled, “Chinese espionage trends” and “Intelligence sharing in a coalition environment”. Bucharest, Romania, 18-22 November 2019.
    • “The Organizational Security Culture Index as a tool for assessing the impact of national culture on information security attitudes within an organization,” PIConf 2019, Pegaso International Conference on Social Inclusion, Education, and Digital Society, Malta, 18-19 October 2019.
    • “Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Vulnerabilities and Threats: What Stakeholders Need to Consider,” International Association for Computer Information Systems annual conference, Clearwater Beach, Florida, October 2019.
    • “The Yin and Yang of a Doctor of Science in Information Systems & Communications Program: Personal Reflections and Reverse Engineering,” International Association for Computer Information Systems annual conference, Clearwater Beach, Florida, October 2019.
    • “The A2E Model: Integrating Five Types of Intelligence to Achieve Organizational Excellence”, 2019 Intelligence Community Forum, Ridge College of Intelligence Studies and Applied Sciences, Erie, Pennsylvania, June 2019.
    • “Integrating Five Types of Intelligence to Achieve Organizational Excellence”, 2019 MakeLearn & Technology, Innovation and Industrial Management International Conference, EMUNI University, Piran, Slovenia, May 2019.
    • “The Future of Competitive Intelligence in an Artificial Intelligence-enabled World”, 2019 MakeLearn & Technology, Innovation and Industrial Management International Conference, EMUNI University in Piran, Slovenia, May 2019.
    • “Knowledge Management and Transfer: The Role of Cuisine in Transferring Cultural Knowledge.” International Association for Computer Information Systems, Clearwater Beach, Florida, October 2018.
    • “Considerations for Successfully Investing in Commercial Intelligence and Knowledge Management.” MakeLearn & Technology, Innovation and Industrial Management International Conference, Naples, Italy, May 2018.

    Peer-reviewed Journal Roles

    • 2020 – 2021, Co-editor, International Journal of Patient-Centered Healthcare (IJPCH), IGI Global
    • 2019 – 2020, Editorial Review Board, International Journal of Patient-Centered Healthcare (IJPCH), IGI Global
    • 2018 – Present, Editorial Review Board, Issues in Information Systems (IIS), International Association for Computer Information Systems (IACIS) 
    • Best Paper award for “Integrating Five Types of Intelligence to Achieve Organizational Excellence”, 2019 MakeLearn & Technology, Innovation and Industrial Management International Conference, EMUNI University in Piran, Slovenia.  
    • Academic Excellence award, presented in May, 2019 in conjunction with the Doctor of Science in Information Systems and Communications at Robert Morris University, Pittsburgh, PA. 
    Explore Past Interviews From Dr. Hoffman