Clay Dibrell

Clay Dibrell is a Professor of Management and Chair of Entrepreneurial Excellence at the University of Mississippi’s School of Business Administration. He also serves as Co-Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and is a U.S. Fulbright Scholar. His expertise spans entrepreneurship, family businesses, innovation, strategic management, and international business.

Education includes a B.S. from Lambuth College (1990), an M.B.A. from the University of Memphis (1992), and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Memphis (2000). He teaches courses such as Family Business Management, Strategic Planning, and Entrepreneurship at undergraduate, MBA, doctoral, and EMBA levels globally, including in the U.S., Europe, and Australia.

Research focuses on family firm innovativeness, governance, and socioemotional wealth. His work explores strategic change, exit strategies, and the interplay between family commitment and innovation. He has published in leading journals like Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice and Family Business Review.

Awarded the U.S. Fulbright Scholarship, he contributes to editorial boards and special issue curation. His advisory work includes innovation strategies for high-tech and natural resource industries. He emphasizes integrating family dynamics with business strategy, balancing institutional environments and firm performance.