Skip to Content
Strategy Faculty
Welcome to the Krannert PhD Program in Strategic Management!
Producing world-class scholars and teachers
Rawls Building
Welcome to the Krannert PhD Program in Strategic Management!
Producing world-class scholars and teachers
Purdue Engineering Fountain
Welcome to the Krannert PhD Program in Strategic Management!
Producing world-class scholars and teachers

Strengths of our PhD Program

As the very first independent doctoral program in strategy (formally started in 1971), Purdue holds a unique place in the field of strategic management. Our Ph.D. program is strongly research oriented. Students are provided opportunities to be fully engaged in research projects from the beginning of their program. The structure of our program is focused not only on formal seminars but also the craft of scholarship through apprentice style–working relationships. We have an intentionally small program in order to foster faculty and student interaction. As a result, our students have published in the top journals in the field, frequently presented at conferences, and have won numerous awards for their research. Our Ph.D. students receive generous financial support via stipends for living expenses and research budgets. Some of the key distinctive features of our program include:

Our Legacy

Purdue holds a unique place in the field of strategic management for numerous reasons:

  • Birthplace of independent doctoral program in strategy (formally started in 1971)
  • The creator of the Strategic Management Journal (SMJ), the first independent - and still premiere - research journal in the field (1981)
  • Founder of the research conference/society Strategic Management Society (1980)
  • Some of the very first large-sample scientific research studies in strategy were conducted by the faculty and students at Purdue (e.g., Hatten and Schendel, 1977; Hatten, Schendel and Cooper, 1978)

We continue to uphold this founding spirit by innovating and "disrupting" the field consistently. 

Quality of Faculty

Purdue’s Strategic Management area houses a productive and cohesive group of faculty who consistently publish in top journals, win teaching accolades and are recognized by the field for their distinction. Check out the video featuring one of our faculty.

Krannert Strategic Management Faculty’s publications (FT journals since 2016)

Schmidt, J., Makadok, R., & Keil, T. 2016. Customer‐specific synergies and market convergence. Strategic Management Journal, 37: 870–895. 

Bertrand, O., & Lumineau, F. 2016. Partners in crime: The effects of diversity on the longevity of cartels. Academy of Management Journal, 59: 983–1008.

Lumineau, F. & Verbeke, A. 2016. Let’s Give Opportunism the Proper Back Seat. Academy of Management Review, 41: 739-741. 

Lumineau, F. 2017. How contracts influence trust and distrust. Journal of Management, 43: 1553–1577. 

Lee, J. M., Hwang, B. H., & Chen, H. 2017. Are founder CEOs more overconfident than professional CEOs? Evidence from S&P 1500 companies. Strategic Management Journal, 38: 751–769. 

Lee, J. M., & Kapoor, R. 2017. Complementarities and coordination: Implications for governance mode and performance of multiproduct firms. Organization Science, 28: 931–946. 

Oliveira, O., & Lumineau, F. 2017. How coordination trajectories influence the performance of interorganizational project networks. Organization Science, 28: 1029–1060. 

Ozmel, U., Yavuz, D., Reuer, J., & Zenger, T. 2017. Network prominence, bargaining power, and the allocation of value capturing rights in high-tech alliance contracts. Organization Science, 28: 947–964. 

Ozmel, U., Reuer, J. J., & Wu, C. W. 2017. Interorganizational imitation and acquisitions of high‐tech ventures. Strategic Management Journal, 38: 2647–2665. 

Byun, H., Frake, J., & Agarwal, R. 2018. Leveraging who you know by what you know: Specialists, generalists, and returns to relational capital. Strategic Management Journal, 39: 1803–1833. 

Makadok, R., Burton, R., & Barney, J. 2018. A practical guide for making theory contributions in strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 39: 1530–1545. 

Cao, Z., Li, Y., Jayaram, J., Liu, Y., & Lumineau, F. 2018. A meta-analysis of the exchange hazards–interfirm governance relationship: An informal institutions perspective. Journal of International Business Studies, 49: 303–323. 

Makadok, R., & Ross, D. G. 2018. Losing by winning: The danger zone of adverse competitor replacement. Strategic Management Journal, 39: 1990–2013. 

Schilke, O., & Lumineau, F. 2018. The double-edged effect of contracts on alliance performance. Journal of Management, 44: 2827–2858. 

Pfarrer, M. D., Devers, C. E., Corley, K., Cornelissen, J. P., Lange, D., Makadok, R., Mayer, K., & Weber, L. 2019. Sociocognitive perspectives in strategic management. Academy of Management Review, 44: 767–774. 

Byun, H., Raffiee, J., & Ganco, M. 2019. Discontinuities in the value of relational capital: The effects on employee entrepreneurship and mobility. Organization Science, 30: 1368–1393. 

Ozmel, U., Trombley, T. E., & Yavuz, M. D. 2019. Outside insiders: Does access to information prior to an IPO generate a trading advantage after the IPO? Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 54: 303–334. 

Oliveira, O., & Lumineau, F. 2019. The dark side of interorganizational relationships: An integrative review and research agenda. Journal of Management, 45: 231–261. 

Ryu, W., Reuer, J. J., & Brush, T. H. 2020. The effects of multimarket contact on partner selection for technology cooperation. Strategic Management Journal, 41: 267–289. 

Raffiee, J., & Byun, H. 2020. Revisiting the portability of performance paradox: Employee mobility and the utilization of human and social capital resources. Academy of Management Journal. 63(1): 34–63. 

Wilden, R., Hohberger, J., Devinney, T., & Lumineau, F. 2020. 60 years of March and Simon’s organizations: An empirical examination of its impact and influence on subsequent research. Journal of Management Studies, 56: 1570–1604. 

Lumineau, F., Wang, W., & Schilke, O. 2020. Blockchain governance—A new way of organizing collaborations? Organization Science, forthcoming. 

Ozmel, U., Yavuz, D., Trombley, T., & Gulati, R. 2020. Interfirm Ties Between Ventures and Limited Partners of Venture Capital Funds: Performance Effects in Financial Markets. Organization Science, 31: 698–719. 

Keller, A., Lumineau, F., Mellewigt, T., & Ariño, A. 2020. Alliance governance mechanisms in the face of disruption. Organization Science, forthcoming. 

Intensive Collaboration with the Faculty

The hallmark of PhD student mentorship at Purdue is cultivated organically from high quality PhD research seminars and research assistantships aiming to develop faculty-mentored collaborative research projects. Some recent articles produced from this partnership include but are not limited to:

Bae, J., & Lee, J. Forthcoming. “How Technological Overlap between Spinouts and Parent Firms Affects Corporate Venture Capital Investments in Spinouts: The Role of Competitive Tension.” Academy of Management Journal.

Lumineau, F., Wang, W., & Schilke, O. Forthcoming. “Blockchain Governance—A New Way of Organizing Collaborations?” Organization Science.

Lee, J., Yoon, D. & Boivie, S. 2019. “Founder CEO succession: The role of CEO organizational identification.” Academy of Management Journal.

Ryu, W., Reuer, J.J., & Brush, T. H. 2019. "The effects of multimarket contact on partner selection for technology cooperation." Strategic Management Journal.

Ryu, W., McCann, B.T., & Reuer, J.J. 2018. "Geographic co-location of partners and rivals: Implications for the design of R&D alliances," Academy of Management Journal, 61(3): 945-965.

Devarakonda, S. V., McCann, B. T., & Reuer, J.J. 2018. “Marshallian forces and governance externalities: Location effects on contractual safeguards in research and development alliances,” Organization Science, 29(6), 1112-1129.

Devarakonda, S. V. & Reuer, J.J 2018. “Knowledge sharing and safeguarding in R&D collaborations: The role of steering committees in biotechnology alliances,” Strategic Management Journal, 39(7), 1912-1934.

Ozmel, U., Reuer, J.J., & Wu, C.-W. 2017, “Interorganizational imitation and acquisitions of high-tech ventures” Strategic Management Journal, 38(13): 2647-2665.

Pro-seminar Meetings

All the faculty and students of the Strategic Management area convene round-the-year for pro-seminar meetings in an intimate setting to brainstorm research ideas, critically evaluate developments in the field and nurture academic partnerships. Here are some examples of specific activities.

Career Placements

Our PhD graduates have been very competitive on the job market. They continuously get placed in faculty positions at top-tier research-oriented business schools around the world. More information about our graduates’ job placements!

A "Strategy-Focused" PhD Program

We ruthlessly focus on being a "strategist's strategist" program that asks appropriate questions about how to create and capture value and how to develop, nurture, and sustain competitive advantage within our nuanced and detailed research pursuits.

Quantitative Approach

Our Strategic Management program also benefits from a quantitative tradition through a diverse set of empirical methodologies, formal modelling, and simulation methods.

Tapping Purdue's Strengths as a STEM Savvy School

Because research on technology commercialization, innovation, and entrepreneurship represents an important and growing branch of the strategic management field, our program takes full advantage of Purdue’s status as a world leader in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Purdue has excellent research and analytical resources such as one of the world's most powerful supercomputers, magnetic resonance imaging facilities, and experimental laboratories (including the Vernon Smith experimental laboratory at Krannert). Furthermore, through our partnerships with Purdue’s Discovery Park and the Purdue Foundry business incubator, students have direct and easy access to study innovation and entrepreneurship as they occur in real time. In the near future, we plan to expand and deepen these opportunities by creating a research center for the study of technology commercialization.

Our alumnus shares his experience at Krannert.