Alfonso Gambardella
I am Professor of Corporate Management at the Department of Management & Technology, Bocconi University, Milan, and Co-Director of the ION Management Science Lab at the SDA Bocconi School of Management. I obtained my PhD from the Department of Economics at Stanford University in 1991. My research has focused on the economics and management of technological innovations, the technology strategies of firms, and more recently I have embarked in a long-term research program on strategic decision-making under uncertainty.
I am currently Department Editor of Business Strategy at Management Science, a Fellow of the Strategic Management Society (SMS), and a Research Fellow of the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR).
In 2021, I obtained a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant entitled 'A Scientific Approach to Innovation Management (SAIM) ' (2021-2026).
In 2023, I received the TIM Distinguished Scholar Award from the Technology and Innovation Management Division of the US Academy of Management.
For many years I have studied the implications of innovation activities for firm strategies, market structure, and economic growth more generally. Given the uncertainty surrounding innovation decisions, both in firms and economies, I have recently become interested in how firms and entrepreneurs can make better decisions under uncertainty. Through a series of randomized control trials, conducted with Arnaldo Camuffo and other colleagues, we have demonstrated that decision-makers employing a scientific approach (theory and tests) make better decisions. The ION Management Science Lab at SDA Bocconi has taken up this stream of research with the aim at providing micro-foundation for management and strategy, particularly in the context of the ongoing digital revolution. The Lab also focuses on how to make our scientific understanding of strategic decision-making processes practical and useful to managers and entrepreneurs to make their decisions.
Does a Theory of Value Add Value? Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial with Tanzianian Entrepreneurs
Organization Science, forthcomingDesign-Based and Theory-Based Approaches to Strategic Decisions
Organization Science, forthcomingTheory-Driven Strategic Management Decisions
Strategy Science, forthcomingA Scientific Method for Startups: Comparing Lean and the Theory-Based View
Journal of Management, 50 (8), 3080-3104, 2024A Scientific Approach to Entrepreneurial Decision-Making: Large-Scale Replication and Extension
Strategic Management Journal, 45 (6), 1209-1237, 2024Scientific Decision-Making, Project Selection and Longer-Term Outcomes
Research Policy, 53 (6), 105022, 2024To Commercialize Inside or Outside of the Firm: Behavioral Considerations in Patent Exploitation by Family Firms
Strategic Management Journal, 45 (6), 875–901, 2024.Private and Social Functions of Patents: Innovation, Markets, and New Firms
Research Policy, 52 (7), 104806, 2023Framing Strategic Decision in a Digital World
Strategic Management Review, 4 (2), 127-160, 2023Value Lab: A Tool for Entrepreneurial Strategy
Management & Business Review, 01 (02), 68-76 (October), 2021Profiting from Enabling Technologies
Strategy Science, 6 (1), 75-90, 2021Lean Startup and the Business Model: Experimentation Revisited
Long Range Planning, 53 (4), 101889, 2020Managing Autonomy in Industrial R&D: A Project-Level Investigation
Organization Science, Vol. 31 (1), 165-181, 2020A Scientific Approach to Entrepreneurial Decision-Making: Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial
Management Science, 66 (2), 564-586, 2020Specializing in General-Purpose Technologies as a Firm Long-Term Strategy
Industrial and Corporate Change, 28 (2), 351-364, 2019Open-Sourcing as a Profit-Maximizing Strategy for Downstream Firms
Strategy Science, Vol. 4 (1), 41-57, 2019Specializing in Generality: Firm Strategies When Intermediate Markets Work
Organization Science, 30 (1), 126-150, 2019The Economic Value of Patent Portfolios
Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, 26 (4), 735-756, 2017The User Innovation Paradigm: Implications for Markets and Welfare
Management Science, 63 (5), 1450-1468, 2017Bribery and Investment: Firm-level Evidence from Africa and Latin America,”
Strategic Management Journal, 37 (9), 1865-1877, 2016Strategic Incentives to Human Capital
Strategic Management Journal, 36 (1), 37-52, 2015I teach three Master courses on innovation management and decision-making. Under different angles and technicalities, they show why and how a scientific approach, based on theoretical framing of problems and tests using data, help managers and entrepreneurs to make better decisions. I also teach two executive courses on the topic, adapted to this audience. Finally, I teach a PhD course that tries to help students to use econometrics for business analysis.