Baron began his academic career at Northwestern University where he taught for thirteen years in the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He joined Stanford GSB in 1981. He has also been a visiting professor at the Université d’Aix-en-Provence in France, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, Harvard University, and the California Institute of Technology. At Stanford, he is The David S. and Ann M. Barlow Professor of Political Economy and Strategy, Emeritus at Stanford Graduate School of Business, and professor of economics and professor of political science by courtesy at Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences. He received a BS from the University of Michigan, an MBA from Harvard University, and a doctorate in business administration from Indiana University. In 2005, he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium.

Baron has taught in MBA, PhD, and Executive Education programs, receiving the MBA teaching award at Kellogg and the PhD teaching award at Stanford GSB. He has been an innovator in the field of business and its social, political, and legal environment, and is the author of the leading textbook in the field. In 2007, he received the lifetime achievement award from the Aspen Institute.

His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, Bureau of Health Services Research, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Citicorp Behavioral Sciences Research Council. He is a fellow of the Econometric Society and has served on the board of editors of American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, Business and Politics, and Decision Sciences.