I am Associate Professor of Strategy and Economics at the Rotman Business School, University of Toronto. My primary research interest is the formal theoretical foundations of business strategy. This is a small but rapidly growing research area that uses mathematical models to analyze issues relating to value appropriation under competition (who gets what, why and for how long -- all central questions for those interested in the practice of strategy).
Articles
The Strategy Research Initiative: Recognizing and Encouraging High-quality Research in Strategy (with Joanne Oxley, Jan Rivkin, and Strategy Research Initiative), Strategic Organization (2010)
Causal Ambiguity as a Source of Sustained Capability-Based Advantages, Management Science (2009)
This paper presents the first formal examination of role of causal ambiguity as a barrier...
The Case for Formal Theory (with Ron Adner, Laszlo Polos, and Olav Sorenson), Academy of Management Review (forthcoming) (2009)
This special topic forum contains seven papers that illustrate many of the ways in which...
Empirical Implications of Information Structure in Finite-Length Extensive-Form Games. (with Jose Penalva-Zuasti), The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics (2008)
We analyze what can be inferred about a game's information structure solely from the probability...
Formal Contracts in the Presence of Relational Enforcement Mechanisms: Evidence from Technology Development Projects (with Rachelle C. Samspson), Management Science (forthcoming) (2008)
Formal contracting addresses the moral hazard problems inherent in inter-firm deals via explicit terms designed...
Contributions to Books
Do Prior Alliances Influence Alliance Contract Structure? (with Rachelle C. Sampson), Strategic Alliances (2006)
Does Strategy Need Computer Experimentation? (with Scott Page), Advances in Strategic Management (1998)
The method of computer experimentation, which explores complex social phenomena using artificial adaptive agents, has...
Unpublished Papers
Alliances Under Ambiguity: Contract Detail as an Inimitable Signal of Competence (with Rachelle C. Sampson), Working Paper (2011)
We demonstrate that contract form can affect the value of strategic alliances in the presence...
The Two Sides of Competition and Their Implications for Strategy (with Joshua S. Gans and Glenn MacDonald), Unpublished manuscript (2008)
We analyze value appropriation under competition using cooperative game theory and demonstrate that competition embodies...
Do New Competitors, New Customers, New Suppliers, ... Sustain, Destroy or Create Competitive Advantage? (with Glenn MacDonald) (2006)
A new player, e.g., an entrant, joining an existing game generally allows more value to...