Strategic Management
Why do some organizations consistently outperform others? This is
the motivating question of strategic management. The field explores
the fundamentals of organizational intent, corporate and business-level
strategy, competitive advantage and performance. Topics that have
been important areas of investigation include diversification strategy,
vertical integration, corporate governance, acquisitions and joint
ventures, competitive strategy and competitive positioning, technology
strategy, strategic groups, inter-firm rivalry, firm capabilities
and resources, strategic decision-making processes, new venture
creation and entrepreneurship, and strategy implementation mechanisms
such as organizational structure and incentive systems. The field
is integrative across the various business disciplines such as marketing,
organizational behavior, accounting, economics and finance. The
program of study leading to a Ph.D. with a specialization in Strategic
Management is designed to train students to be outstanding research
scholars/teachers who possess considerable depth of understanding
of all areas of the field of strategic management, and a breadth
of understanding of business-related disciplines.
The distinguished faculty in Strategic Management pursue vigorous
research programs and have achieved national and international recognition.
Their diverse interests and interdisciplinary expertise provide
the opportunity for students to achieve breadth and depth of knowledge
in the strategic management field and strong methodological skills.
The faculty members are committed to provide students with an environment
that will be both demanding and supportive. Their objective is to
provide a rigorous, interesting and enjoyable introduction to the
conceptual framework, research methods and pragmatic applications
of Strategic Management, leading to opportunities to do meaningful
independent research during and after the program. Within the requirement
that they seek excellence, our students have the flexibility to
develop and pursue their own specialized interests. Our past graduates
have received job offers from the University of Michigan, New York
University, University of Wisconsin, Michigan State University,
and Arizona State University.
Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the field, our doctoral
students may enter the program with degrees in various areas such
as business, economics, organizational behavior, sociology, political
science, and law. Many have had extensive work experience in organizations
and in consulting firms.
Course-Work
The course-work in the Ph.D. program assists students to develop
the essential skills for knowledge generation and dissemination:
- mastery of the relevant existing literatures describing prior
strategic management research.
- breadth of knowledge about business-related disciplines.
- the ability to integrate knowledge to develop conceptual
frameworks that further the development of the field.
- methodological and analytical skills, and
- the pragmatic ability to use these conceptual, analytical
and methodological skills in combination to conduct researches
and teach in Strategic Management.
The first two years of the program enable students to establish
a strong conceptual understanding of the strategic management field.
Small seminars explore current and classic perspectives on strategic
management in each of the first four semesters. During this period,
students will be developing analytical, research, and quantitative
skills through courses in research methods and quantitative analysis
and through in-depth discussions and critiques of assigned papers
and texts.
Each student is required to designate a minor area of study. The
minor area courses come from a wide selection of courses within
the Department, the College and the University. Examples of minors
for students in Strategic Management include International Business,
Marketing, Organizational Theory, Finance and Industrial Organization
Economics.
In addition to the required and elective courses (selected in conjunction
with the faculty advisor), research seminars form an integral part
of the doctoral program. At these seminars, held approximately twice
a month, students are exposed to recent developments in Strategic
Management research. Speakers include distinguished researchers
from around the world, academics from different departments of the
University of Illinois, and students in the program.
The program of study in the first two years should enable the student
to select a dissertation topic, which will be the focus of the third
and fourth years. Students are also provided the opportunity to
conduct research in a variety of settings other than the dissertation:
in course-related projects, in collaborative research with faculty;
and in assistantships.
Recent Dissertation Topics
"Diversity Reduction as Organizational Metamorphosis" Rachel
Davis
"Patterns of Intra-industry Competition: A Dynamic Analysis of Theoretical
Foundations of Strategic Groups", William C. Bogner
"Corporate Turnarounds as Strategic Reorientations: A Field Study
of Turnaround Attempts from Firm-Based Decline", Vincent Barker
"Corporate Governance and Strategic Action Within the Context of
Antitakeover Corporate Charter Amendments", Chamu Sundaramurthy
"Director Networks and Director Selection: Keys to the Strategic
Role of the Board of Directors", Donald O'Neal
"Shareholder Value and Strategic Action: A Study of Turnaround Firms",
J. Rajendran Pandian
"Evidence of the Entrepreneur: Founder Effects of the Firm's Corporate
and Product Level at and after the Initial Public Offering", Teresa
Nelson
"Identifying, Understanding and Managing Core Competencies", Gregory
Winter
"Determinants of Value in Innovation: A Property Rights Approach",
Kannan Ramanathan
"Institutional Ownership and Activism: Linkages with Firm Monitoring
Potential", Stephen Bowden
Faculty
DON N. KLEINMUNTZ
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
DEGREES: Ph.D. Business Administration, M.B.A., B.A. Statistics,
University of Chicago, 1982, 1980,
POSITIONS HELD : At the University of Illinois since 1989.
Associate professor of accountancy, 1989-97. Assistant professor
of behavioral and policy sciences at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, 1986-89. Assistant professor of management at the
University of Texas, 1982-86.
RECENT/MAJOR PUBLICATIONS: "Determinants of the Justifiability
of Performance in Ill-Structured Audit Tasks," (with J. Kennedy
and M. E. Peecher), Journal of Accounting Research (forthcoming).
"Conditioned Assessment of Subjective Probabilitie s: Identifying
the Benefits of Decomposition," (with M. G. Fennema and M.
E. Peecher), Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes,
Vol. 66 (1996). "Anticipations of Effort and Accuracy in Multiattribute
Choice,"; (with M. G. Fennema), Organizational Behavior
and Human Decision Processing, Vol. 63 (1995). "Information
Displays and Decision Processes,"; (with D.A. Schkade), Psychological
S cience, Vol. 4. No. 4 (1993).
HONORS/AWARDS: Elected Fellow, American Psychological Society,
1996. Named James F. Towey U niversity Scholar in 1993 (campus-wide
recognition). Named an associate in the Center for Advanced Study,
1994-95.
ACADEMIC SERVICE: Program Cluster Chair, Decision Analysis
Society, INFORMS, 1997. Nominated for seat on INFORMS Council, 1997.
Chair of the Publication Committee, since 1992, and chair of the
New Investigator Award Committee of the Society for Judgment and
Decision Making, since 1994. Associate editor of Management Science,
since 1995. Served on the Decision, Risk, and Management Sciences
panel of the National Science Foundation, 1994-96. On the editorial
board of Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
TEACHING AND RESEARCH AREAS: Teaches courses in decision
and risk analysis, with applications to financial and strategic
management. Research interests include the use of decision
and risk analysis models in accounting, financial planning, and
strategic management; the psychology of judgment and decision making
in settings characterized by risk and/or conflicting objectives;
and the development of computer-based decision support tools. Has
consulted with numerous hospitals and healthcare organizations on
issues related to resource allocation and strategic financial planning
in the healthcare industry.
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RAVINDRANATH MADHAVAN
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
DEGREES: Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, 1996. M.B.A., Indian
Institute of Management, 1982. B.Comm., Calicut University, 1980.
POSITIONS HELD : At the University of Illinois since 1996.
Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Illinois, 1995-96. Research
Scholar, Carnegie Mellon University, 1994-95.
RECENT/MAJOR PUBLICATIONS: "Contagion Influence on Trade
and Investment Policy: A Network Perspective", (with Balaji
R. Koka and John E. Prescott), Journal of International Business
Studies (forthcoming). "From Embedded Knowledge to Embodied
Knowledge: New Product Development as Knowledge Management",
(with Rajiv Grover), Journal of Marketing (forthcoming). "Networks
in Transition: How Industry Events (Re) shape Interfirm Relationships,"
with Balaji R. Koka and John E. Prescott, Strategic Management Journal
(forthcoming). "Market Value Impact of Joint Ventures: The
Effect of Industry Information Processing Load," with John
E. Prescott, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 38, No. 3 (June
1995). "Strategic Types in Institution Building: A Fit Perspective,"
with Daniel S. Fogel, Knowledge and Policy: The International Journal
of Knowledge Transfer and Utilization, Vol. 7, No. 3 (Fall 1994).
HONORS/AWARDS: Finalist for the Free Press Best Dissertation
Award, Business Policy and Strategy Division, Academy of Management,
1997. Elected to Beta Gamma Sigma, 1996. Best Paper Award, Eastern
Academy of Management, 1994. Best Paper Award, American Marketing
Association, 1994. Research grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation,
Institute for the Study of Business Markets, Institute for Industrial
Competitiveness.
TEACHING AND RESEARCH AREAS: Teaches courses in strategic
management at the Ph.D., M.B.A., and Undergraduate levels. Research
focuses on the effect of interfirm networks, such as strategic alliance
networks, on three key elements of competitive advantage: focus,
flexibility, and foresight.
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JOSEPH T. MAHONEY
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
DEGREES: Ph.D., M.S. Business Economics, Wharton School of Business,
B.A. Economics, University of Pennsylvania, 1989,1984,1980.
POSITIONS HELD : Assistant Professor, 1989-1995; Associate
Professor, 1995-present.
RECENT/MAJOR PUBLICATIONS: "Paradigm Shift: Parallels
in the Origin, Evolution and Function of the Strategic Group Concept
and the Resource-based Theory of the Firm," with W.C. Bogner
and H. Thomas, Advances in Strategic Management (forthcoming). "The
Effects of Corporate Antitakeover Provisions on Long- term Investment:
Empirical Evidence," with J.M. Mahoney and C. Sundaramurthy,
Managerial and Decision Economics Vol. 22 (1997). "Farmers'
Preferences for Crop Contracts: A Principal-Agent Analysis,"
with K. Lajili, P.J. Barry, and S.T. Sonka, Journal of Agricultural
and Resource Economics, Vol. 2 (1997). "Board Structure, Antitakeover
Provisions, and Stockholder Wealth," with C. Sundaramurthy
and James Mahoney, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 18 (1997).
"The Differential Impact on Stockholder Wealth of Various Antitakeover
Provisions," with James Mahoney and C. Sundaramurthy, Managerial
and Decision Economics, Vol. 17 (1996). "Modularity, Flexibility,
and Knowledge Management in Product and Organization Design,"
with R. Sanchez, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 17 (1996). "The
Management of Resources and the Resource of Management," Journal
of Business Research, Vol. 33 (1995). "Toward a New Social
Contract Theory in Organization Science," and "Management's
Search for Balance," with A. Huff and J. Huff, Journal of Management
Inquiry, Vol. 3 (1994).
HONORS/AWARDS: EMBA Outstanding Teaching Award, 1995,1996,
1998.
ACADEMIC SERVICE: On the editorial board of the Strategic
Management Journal, 1991-present.
TEACHING AND RESEARCH AREAS: Teaches undergraduate, MBA,
executive MBA, and Ph.D. courses in strategic management and business
economics. Research interests include corporate governance and organizational
economics. Business applications include distribution, make-or-buy
decisions, and vertical coordination.
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STEVEN C. MICHAEL
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
DEGREES: Ph.D. Business Economics, Harvard University, 1993.
M.Mgmt. Management Policy and Marketing, Northwestern University,
1987. M.Eng. Systems Engineering, University of Virginia, 1981.
B.A. Mathematical Sciences, Rice University, 1980.
POSITIONS HELD : Assistant Professor, George Mason University,
1993-97. Lecturer, Clark University, 1992. Associate, Temple, Barker
& Sloane, 1986. Software engineer, Wang Laboratories, 1983-85.
Technical staff, Bell Laboratories, 1981-83.
RECENT/MAJOR PUBLICATIONS: ""Firm Characteristics
and Investments in Information Technology: Scale and Scope Effects,"
Information Systems Research, forthcoming (with S. Dewan and C.
Min). "Retrenchment among Small Manufacturing Firms During
Recession," Journal of Small Business Management, forthcoming
(with Keith Robbins). "Marketing Strategies that Make Small
Manufacturing Firms Recession-Resistant," with J.A. Pearce,
Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 12 (1997). "Rents and Competitive
Advantage in Franchising," Franchising Research, Vol. 1 (1996).
"To Franchise or Not to Franchise: An Analysis of Decision
Rights and Organizational Form Shares," Journal of Business
Venturing, Vol. 11(1996). "Returns to Franchising," with
H.J. Moore, Journal of Corporate Finance, Vol. 2 (1995).
HONORS/AWARDS: Member of Beta Gamma Sigma, Tau Beta Pi. Selected
to participate in Young Faculty in Entrepreneurship Retreat, sponsored
by the Journal of Business Venturing and Rensslaer Polytechnic Institute,
1997, 1998.
ACADEMIC SERVICE: Track chair, Entrepreneurship and International
Management, Southern Management Association, 1999. Track chair,
Entrepreneurship, Eastern Academy of Management, 1997. Treasurer,
Local Arrangements Committee, Eastern Academy of Management, 1996.
TEACHING AND RESEARCH AREAS: Teaches courses in entrepreneurship
and strategic management. Research focuses on the interface of entrepreneurship,
strategy, and economics.
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ANJU SETH
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND DIRECTOR OF GRADUATE
STUDIES
DEGREES: Ph.D. Business Administration, University of Michigan,
1988; M.B.A., Indian Institute of Management, 1978; B.A. Psychology,
Indraprastha College for Women, 1976.
POSITIONS HELD : At the University of Illinois since 1994.
Director of Graduate Studies, 1997-present. Lecturer to Associate
Professor, University of Houston, 1987-94. Assistant Consultant
to Senior Consultant, with A.F. Ferguson & Co., India, 1978-83.
RECENT/MAJOR PUBLICATIONS: "The Design of Coordination
and Control Mechanisms for Managing Joint Venture-Parent Relationships,"
with S. Kumar, Strategic Management Journal Vol. 19, (June 1998).
"Limits on Managerial Discretion in Management Buyouts: The
Effectiveness of Institutional, Market and Legal Mechanisms,"
with J. Easterwood and R. Singer, Managerial and Decision Economics,
Vol. 18, (1997)."Regression Analysis and Governance,"
with S. Bowden, in M. Ghertman, J Obadia and J-L Arregle, editors,
Statistical Models for Strategic Management, pp. 279-308 (Boston/Dordrecht/London:
Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1997). "Explaining Joint Ventures:
Alternative Theoretical Perspectives," with K. Ramanathan and
H. Thomas, in P.W. Beamish and J.P. Killing, editors, Cooperative
Strategies: North American Perspectives, (San Francisco, CA: New
Lexington Press, 1997). "Rethinking the Tenure Process: Influences
and Consequences of Power and Culture," with R. Wolfe, et al,
Journal of Management Inquiry, Vol. 5 (September 1996). "Boards
of Directors and Substitution Effects of Alternative Governance
Mechanisms," with K. Rediker, Strategic Management Journal,
Vol. 16 (February 1995). "Controlling the Conflict of Interest
in Management Buyouts", with J.C. Easterwood, R. Singer, and
D. Lang, Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 76, No. 3, (August
1994), "Theories of the Firm: Implications for Strategy Research,"
with Howard Thomas, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 31, No.
2 (March 1994). "Strategic Redirection in Large Management
Buyouts: The Evidence from Post-Buyout Restructuring Activity,"
with J. Easterwood, Strategic Management Journal ' Vol. 14, No.
4 (May 1993).
HONORS/AWARDS: CIBER Research Grant, 1995, 1997. Profiled
in "Faculty Portrait", Illinois MBA Today, 1997. Summer
Research Award, Department of Business Administration, University
of Illinois, 1996, 1998. Faculty Research Fellowships, University
of Houston, 1990,1991,1992. Faculty Development Award, University
of Houston, 1991. Member of Beta Gamma Sigma.
ACADEMIC SERVICE: On the editorial board of Strategic Management
Journal and Journal of Market Focused Management. Chair, New Faculty
Consortium for the Business Policy and Strategy Division of the
Academy of Management, 1998. Research Committee for the Business
Policy and Strategy Division of the Academy of Management, 1997-99.
Strategic Management Society Annual Conference Review Committee,
1996, 1998.
TEACHING AND RESEARCH AREAS: Teaches courses in strategic
management industry and competitive analysis, corporate strategy,
philosophy of science, and international strategy. Research areas
include strategic management, value creation, acquisitions, restructuring,
corporate governance, joint ventures, philosophy of science, international
strategy and corporate finance.
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