Strategic Management Journal Best Paper Prize Renamed
The Strategic Management Journal Best Paper Prize, which is generously supported by Wiley-Blackwell, has been renamed "The Dan and Mary Lou Schendel Best Paper Award". The new name recognizes the many contributions Dan and Mary Lou Schendel have made to the Journal, the Strategic Management Society and the community of Strategic Management scholars. Dan and Mary Lou founded and built both the Strategic Management Journal and the Strategic Management Society. They invested substantial “sweat capital” in both institutions at a time when there was no journal or society devoted to strategy research, essentially putting into place the infrastructure of the profession.
It is important to recognize the dual role of Mary Lou and Dan. Together, they have been both the face and the voice of the Journal and the Society. This has been a true joint effort, which could not have succeeded with only one member of this remarkable pair.
In addition to his contributions via the SMJ and the SMS, Dan has made fundamental research contributions to strategic management literature. Dan’s own work on strategy frameworks, strategic groups, and other topics are central contributions to the field. In addition – and equally importantly -- he has made indirect research contributions through his many doctoral students, several of whom have distinguished themselves in their own right. Dan was instrumental in establishing one of the earliest doctoral programs in strategic management research at Purdue University, where Dan holds the Blake Family Endowed Chair in Strategic Management. The Purdue Ph.D. program remains central to the field and continues to turn out outstanding scholars today.
The renamed award was presented for the first time at the 2007 annual meeting of the Strategic Management Society in San Diego. The winners of the inaugural Dan and Mary Lou Schendel Best Paper Award were Kathy Eisenhardt of Stanford University and Jeff Martin of the University of Texas at Austin, for the “Dynamic Capabilities: What Are They?” which appeared in SMJ Volume 21, Number 10-11 in October- November 2000.
Click here to view past winners of The Dan and Mary Lou Schendel Best Paper Award.