STR Outstanding dissertation award

Since 2024, the award name has changed to STR Outstanding Dissertation Award. It was formerly known as the Wiley Blackwell Outstanding Dissertation Award.

2023 Dissertation Award

Award Winner 

Daniel H. Wilde Indiana University (PhD: University of Pennsylvania)
Cognitive Microfoundations of Industry Foresight and Strategic Commitments: Evidence Within the Global Automotive Industry

Other Finalists

Amisha Miller, Assistant Professor at New York University. (PhD: Boston University) Dissertation Chair: Siobhan O’Mahony
"Changing the System, Not the Seeker: How Do Investment Organizations’ Evaluation Practices Shape the Demographic Diversity of Innovators Funded?"

Michael Park, Assistant Professor at INSEAD. (PhD: University of Minnesota) Dissertation Co-Chairs: Aks Zaheer and Russell Funk
"Essays on the Politics of Innovation"

Sukhun Kang, Assistant Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. (PhD: London Business School) Dissertation Chair: Gary Dushnitsky
"Essays on Innovation Commercialization"

Xiaoli (Shirley) Tang, Assistant Professor at Bocconi University. (PhD: Washington University) Dissertation Co-Chairs: Nicholas S. Argyres and Lamar Pierce
"The Transparency Dilemma: Competition, Innovation, and Organizational Performance with Corporate Transparency"

2023 Dissertation Award

Award Winner 

Leandro Pongeluppe Wharton (PhD Toronto U)

How Approaches to Value Creation, Appropriation, and Distribution by Private-Sector Organizations Address the United Nations’ Sustainability Development Goals

 

Other Finalists

Understanding Digital Inequality and the Role of Cooperatives

Leandro Pongeluppe, Assistant Professor at Wharton. (PhD: University of Toronto). Dissertation Chair: Anita McGahan

How Approaches to Value Creation, Appropriation, and Distribution by Private-Sector Organizations Address the United Nations’ Sustainability Development Goals

 

Silvia Sinasi, Postdoctoral Researcher at Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (PhD: Politecnico di Milano). Dissertation Chair: Antonio Ghezzi.

Business Model Experimentation: A Scientific Approach to Strategy and Entrepreneurship

Jungkyu Suh, Assistant Professor at Stern, NYU (PhD: Duke University) Dissertation Co-Chairs: Ashish Arora and Sharon Belenzon.

Essays on Science and Innovation

2022 Dissertation Award

Award Winner

Anparasan Mahalingam Syracuse University (PhD Purdue U). Co-Advisors: Richard Makadok & Tony Tong.

Corporate Strategies of Digital Organizations

Other Finalists

Agnes Guenther, Postdoctoral Fellow U. of Utah. (PhD: Copenhagen Business School) Primary Supervisor: Hans Christian (HC) Kongsted
Essays on Firm Strategy and Human Capital

Aldona Kapačinskaitė, Bocconi U. (PhD London Business School). Advisor: Sendil Ethiraj.

Essays on Environmental Change and Innovation Strategy

Daniel B. Sandsr, University College London (PhD: NYU). Advisor: Gino Cattani

Strategy, Evaluation, and Valuation in Markets: The role of third parties in the creation and capture of value

Christopher Sabel, U. of Münster (PhD BI Norwegian Business School). Advisor: Pengfei Wang.

Spinouts, Sharks, and Geneology: Established firms as resource acquisition channel for startups


2021 Dissertation Award

Award Winner

Arianna Marchetti London Business School (PhD INSEAD). Advisor: Phanish Puranam and Ithai Stern

Organizational Culture and Firm Performance

Other Finalists

Stephen Downing, U of Missouri (PhD National Chiao Tung U.). Advisor: Jin-Su Kang 

Competitive Myopia:  Redressing Blind Spots in Interindustry Competition

Harshvardan Ketkar, Bocconi (PhD: U of Michigan). Advisors: Seth Carnahan and Felipe Csaszar

Essays on Organizing Human Capital, Automation and Innovation

Hyunjin Kim, INSEAD (PhD Harvard). Advisor: Dennis Yao

Field Experiments on the Barriers Firms Face in Realizing Gains From Data

Almantas Palubinskas Emlyon Business School (PhD: Syracuse U). Advisor: Maria Minniti 

Entrepreneurial Firms and Nonmarket Strategy:  Lessons from the Drone Industry

2020 Dissertation Award

Award Winner

Marco Testoni, Tilburg U.; (PhD U. of California, Los Angeles). Advisor: Marvin Lieberman
Essays on the geographical, product, and technological dimensions of the market for corporate control

Other Finalists

Ankur Chavda (HEC Paris; PhD Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Advisor: Scott Stern)
Essays on the production of innovation

Andrea Contigiani (Ohio State U.; PhD U. of Pennsylvania; Advisors: Dan Levinthal & David Hsu)
Experimentation in early stage ventures

Trey Cummings (Johns Hopkins U.; PhD Washington U. in St. Louis; Advisor: Anne Marie Knott)
Microfoundations of innovation in organizations

Daniel J. Kim (U. of Pennsylvania; PhD Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Advisor: Pierre Azoulay)
Entrepreneurial organization and human capital

2019 Dissertation Award

Award Winner

Julien Clément Stanford U. (PhD, INSEAD); Advisors: Phanish Puranam & Andrew Shipilov
Rediscovering the Link between Formal and Informal Structure: A Micro-Analytic Approach

Other Finalists

Kiran Awate, Virginia Tech U. (PhD Ohio State U.); Advisor: Mona Makhija)
Essays on Learning from Failure While Pursuing Novel Innovation

Kubilay Cirik, Louisiana State U. (PhD Purdue U.); Advisor: Richard Makadok
Three Essays on Entry Timing

Phebo D. Wibbens, INSEAD (PhD U. of Pennsylvania); Advisors: Nicolaj Siggelkow & Daniel Levinthal
Exploring the Multi-Trillion Dollar Question: How Resource Dynamics Shape Long-Term Profit Patterns

Victoria Sevcenko, INSEAD (PhD London Business School); Advisor: Sendil Ethiraj        
Essays on Value Creation and Appropriation from Human Capital

Casidhe Troyer, London Business School,(PhD U. of Michigan); Advisor: Gautam Ahuja
Technology Adoption and Human Capital Integration

2018 Dissertation Award

Award Winner

Sruthi Thatchenkery, (U. College London; PhD Stanford U.; Advisor: Riitta Katila)
Competitive intelligence: Drivers and consequences of executives’ attention to competitors in enterprise software

 

Other Finalists

Colleen Cunningham, London Business School; (PhD Duke U.); Advisor: Ashish Arora
The management, organization, and geography of novel innovation

Jin Hyung Kim, George Washington U. (PhD Harvard U.); Advisors: Jordan Siegel & Dennis Yao
Essays on nonmarket strategy

Yong Kim, Hong Kong U. of Science and Technology (PhD U. of Michigan); Advisor: Jerry Davis
Global supply chain dynamics in the mobile handset industry

Cameron Miller, Syracuse U. (PhD U. of Minnesota); Advisors: Myles Shaver & PK Toh
Value creation, appropriation, and product design strategies in technology ecosystems: Three Essays on the role of complementary technologies

Koen van den Oever, BDO and Tilburg U. (PhD Tilburg U.); Advisors: Nufer Ates & Xavier Martin
Uncharted waters: A behavioral approach to when, why and which organizational changes are adopted

2017 Dissertation Award

Award Winner

Abhishek Nagaraj, U. of California, Berkeley; (PhD Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Advisor: Scott Stern
Essays on the Impact of Digital Information on Innovation

Other Finalists

Sandra Barbosu, U. of Toronto (PhD U. of Toronto); Advisor: Michael Ryall
The Effects of Latent Categories on Product Performance: Discovery, Identification and Firm Strategy in the Context of the Motion Picture Industry

Derek Harmon, U. of Michigan (PhD U. of Southern California); Advisor: Peer Fiss
The Structure of Strategic Communication: Theory, Measurement, and Effect  

Alex Wilson, U. of Minnesota (PhD Duke U.); Advisor: Wes Cohen
Behavioral Perspectives on Organizational Change: Practice Adoption, Product Culling, and Technological Search

Sarah Wolfolds, Cornell U. (PhD Harvard U.); Advisor: Dennis Yao
Donations and Differentiation: Three Essays on Non-profit Strategy

Andy Wu, Harvard U. (PhD U. of Pennsylvania); Advisor: David Hsu
Organizational Resource Assembly in Technology Ventures  

2016 Dissertation Award

Award Winner

Ulya Tsolmon, Washington U. in St. Louis; (PhD Duke U.) Advisor: Will Mitchell
Gaining Competitive Advantage from Human Capital: Role of Markets and Firm Structure

Other Finalists

Bo Cowgill, Columbia U. (PhD U. of California, Berkeley); Advisor: John Morgan
Essays on the Economics of Organizations, Productivity, and Labor

Ramakrishna Devarakonda, Chinese U. of Hong Kong (PhD Purdue U.); Advisor: Jeffrey Reuer
Founders’ Credentials and Performance of High-tech Startups

Vanessa Burbano, Columbia U. (PhD U. of California, Los Angeles); Co-advisors: Marvin Lieberman & Jason Snyder
Three Essays on Corporate Social Responsibility

Marketa Rickley, U. of Iowa (PhD Boston U.); Advisor: Samina Karim
Strategic Allocation of Human Capital: Executive Appointments in Multinational Bank Subsidiaries

John Mawdsley, HEC Paris (PhD U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign); Advisor: Deepak Somaya
Relational Strategy, Business Scope, and Firm Performance: Evidence from Supplier-Client Relationships in Knowledge-Based Services

2015 Dissertation Award

Award Winner

Johan Chu, The U. of Chicago, Booth School of Business (PhD, U. of Michigan); Advisor: Gerald F. Davis
Durable Dominance

Other Finalists

Asma Fattoum, Copenhagen Business School (PhD EMLYON); Advisor: Frédéric Delmar
Three Essays On The King Versus Rich Dilemma Faced By Founder-CEOs At IPO

Dimitrios Georgakakis, U. of St Gallen (PhD U. of St Gallen); Advisor: Winfried Ruigrok
Antecedents And Consequences Of Top Management Team Diversity: Expanding The Upper Echelons Research Stream

Lionel Paolella, U. of Cambridge, (PhD HEC Paris); Advisor: Rodolphe Durand
Law And (Re)Order: Impact Of Category-Stretching Strategies On Firms’ Performance And Evaluation. The Case Of The Corporate Legal Services Market (2000-2010)

Eunice Rhee, Seattle U. (PhD U. of Southern California); Advisor: Peer Fiss
Essays on Strategic Categorization

Tiona Zuzul, London Business School (PhD Harvard U.); Advisor: Amy Edmondson
Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Nascent Industries

 

2014 Dissertation Award

Award Winner

Christian Catalini, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD U. of Toronto); Advisor: Ajay Agrawal
Three essays on the impact of geographic and social proximity on innovation 

Other Finalists

Seth Carnahan, U. of Michigan (PhD U. of Maryland); Advisor: Rajshree Agarwal
Employee departure from organizations: Three empirical essays

Supradeep Dutta, U. of Buffalo (PhD Purdue U.); Advisor: Timothy Folta
Role of private equity investment in technology start-ups

Robert Eberhart, Santa Clara U. (PhD Stanford U.); Advisor: Kathy Eisenhardt
Institutional Change and entrepreneurship

Keyvan Vakili, London Business School (PhD U. of Toronto); Advisor: Anita McGahan
The interaction between competition, collaboration and innovation in knowledge industries

2013 Dissertation Award

Award Winner

Ken Younge, U. of California, Berkeley (PhD, U. of Colorado, Boulder); Advisor: Tony Tong
Employee Mobility and the Appropriation of Value from Knowledge: Evidence from Three Essays

Other Finalists

Birgul Arslan, Koç U. (PhD, HEC, Paris); Advisor: Pierre Dussauge
Who Gets the Lion's Share? The Antecedents and Consequences of Asymmetric Outcomes in Strategic Alliances

Rory McDonald, U. of Texas at Austin (PhD, Stanford U.); Advisor: Kathy Eisenhardt
Competition and Strategic Interaction in New Markets 

Lite Nartey, U. of South Carolina (PhD, U. of Pennsylvania); Advisor: Witold Henisz
Networks of Influence:  Implementing Politically Sustainable Multinational Stakeholder Strategies

Ram Ranganathan, U. of Texas at Austin (PhD: U. of Pennsylvania); Advisor: Lori Rosenkopf         
Controlling or Complying? The Opportunities and Challenges of Coordinated Technological Change

Natalya Vinokurova, U. of Pennsylvania (PhD: New York U.); Advisor: Adam Brandenburger
The 2008 Mortgage Crisis as a Failure of Analogical Reasoning

2012 Dissertation Award

Award Winner

Tomasz Obloj, HEC Paris (PhD, INSEAD); Advisor: Peter Zemsky
Incentive Life-Cycles: The Role of Learning, Ability, and Cognitive Biases in the Division of Value Between Firms

Other Finalists

Punit Arora, City U. of New York (PhD, Syracuse U.); Advisor: Ravi Dharwadkar
Essays on Vulnerability to and Likelihood of Reemergence from Corporate Bankruptcy

Exequiel Hernandez, Washington U. in St. Louis (PhD, U. of Minnesota); Advisors: Myles Shaver & Aks Zaheer
Immigrant Social Capital and Firm Strategic Heterogeneity: Effects on Foreign Entry and Firm Performance

Amol Joshi, U. of Hawaii (PhD, U. of North Carolina); Advisor: Atul Nerkar
Entrepreneurial Discovery and Information Complexity in Knowledge-Intensive Industries

Bo Kyung Kim, Southern Methodist U. (PhD, U. of Michigan); Advisor: Michael Jensen
New Wine in Old Bottles? The Role of Status and Market Identity in Creating a ‘Digital Media’ Category

David Kryscynski, Brigham Young U. (PhD, Emory U.); Advisor: Russ Coff
The Strategic Implications of Firm Specific Incentives

Paul Seaborn, U. of Denver (PhD, U. of Toronto); Advisors: Brian Silverman & Tim Simcoe
Business Models and Incentives in Ratings Markets: Three Essays

2011 Dissertation Award

Award Winner

Martin Ganco, U. of Minnesota (PhD U. of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign); Advisor: Rajshree Agarwal
The Effect of Technological Complexity on Innovative Performance, Employee Entrepreneurship and Mobility: Three Essays

Other Finalists

Giada Distefano, Bocconi U. (PhD Bocconi U.); Advisors: Andrew King & Gianmario Verona
Knowledge, Innovation, and Social Norms in Creative Industries: Three Essays

Emilie Feldman, U. of Pennsylvania (PhD Harvard U.); Advisor: Cynthia Montgomery
Essays on Corporate Strategy

Markus Fitza, Bentley College (PhD U. of Colorado); Advisors: Sharon Matusik & Matthew Hayward
IPO Underpricing from the Perspective of the Issuing Firm: Money Left on the Table or Strategic Gain?

Yujin Jeong, HEC Montreal (PhD George Washington U.); Advisor: Robert Weiner
Firms and States in Global Markets: Two Essays

Chris Liu, U. of Toronto, (PhD Harvard U.); Advisor: Toby Stuart                              
Essays on Network Antecedents in a Knowledge Production Context

Elena Novelli, U. of Bath (PhD Bocconi U.); Advisors: Alfonso Gambardella & Gautam Ahuja
Technology Development and Commercialization Strategies for Innovative Firms

2010 Dissertation Award

Award Winner

Chuck Eesley, Stanford, (PhD, MIT). Advisor: Edward B. Roberts                                                    
Essays on Institutions and Pre-founding Experience: Effects for Technology-Based Entrepreneurs in the U.S. and China

Other Finalists

Felipe A. Csaszar, INSEAD (PhD, U. of Pennsylvania). Advisor: Daniel Levinthal                      
Organizational Structure as a Determinant of Organizational Performance

Denisa Mindruta, HEC Paris (PhD, U. of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign). Advisors: Rajshree Agarwal & Glenn Hoetker
Markets for Research: A Matching Approach to U.-Industry Research Collaborations  

Alexander Oettl, Georgia Institute of Technology (PhD, U. of Toronto). Advisor: Ajay Agrawal
A New Taxonomy for Star Scientists: Three Essays

Yi Tang, Hong Kong Polytechnic U. (PhD, Hong Kong U. of Science & Technology). Advisor: Bilian Ni Sullivan
A bird known by its note: Identity legitimacy, network dynamics, and actor performance in the Hong Kong film industry, 1970-1997.

Yen Tran, Copenhagen Business School (PhD, Copenhagen Business School). Advisor: Jens Frøslev Christensen
Organizing Innovation in Turbulent Fashion Markets

2009 Dissertation Award

Award Winner

Mario Schijven, Texas A&M U., (PhD Tilburg). Advisor: Harry Barkema
Acquisition capability development: Behavioral and cognitive learning perspectives

Other Finalists

Jaime P. Eggers, NYU. (PhD U. of Pennsylvania). Advisor: Sid Winter
Organizational experience and the creation of new products for new markets

Felipe Monteiro, U. of Pennsylvania (PhD London Business School). Advisor: Julian Birkinshaw
Connecting the dots: Uncovering the technology scouting process 

Jochen Schweitzer, U. of Technology Sydney, Sydney (PhD U. of Technology Sydney). Advisor: Siggi Gudersan
Four essays on antecedents and consequences of governance in strategic alliances

Metin Sengul, Boston College (PhD INSEAD). Advisor: Javier Gimeno
Essays on delegation and control in multi-unit firms

2008 Dissertation Award

Award Winner

Olivier Chatain (PhD  INSEAD). Advisor: Peter Zemsky
Capturing Value from Client Relationships: Theory and Evidence

Other Finalists

Natarajan Balasubramanian (PhD U. of California, Los Angeles). Advisor: Marvin Lieberman
Essays on Learning and Innovation

Benjamin Hallen (PhD Stanford U.). Advisor: Kathy Eisenhardt
The Origin of the Network Positions of New Organizations: How Entrepreneurs Raise Funds from Venture Capitalists and Corporate Investors

Dinesh Iyer (PhD Purdue U.). Advisors: Kent Miller & Tom Brush
Performance Feedback View of the Timing of Acquisitions, Direction of Diversification, and Firm Performance

Evan Rawley (PhD  U. of California, Berkeley). Advisor: David Mowery       
Organization and Performance: Evidence from Microdata

Jianyun Tang (U. of Western Ontario). Advisor: Mary Crossan
Dominant CEO, Deviant Strategy, and Extreme Performance

2007 Dissertation Award

Award Winner

Alison Mackey (PhD The Ohio State U.). Advisor: Jay Barney
Dynamics in executive labor markets: CEO effects, executive-firm matching, and rent sharing

Other Finalists

Dries Faems (PhD Catholic U. Leuven). Advisor: Maddy Janssens
Collaboration for innovation: Processes of governance and learning in R&D alliances

Jared Harris (PhD U. of Minnesota). Advisors: Phil Bromiley & Norm Bowie
Financial misrepresentation: Antecedents and performance effects

Robert Jensen (PhD U. of Pennsylvania). Advisor: Sid Winter
Essays on the replication of organizational routines: The effect of templates on knowledge transfer, the mechanism underlying knowledge transfer methods, and variation through replication

Rekha Krishnan (PhD Tilburg U.). Advisor: Niels Noorderhaven
When is trust produced and when does it matter? Taking a closer look at trust and international alliance performance

Rajiv Nag (PhD The Pennsylvania State U.). Advisor: Dennis A. Gioia
From common to uncommon knowledge: An investigation into the socio-cognitive foundations of inter-firm heterogeneity in the use of knowledge as a resource