Robert A. Burgelman
The Edmund W. Littlefield Professor of Management
Research Statement
Teaching Statement
Bio
Professor Burgelman is the Edmund W. Littlefield Professor of Management and the Executive Director of the Stanford Executive Program (SEP). He joined the Stanford Business School as an Assistant Professor in 1981. He obtained a Licenciate degree in Applied Economics from Antwerp University (Belgium), an MA in Sociology and a Ph.D. in Management of Organizations from Columbia University, where he studied with doctoral fellowships from the Ford Foundation (US) and ICM (Belgium). He was elected a Fellow of the Strategic Management Society and a Fellow of the Academy of Management.
His research has focused on the role of strategy-making in firm evolution. In particular, he has studied the strategy-making processes involved in how companies enter into new businesses and exit from existing ones to secure continued adaptation. In 2003 he received an honorary doctorate from the Copenhagen Business School for his contributions to the study of corporate innovation and entrepreneurship. Professor Burgelman has been on the faculty of Antwerp University, New York University, Harvard Business School (as a Marvin Bower Fellow), and Cambridge University (as a Visiting Professor of Marketing Strategy and Innovation at the Judge Business School). He has been elected a Fellow of the Strategic Management Society and a Fellow of the Academy of Management. He has published many articles in leading academic and professional journals, as well as some 145 case studies of companies and organizations in many different industries.
He has published articles in leading academic and professional journals, and his books include Inside Corporate Innovation: Strategy, Structure, and Managerial Skills (Free Press, 1986), Research of Technological Innovation, Management and Policy (JIA Press, Elsevier; Volume 4, 1989; Volume 5, 1993; Volume 6, 1997; and Volume 7, 2001), Strategy is Destiny: How Strategy-Making Shapes a Company’s Future (Free Press, 2002), Strategic Dynamics: Concepts and Cases (McGraw-Hill, 2006), and Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation (5th edition, McGraw-Hill-Irwin, 2009). Professor Burgelman has served as an Associate Editor of the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal from 2007 till 2014. He has taught executive programs and led senior and top management seminars for major companies worldwide. He has also served on boards of directors and boards of advisors of several private companies.
Academic Degrees
- PhD in Management of Organizations, Graduate School of Business, Columbia University, 1980
- MPhil in Management of Organizations, Graduate School of Business, Columbia University, 1978
- MA in Sociology, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Columbia University, 1978
- Licenciate, Applied Economic Sciences, Antwerp University (UFSIA), 1969
Academic Appointments
- At Stanford University since 1981
- Instructor–Assistant Professor, New York University, 1978–81
- Visiting Lecturer, State University of New York, 1976–77
- Instructor, Antwerp University, 1970–73
Awards and Honors
- Honorary Doctorate in Economics (Doctor Honoris Causa), University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, May 2017
- BP Faculty Fellow in Global Management for 2015–16
- Elected Fellow of the Academy of Management, 2012
- Elected a Fellow of the Strategic Management Society (2008) and of the Academy of Management (2012)
- 2012-13 BP Faculty Fellow in Global Management, Stanford Business School
- Visiting Professor, Judge Business School, and Visiting Scholar, Sydney Sussex College, Cambridge University, 2009
- Dr. Mercaturae Honoris Causa, Copenhagen Business School, 2003
- Marvin Bower Fellow, Harvard Business School, 1992
- Outstanding Paper Award, Division of Business Policy and Planning, Academy of Management, 1984
- Certificate of Distinction for Outstanding Research in the Field of Strategic Management, Academy of Management and General Electric Company, 1980
Publications
Journal Articles
Books
Working Papers
Academic Publications
Teaching
Degree Courses
Executive Education & Other Non-Degree Programs
Other Teaching
Programs and Non-Degree Courses
Stanford Case Studies
Stanford GSB Affiliations
- Executive Director Stanford Executive Program 1996–2015
Service to the Profession
- Editorial Board, California Management Review
- Fellow, Academy of Management
- Fellow, Strategic Management Society
- Associate Editor, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal - 2007-2014.