ABOUT ME
BIOGRAPHY
| Johann Peter Murmann is Professor of Strategic Management and a director of the Institute of Management at the University of St.Gallen in Switzerland.
Previously he was a professor of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University (1997-2005) and the Australian Graduate School of Management at the UNSW Business School in Sydney (2006-2018). He was Visiting Associate Professor of Management at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania during the academic years 2011/12 and 2012/13. Most recently he was a visiting scholar at Cass Business School in London and Fudan University in Shanghai. |
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| Murmann’s research is mainly focused on studying systematically how firms gain and lose competitive advantage over long periods of time. His award-winning comparative study of the early history of the synthetic dye industry was published in 2003 by Cambridge University Press under the title Knowledge and Competitive Advantage: The Coevolution of Firms, Technology and National Institutions. | |
REVIEWS OF EARLIER BOOKS
“Murmann’s study of the synthetic dye industry puts one in mind of some grand painting by an Old Master: not only is the main scene imposingly displayed, but fascinating, well-rendered details are to be found in every corner and shadow. His account of the early decades of the industry reveals the remarkable complexity of the social processes of industrial development. At the same time, his coevolutionary perspective transcends the details, organizes this complex story in a compelling fashion and leads the reader to a deeper understanding.”
“If evolutionary models are to be successful at all in the social sciences, it is in enhancing our understanding of technological and economic performance in the past. In this pioneering work, Johann Peter Murmann does exactly that, and immediately establishes himself as one of the most innovative and bold scholars in the field. Using evolutionary theory and management science, this book sheds important light on the nineteenth-century chemical industry. This is one of the most methodologically original books in interdisciplinary history to come out in recent years.”
“Johann Peter Murmann’s book is a major contribution to our understanding of the interrelations between technological change and industry evolution. This comparative study of the emergence of the synthetic dye industry wonderfully illustrates how differences in public policy, university traditions, and industry context affect both technical as well as industrial change. Murmann’s book will have a major impact on coevolutionary theory as well as industrial policy. It is a book for researchers as well as for policy makers.”
NEW RESEARCH PROJECT
Inspired by the work of Philip Tetlock on political forecasting, we are starting forecasting tournaments at the University of St. Gallen to help improve business forecasting skills of managers.
