Headshot of Jeff Harrison

Jeff Harrison

W. David Robbins Chair of Strategic Management
Professor of Management
  • Profile

    Jeffrey S. Harrison is a University Distinguished Educator, University Distinguished Scholar, and the W. David Robbins Chair of Strategic Management at the Robins School of Business, University of Richmond. He also received the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) Outstanding Faculty Award for his contributions to research, teaching, and service to the profession and the community. This is the highest honor given to any college-level faculty member in the state. Prior to his current appointment he served as the Fred G. Peelen Professor of Global Hospitality Strategy at Cornell University. His Ph.D. in Strategic Management is from the University of Utah.

    Dr. Harrison’s research interests include stakeholder theory and strategic management. His work has been published in high impact academic journals such as Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Business Ethics Quarterly, and Journal of Management. With over 40,000 academic citations, he is the most cited scholar in the world according to Google Scholar among scholars who publish on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and third in the world in stakeholder theory. He has fourteen published books (on his own or with co-authors). Dr. Harrison currently serves on numerous editorial boards, including Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, and Business Ethics Quarterly and has served in a variety of editor roles in top journals over the years. He also served as chair of the Stakeholder Strategy Interest Group at the Strategic Management Society, a group he helped organize. 

    In addition, Dr. Harrison has provided consulting and executive training services to over 50 organizations in the U.S. and South America on a wide range of strategic, entrepreneurial and other business issues. His clients have included Lockheed Martin, DuPont, Siemens Westinghouse, American Express, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and Volvo, among many others.

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    • Awards

      State Council of Higher Education of Virginia (SCHEV) Outstanding Faculty Award

      University of Richmond Distinguished Educator

      University of Richmond Distinguished Scholar

    • Presentations

      Harrison, J.S. 2025. Stakeholder Theory: The Forest and the Trees. Stakeholder Conference, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland, August.

      Harrison, J.S. 2025. Common sense ESG. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Copenhagen, Denmark, July.

      Harrison, J.S. 2025. Poverty. Strategic Management Society Special Conference, Palermo, Italy, May.

      Harrison, J.S., Ho, V. and Phillips, R.E. 2023. Forgiving stakeholders. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Boston, August.

      Harrison, J.S. 2023. Stakeholders and sustaining high performance in business: A systems perspective. Stakeholder Theory Conference, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, August.

      Harrison, J.S., Bosse, D.A., & Ho, V. 2021. A configurational theory of generalized exchange in stakeholder-oriented firms. Stakeholder Theory Conference, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, August. 

      Harrison, J.S. 2020. Harmful stakeholder strategies. Academy of Management Annual Meeting. Boston, August.

      Harrison, J.S. 2019. Value allocations to stakeholders. Stakeholder Theory Conference, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, August.

      Harrison, J.S. and Wicks, A.C. 2018. Evil stakeholder strategies. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Chicago, August.

      Bosse, D.A., Harrison, J.S. and Hosskisson, R.E. 2018. Stakeholder economies of scope. Strategic Management Society Annual Meeting, Paris, September.

    • Memberships

      Academy of Management

      Strategic Management Society

    • Professional Experience

      Previous positions include:
      Peelen Professor of Global Hospitality Strategy, Cornell University. (August 2002 - June 2004).

      Professor of Management, University of Central Florida. (May 1993 - June 2002).

    • Institutional Service

      Editorial Review Board, Strategic Management Journal, 2010-present.

      Editorial Review Board, Academy of Management Review, 2017-2021 and 2023-present.

      Editorial Review Board, Business Ethics Quarterly, 2014-present.           

      Editorial Review Board, RBGN Review of Business Management (Brazil), 2014-present. 

      Editorial Review Board, Annals in Social Responsibility, 2013-present.

      Section Editor, Journal of Business Ethics, 2017-2024.

      Senior Editor, Oxford Research Encyclopedia, 2020-2021.

      Guest co-editor for special issue on “Stakeholder Theory in Entrepreneurship” at Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2018-2021.   

      Guest co-editor for a special issue on “Stakeholder Theory at the Crossroads” at Business & Society, 2016-2018

      Guest co-editor for a special issue on “Social Welfare” at Academy of Management Review, 2014-2016.

      Guest co-editor for a special issue on “Stakeholder Theory in Multiple Contexts” at Review of Business Management (Revista Brasileira de Gestão de Negócios—RBGN), 2013-2015.

      Guest associate editor for a special issue on “Re-thinking the Firm in a Post-crisis World,” at European Management Review, 2009-2010.

      Guest co-editor for a special issue on “Democracy in and Around Organizations,” Academy of Management Perspectives, 2002-2004. 

      Guest co-editor for a special issue on “Stakeholders, Social Responsibility and Performance”, Academy of Management Journal, 1997-1999

      Editorial Review Board, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 2002-2005 

      Editorial Review Board, Academy of Management Journal, 1996-2004. 

      Editorial Review Board, Academy of Management Perspectives, 1991-2004.

  • Publications
    Books

    Harrison, J.S. 2025. Sustaining High Performance in Business: Systems, Resources, and Stakeholders, 2nd Edition. New York, NY: Business Expert Press. 

    Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.D., Hoskisson, R.E., and Harrison, J.S. 2024. Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalization, 14th Ed. Boston: Cengage Learning.

    Harrison, J.S., Barney, J.B., Freeman, R.E. and Phillips R.A. (Eds). 2019. Cambridge Handbook of Stakeholder Theory, Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

    Freeman, R.E., Harrison, J.S. and Zyglidopoulos, S. 2018. Stakeholder Theory. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

    Harrison, J.S. and Thompson, S.M. 2015. Strategic Management of Healthcare Organizations: A Stakeholder Management Approach. New York, NY: Business Expert Press.

    Harrison, J.S. and St. John, C.H.  2014.  Foundations in Strategic Management, 6th Ed.  Independence, KY: Cengage/South-Western.

    Hoskisson, R.E., Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.D. and Harrison, J.S. 2013. Competing for Advantage, 3rd Ed.  Independence, KY: Cengage/South-Western.

    Freeman, R.E., Harrison, J.S., Wicks, A.C., Parmar, B. and de Colle, S. 2010. Stakeholder Theory: The State of the Art, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Freeman, R.E., Harrison, J.S. and Wicks, A.C. 2007. Managing for Stakeholders: Survival, Reputation and Success, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Harrison, J.S. and Enz, C. 2005 Hospitality Strategic Management, New York:  Wiley

    Harrison, J.S. 2003.  Strategic Management of Resources and Relationships, New York:  Wiley.

    Hitt, M.A., Harrison, J.S. and Ireland, R.D., 2001. Mergers and Acquisitions:  A Guide to Creating Value for Stakeholders, New York:  Oxford University Press. 

    Hitt, M.A. Freeman, R.E., and Harrison, J.S., eds. 2001.  Blackwell Handbook of Strategic Management, Oxford, U.K.:  Blackwell Publishers LTD. 

    Harrison, J.S. and St. John, C.H.  1998.  Strategic Management of Organizations and Stakeholders:  Concepts and Cases, 2nd Ed.  Cincinnati, OH:  South-Western Publishing Co. (also published separately as concepts or cases).

    Journal Articles

    Harrison, J.S., Ho, V., & Phillips, R.A. 2024. Forgiving stakeholders. Academy of Management Perspectives, forthcoming.

    Harrison, J.S., & Montague-Mfuni, M. 2024. Evaluating implementation processes and activities: A systems-based stakeholder approach. Organizational Dynamics, forthcoming.

    Harrison, J.S., Yu, X., & Zhang, Z. 2023. Consistency among common measures of corporate social and sustainability performance. Journal of Cleaner Production, 391, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136232.

    Harrison, J. S., Ho, V., Bosse, D.A., & Crilly, D. 2023. A configurational theory of generalized exchange in stakeholder-oriented firms. Academy of Management Perspectives, 37: 16-36. 

    Bosse, D.A., Harrison, J.S., Pollack, J.M., & Schrempf-Stirling, J. 2022. Entrepreneurial opportunities as responsibility. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587211069374

    Dacin, M.T., Harrison, J.S., Hess, D., Killian, S., & Roloff, J. 2022. Business versus ethics? Thoughts on the future of business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 180(3): 863-877.

    Bosse, D.A., Harrison, J.S., & Hoskisson, R.E. 2022. Acquisitions, stakeholder economies of scope, and stakeholder orientation. Strategic Management Review, 3(1), 35-65.

    Laplume, A.O., Harrison, J.S., Zhang, Z., Yu, X., & Walker, K. 2022. Evidence of an Inverted U–shaped relationship between stakeholder management performance variation and firm performance. Business Ethics Quarterly, 32(2): 243-271. 

    Harrison, J.S. and Wicks, A.C. 2021. Harmful stakeholder strategies. Journal of Business Ethics, 169(3): 405-419.

    Harrison, J.S., Phillips, R.A. and Freeman, R.E. 2020. On the 2019 Business Roundtable Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation. Journal of Management, 46(7): 1223-1237.

    Barney, J.B. and Harrison, J.S. 2020. Stakeholder theory at the crossroads. Business & Society, 59(2): 203-212. 

    Harrison, J.S., Felps, W., and Jones, T.M. 2019. Instrumental stakeholder theory makes ethically-based relationship building palatable to managers focused on the bottom line. Academy of Management Review, 44(3): 698-700.

    Jones, T.M., Harrison, J.S. and Felps, W. 2018. How applying instrumental stakeholder theory can provide sustainable competitive advantage. Academy of Management Review, 43(3): 349-370.  

    Harrison, J.S., Banks, G.C., Pollack, J.M., O’Boyle, E.H. and Short, J. 2017. Publication bias in Strategic Management research. Journal of Management, 43(2): 400-425.

    Harrison, J.S. and Berman, S. 2016. Corporate social performance and economic cycles. Journal of Business Ethics, 138(2): 279-294.

    Jones, T.M., Donaldson, T., Freeman, R.E., Harrison, J.S., Leana, C.R., Mahoney, J.T. and Pearce, J.L. 2016. Management theory and social welfare: Contributions and challenges. Academy of Management Review, 41: 216-228.

    Ingerson, M.-C., Agle, B.R., Donaldson, T., Godfrey, P.C., Harris, J.D., Harrison, J.S., Keevil, A., Mitchell, R.K. and Phillips, R. 2016. Normative stakeholder capitalism: Getting from here to there. Business & Professional Ethics Journal, 35(1): 1-23.

    Harrison, J.S., and Van der Laan Smith, J. 2015. Responsible accounting for stakeholders. Journal of Management Studies, 52(7): 935-960.

    Harrison, J. S., Freeman, R. E., Sa de Abreu, M. C. 2015. Stakeholder theory as an ethical approach to effective management: Applying the theory to multiple contexts. RBGN Review of Business Management (Brazilian), 17(55): 858-869.

    Additional Publications

    Harrison, J.S. 2023. Performance. In Rendtorff, J.D., and Bonnafous-Boucher, M. (Eds.) Encyclopedia of Stakeholder Management, 251-254. Gloster, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing LTD.

    Harrison, J.S., Wicks, S.A., & Palmie, M. 2022. Stakeholders are human: The micro-foundations of stakeholder theory and an application to the value distribution problem. In Dion, M., Freeman, R.E., & Dmytriyev, S.D. (Eds.) Humanizing Business: What Humanities Can Say to Business, 529-558. Switzerland: Springer Nature. 

    Hoskisson, R.E., and Harrison, J.S. 2021. Keep the conversation going: Theory and method in strategic management. In Duhaime, I.M., Hitt, M.A., and Lyles, M.A. (Eds.) Strategic Management: State of the Field and Its Future, 19-40. New York: Oxford University Press. 

    Jones, T.M. and Harrison, J.S. 2019. Sustainable wealth creation: Applying instrumental stakeholder theory to the improvement of social welfare. In Harrison, J.S., Barney, J.B., Freeman, R.E. and Phillips R.A. (Eds). 2019. Cambridge Handbook of Stakeholder Theory, 72-91. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

    Harrison, J.S. and Wicks, A. 2019. Stakeholder management: A managerial perspective. In McWilliams, A., Rupp, D.E., Siegel, D., Stahl, G. and Waldman, D. (Eds.)  The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility: Psychological and Organizational Perspectives, 433-451. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Phillips, R.A., Barney, J.B., Freeman, R.E. and Harrison, J.S. 2019. Stakeholder theory. In Harrison, J.S., Barney, J.B., Freeman, R.E. and Phillips R.A. (Eds). 2019. Cambridge Handbook of Stakeholder Theory, 1-16. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

    Harrison, J.S. 2019.  Stakeholders. In Griffin, R. (Ed.) Oxford Bibliographies in Management Studies, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/OBO/9780199846740-0096

    Wicks, A. and Harrison, J.S. 2017. Towards a more productive dialogue between stakeholder theory and strategic management. In Wasieleski, D.M. and Weber, J., Eds. Stakeholder Management, 249-274. UK: Emerald Publishing.