Ken G. Smith Directory Page

Ken G. Smith is professor emeritus at the University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business. He formerly held the Dean’s Chair in Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship. He is internationally well-known for his research in competition, competitive advantage and strategic decision making. His research has been published in leading scholarly journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, Organization Science and Strategic Management. He has co-authored two books: “Dynamics of Competitive Strategy” (Sage Publishing, 1992) and “Strategy as Action: Competitive Dynamics and Competitive Advantage” (Oxford Publishing, 2005), and co-edited “The International Handbook of Organizational Teamwork and Cooperative Working” (Wiley & Sons, 2003) and “Great Minds in Management” (Oxford Publishing, 2005). Smith’s research has earned over 45,000 citations (Google Scholar) and he has published with 40 different doctoral students and junior (un-tenured) faculty.

Smith’s research has garnered a number of awards, including the Academy of Management Journal's best paper award in 2001. During the same year, he won the best published paper award from the organizational behavior division of the Academy of Management. In 2001 and 2003, he won the best paper award from the Journal of Management. Over his career, Smith has published over 80 articles, 14 of which were published in the Financial Times top 50 management journals, which are used by the Financial Times to rank global MBA programs around the world.

In 1991, Smith served as a Fulbright Fellow in strategic management at the University of Limerick in Plassey, Ireland. In 2000, he was a visiting professor of strategy at INSEAD and he was a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in spring 2007.

A former entrepreneur and CEO in the machine tool and marine industries, Smith is well known to University of Maryland business school students for his exceptional teaching. He is a three-time winner of the Krowe Award for outstanding teaching from the school, and in 1996, he was granted the University of Maryland Distinguished Scholar Teacher Award. In 2011, Smith won the Distinguished Educator Award from the Academy of Management. From 1996-1999, he served as editor of the Academy of Management Review. He was elected a fellow in the Academy of Management in 1998 and was also elected a fellow in the Strategic Management Society in 2006. He was elected and served as president of the Academy of Management from 2006 to 2007. The Academy of Management is the preeminent professional association for management and organizational scholars, with over 21,000 members around the world.

Smith now lives with his wife Laurie and dog Lola, in Wakefield, Rhode Island, after 30 great years at the University of Maryland.