SIDNEY G. WINTER TO RECEIVE THE 2026 STR DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR AWARD
2026 STR Distinguished Scholar Award
The STR Distinguished Scholar Award recognizes an individual who has developed a set of ideas that fundamentally advanced research and understanding in the field of strategic management. While these ideas may involve specific theoretical or empirical discoveries, priority is given to the discovery's importance to the field rather than the accumulation of disparate facts or findings. The intent is to recognize contributions that altered the development of the field.
The 2026 STR Distinguished Scholar Award recognizes Sidney G. Winter!
Sidney Winter is the Deloitte and Touche Professor of Management, Emeritus, at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He has held tenured positions at three major universities, in addition to policy research and government roles, including at The RAND Corporation, and as Chief Economist of the U.S. General Accounting Office. In addition to his earned economics degrees from Swarthmore College (B.A.) and Yale (M.A., Ph.D.), he holds honorary doctoral degrees from four European institutions and the University of Miami. Winter has earned recognition that includes election as Fellow of the Econometric Society, Fellow of the AAAS, and Fellow of the Strategic Management Society.
From the start, he has pursued a theoretical perspective on firm behavior that is more realistic than the standard neoclassical brand, and also provides better foundations and stronger links to studies of innovation, organization and managerial practice. With the late Richard Nelson, he developed the leading modern statement of an evolutionary view of economics, which in its firm-level aspects largely meets the requirements just named. The classic statement of their position is An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change (1982), which is still in print at Harvard University Press after 43 years. It is also in print in translation into Russian, Chinese, Korean, and Portuguese. Outside of the domains of firm behavior, management and evolutionary theory, Winter has published on a variety of topics, ranging from general equilibrium theory to weather forecasting and beyond.
In conveying this award, the STR Division Awards Committee has noted that “Winter’s professional journey reflects not only extraordinary range and distinction, but also a rare capacity to shape multiple fields at once.” They provided the following statement:
“Winter’s scholarship transformed the study of strategy by introducing and developing ideas that became central to the field’s theoretical core. His work with Richard Nelson, especially An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change, opened an enduring line of inquiry into routines, organizational knowledge, capabilities, firm adaptation, and competitive heterogeneity. Subsequent contributions on knowledge and competence, capability learning, replication, and dynamic capabilities gave the field not only powerful concepts, but an integrated way of understanding how organizations evolve, grow, and sustain advantage over time. At the same time, this work reached well beyond theory. His scholarship has been consequential for questions of managerial practice and public policy, illuminating issues such as firm boundaries, industrial change, appropriability, and the institutional structure of production.
The legacy of this scholarship is visible in its extraordinary reach and durability. Winter’s work has generated a remarkable level of scholarly impact, including well over 150,000 Google Scholar citations, with foundational contributions continuing to shape research across strategy, organization theory, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Just as important, that legacy endures through the generations of scholars influenced by his ideas and example. Beyond serving as a mentor, advisor, committee member and coauthor to influential scholars in the field, Winter gave his time generously in conferences and workshops to help scholars worldwide develop their ideas. Taken together, Sid's writings have guided major research programs, while his intellectual leadership and mentorship have helped cultivate a broader tradition of inquiry into routines, capabilities, and evolutionary theories of the firm. Uniquely, his work has given interested economists a bridge to strategic management, just as he has inspired countless strategic management scholars to absorb useful insights from economics.”
The STR Division congratulates Sidney G. Winter on being selected as the 2026 Distinguished Scholar Award Winner and thanks him for his seminal contributions to the field. Prof. Winter will be recognized in the Award Session at the 2026 AOM Annual Meeting, where he will provide a keynote speech.
We hope to see you all in the award session to celebrate Professor Winter!
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Isin Guler
STR Division Chair Elect
Kenan-Flagler Business School
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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