FBP

Skip links

Prof. Robert Grant

SDA Bocconi Professor of Strategic and Entrepreneurial Management

Degree in Economics, London School of Economics, 1969
MSc in Economics, Londo School of Economics, 1970
Ph.D. in Management Studies, City University, London, 1983

Curriculum Vitae

Robert Grant is Senior Professor of Strategic Management at Bocconi University, Milan.  He was born in Bristol, England, and is a graduate of the London School of Economics and City University.

He has held faculty positions at Georgetown University, City University (London), California Polytechnic, University of British Columbia, St. Andrews University (Scotland), and London Business School. He has been a visiting professor at UCLA, UC Irvine, and INSEAD. He was formerly economic adviser to the British Monopolies and Mergers Commission and has consulted with Eni SpA, BP-Amoco, American Express Company, Nortel Networks and a number of other companies.

He is the author of Contemporary Strategic Analysis (9th edition, Wiley, 2013), a leading strategic management text. His current research interests include the sources of organizational capability and the strategic planning processes of large companies.  He is on the editorial boards of Strategic Management Journal Organisation and  Long Range Planning.

Research Interests

  • Knowledge management and organizational capabilities
  • Strategic planning
  • Corporate strategy in the oil and gas sector
  • Organization design

Publications

Books (last ten years)

  • “Situating Dynamic Capabilities: A Capability Architecture Perspective”. In D.J. Teece and S. Leih (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Dynamic Capabilities, Oxford University Press, forthcoming (with A. Bakhru)
  • “Nonaka’s “Dynamic Theory of Knowledge Creation” (1994): Reflections and an Exploration of the “Ontological Dimension”. Chapter 4 of G. von Krogh, K. Kase and C.G. Cantón (eds.) Towards Organizational Knowledge: the Pioneering Work of Ikujiro Nonaka, Palgrave, 2013, pp. 77-95
  • Contemporary Strategy Analysis, (9th edition) Wiley, Chichester, 2016 (previous editions 1991-2013)
  • Foundations of Strategy, Wiley, Chichester, 2012 and 2015 (with J. Jordan)
  • “Interdependencies between People in Organizations” in A. Burton-Jones and J-C Spender, Oxford Handbook of Human Capital, Oxford University Press, 2011 (with J. Hayton).
  • “National Economic Development and the Competitive Advantage of Nations” in R. Huggins and H. Izushi, Competition, Competitive Advantage and Clusters. The Ideas of Michael Porter, Chapter 7. Oxford University Press, 2011
  • “Some Thoughts on Vittoria Coda’s Contribution ot Strategic Management.” Chapter 1 of Vittoria Coda, Entrepreneurial Values and Strategic Management, Palgrave, 2010.
  • “The Knowledge-based View of Strategic Alliance Formation: Knowledge Accessing Versus Organizational Learning” (with Charles Baden-Fuller) in Farok Contractor and Peter Lorange (eds.) Cooperative Strategies and Alliances, Elsevier Science, 2003.
  • “Innovation and Knowledge Management: Scanning, Sourcing and Integration,” in M. Easterby-Smith and M.A. Lyles (eds.) Handbook of Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, 2003 (with P. Almeida and A. Phene).
  • “Who Needs Multinationals? Lessons from Open-Source Software Communities” in J. Birkinshaw, G. Yip, C. Markides, and S. Ghoshal,(eds.) The Future of the Multinational Company, Wiley, Chichester, 2003 (with A. Lipparini, G. Lorenzoni, and E. Romanelli).
  • “The Knowledge-based View,” Chapter 8 in David O. Faulkner and Andrew Campbell Oxford Handbook of Strategy – Volume One: Strategy Overview and Competitive Strategy, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002.
  • “Corporate Strategy: Managing Scope and Strategy Content,” in Andrew Pettigrew, Howard Thomas, and Richard Whittington (eds.), Handbook of Strategy and Management, Sage, London and Thousand Oaks, 2002, pp. 72-97.
  • “The Knowledge-based View of the Firm” in Nick Bontis & Chun Wei Choo, The Strategic Management of Intellectual Capital and Organizational Knowledge: A Collection of Readings, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002.
  • “Knowledge Acquisition through Alliances: Opportunities and Challenges” In Martin J. Gannon and Karen L. Newman (eds.) The Blackwell Handbook of Cross-Cultural Management, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, 2002, pp. 67-77 (with Paul Almeida and Anupama Phene).
  • “Knowledge and Organization,” in D.J. Teece and I. Nonaka (eds.), Managing Industrial Knowledge: Creation, Transfer and Utilization, Sage, Thousand Oaks, 2001, pp. 145-169.

Articles (last ten years)

  • What’s Holding Back Empirical Research into Organizational Capabilities? Remedies for Common Problems,” Strategic Organization Vol. 13, February 2015, pp. 61-74
  • “The Development of Knowledge Management in the Oil and Gas Industry”, Universia Business Review, Vol. 40, Special issue on Knowledge, Entrepreneurship and Capabilities edited by D.J. Teece and A.Y. Al-Aali, 2013, pp. 92-125
  • “Rejuvenating a Mature Journal: Charles Baden-Fuller’s Editorship of Long Range Planning, 1999-2010”, Long Range Planning, Vol. 45(2), 2012, pp. 93-104
  • “Reflections on Knowledge-based Approaches to the Organization of Production”, Journal of Management & Governance Vol. 16 (2) 2012, pp. 231-249
  • “Strategic Management in a New Era”, Economia & Management No. 3, May 2009, pp. 1-10.
  • “Why Strategy Teaching needs to be Theory Based”, Journal of Management Inquiry, Vol. 17 (no. 4), December 2008, pp. 276-281.
  • “The Future of Management: Where is Gary Hamel Leading Us? Long Range Planning, Vol. 41, October 2008, pp. 468-482.
  • “The Strategic Background to Corporate Accounting Scandals,” Long Range Planning, Vol. 39, August 2006, pp 361-383 (with M. Visconti).
  • “Strategic Management of Operating Exposure”, European Management Journal, Vol. 22 (1) February 2004,pp. 53-62 (with L. Soenen). Reprinted in P. Gangopadhyay and M. Chatterji (eds.), Economics of Globalization, Ashgate, 2005, pp. 219-234.
  • “A Knowledge Accessing Theory of Strategic Alliances”, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 41 (1), January 2004, pp. 61-84 (with C. Baden-Fuller).
  • “The Limits of Internationalization in E-commerce’, European Business Journal, Vol. 16, no. 3, 2004, pp. 95-104 (with A. Bakhru).
  • “Strategic Planning in a Turbulent Environment: Evidence from the Oil and Gas Majors” Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 24, June 2003, pp. 491-518.
  • “Are Firms Superior to Alliances and Markets? An Empirical Test of Cross-Border Knowledge Building” Organization Science, Vol. 13, 2002, pp. 147-161 (with P. Almeida and J. Song).
  • “Knowledge Management and the Knowledge-based Economy,” General Management Review, Vol. 3, January-March 2002.

Other Relevant Information

For any additional information please visit http://www.sdabocconi.it/en/faculty/grant-robert