What is the state of the art in strategic management research?
Scholars from IESE, INSEAD, Wharton and the University of Toronto are on the Barcelona campus this week for the EDEN Advanced Strategic Management Doctoral Seminar. The seminar will bring PhD students from top schools around the world up to speed on the latest in research, from theoretical modeling to empirical methodologies.
Jointly backed by IESE, INSEAD and the European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management (EIASM), the EDEN seminar is led by IESE Professor Govert Vroom, associate professor in Strategic Management. Prof. Vroom explains that the program offers doctoral students a chance to be "exposed to some of the leading, cutting-edge scholars in the field of strategic management and to learn more about current theories and the newest empirical methodologies."
Where Are We in Strategic Management Research?
The program delivers five focused sessions covering the latest in research from competitive strategy, models for empirical work in strategy, value-based strategy, and innovation strategy and productivity.
Experts in each field are presenting their own research and a series of lectures, presentations and structured discussions around the most relevant topics and trends touching global business, says Vroom. Under the banner, "Where are we now?" Prof. Vroom and INSEAD Professor of Strategy, Javier Gimeno, lead a deep dive into competitive strategy, covering industry and firm profitability, market share effects, strategic groups and generic strategies, and early mover advantage.
Other highlights of the week include Wharton’s Dr. Matthew Grennan’s session on contemporary methods and models for empirical work in strategy, which leverages "natural" experiments. Dr. Michael Ryall from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, leads a class on "The Value Capture Model" and essential results including the subtleties of competition, added value and persuasive assets. Rotman’s Professor of Strategic Management, Brian Silverman, will lead a session on how to integrate basic insights from organizational economics and organization theory into strategy research, while examining boundaries and technological performance.
IESE Professor Bruno Cassiman delivers a session today on innovation strategy and productivity, delving into the fundamental drivers of a firm’s incentive to innovate, and how to translate innovation into profitability.
Building Links Between Scholarly Circles
This year’s doctoral seminar builds on the EISAM tradition of building bridges between scholarly circles and international academics, says Prof. Vroom, to share ideas and concerns in their areas of interest. In addition to attending sessions on the panelists’ latest research, participants will join Prof. Vroom to review the practicalities of managing an academic career.
"The program establishes IESE as one of the leading schools in the field of doctoral education, helping our own PhD students and PhD students from other schools around the world to prepare for a successful academic career," says Vroom.