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Prestigious research prizes won by Oxford Saïd professors

Published

Five of the most prestigious awards in academic thought leadership have been won by professors from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

In a remarkable demonstration of research excellence, faculty from Oxford Saïd showed the strength and success of the School at this summer’s Academy of Management conference in Chicago, winning five of the top prizes and a nomination for a sixth, according to Professor Eric Zhao, Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Strategy.

Professor Zhao maintained: ‘It was amazing. Oxford has had a really big showing this year, winning the most prominent awards and sending a clear message about our research strength and success.’

The six prizes included two awards for the most-cited research in the last decade, a bi-annual award for an entire field of research, a key research impact award and a nomination for a prestigious book award. 

We have one of the strongest groupings of strategy and organisation scholars in the world at Oxford. These awards are clear signals our faculty is not just publishing in the best journals; they are conducting highly influential and impactful research.

Professor Soumitra Dutta

Dean Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

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Marya Besharov

Award winners

She said: ‘I am incredibly honoured to receive this award. It recognises the impact my 2014 Academy of Management Review article has had on the field. Writing this article transformed my thinking about how leaders manage competing demands associated with different societal expectations for how to run an organization (which we refer to in the paper as “institutional logics”). I use the ideas in my current research and teaching on a regular basis, and it is so gratifying to see that others have found them to be useful and generative as well.’

Professor Maitlis said: ‘We all want our work to have impact and this award is a lovely marker of that paper’s scholarly impact. It was a great honour to receive it.’

The achievements of our faculty at this year’s conference highlight the global impact and influence of their research.

Professor Andrew Stephen

Oxford Saïd Deputy Dean for Faculty and Research

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Richard Whittington second left
  • Richard Whittington, Professor of Strategic Management, won the Joanne Martin Trailblazer award, for pioneering the Strategy-as-Practice field of research. This prestigious award, presented biennially, honours scholars who have opened up new lines of thinking or inquiry in the field of Organisations and Management Theory.

Professor Whittington said: ‘It’s super to get this award as an Organisation and Management Theory division ‘pathfinder’. The journey started for me as far back as 1996.  With a great team of fellow pathfinders, we feel we have changed the strategy discipline in a small but significant way. It’s been fun too!’

Professor Ventresca said: ‘We are delighted and honoured to see the Journal and our research colleagues find value in this paper, one in a series that explores the infrastructure work of BRAC over many years, across many policy sectors. The focus on building gender-inclusive markets provides research insights on the plural logics that shape early markets in many sectors and also guidance for policy and practical impact in these critical efforts.'

  • Meanwhile, Akshay Mangla was shortlisted for the very prestigious George R. Terry book award for his award-winning book, Making Bureaucracy Work: Norms, Education and Public Service Delivery in Rural India. This nomination recognises the book's outstanding contribution to advancing management knowledge globally.

In addition to this year’s awards, Professor Zhao, won the Management and Organisation Review (MOR) Best Senior Editor Award for two consecutive years in 2023 and 2024. And, Tom Lawrence, Professor of Strategic Management, was the winner of the George R. Terry award in 2021 for his book: Constructing organisational life: How social-symbolic work shapes selves, organisations, and institutions.

These accolades from the Academy of Management, one of the most respected conferences in the field, are a testament to the pioneering research being conducted at Oxford Saïd.

Professor Eric Zhao

Oxford Saïd Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Strategy

The awards

The Annals Decade Award and AMR Decade Award honour the papers, published respectively in the Academy of Management Annals and Academy of Management Review, with the greatest impact on research in the last 10 years as reflected in metrics such as citations rates.

The Joanne Martin Trailblazer Award is highly prestigious and is only presented once every two years. The award recognises scholars who have taken a leadership role in the field of OMT by opening up new lines of thinking or inquiry.

The AMJ Impact Award is given annually in recognition of an Academy of Management Journal article, published at any point throughout AMJ’s history, that exemplifies the harmony of theoretical and practical contribution and is most likely to have a positive impact on individuals, groups, organisations, and society.

The George R. Terry Book Award is granted annually to the book judged to have made the most outstanding contribution to the global advancement of management knowledge during the last two years. Books that contribute to the advancement of management theory, conceptualisation, research, or practice are eligible for this prestigious award. To be considered for this award, submissions must be authored books (not edited books or textbooks) published within the preceding two years.

View the awards.