Jay Barney

Jay Barney is the Presidential Professor of Strategic Management and Pierre Lassonde Chair of Social Entrepreneurship in the Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy at the University of Utah's David Eccles School of Business. Previously holding the Chase Chair for Excellence in Corporate Strategy at Ohio State University, he is a foundational scholar in strategic management renowned for developing the resource-based view of the firm.

Education:

• Doctor of Philosophy, Yale University
• Master of Arts, Yale University
• Bachelor of Science, Brigham Young University

Barney's research revolutionized strategic management through his seminal work on how costly-to-copy firm resources create sustained competitive advantage, establishing the VRIN (Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, Non-substitutable) framework. His scholarship bridges strategic management and entrepreneurship, examining opportunity formation processes, social entrepreneurship for poverty alleviation, and the philosophical foundations of entrepreneurial research. Current work increasingly focuses on integrating social impact with strategic advantage, particularly through industrialization solutions to poverty and stakeholder engagement under uncertainty.

Analysis of his 2012-2016 publications reveals three dominant research streams: (1) theoretical extensions of resource-based theory into human capital, IT capabilities, and multinational contexts; (2) philosophical and methodological foundations of entrepreneurship research; and (3) social entrepreneurship applications addressing poverty and public interest. These works consistently appear in top-tier journals including Strategic Management Journal and Academy of Management Review, demonstrating rigorous theoretical development coupled with practical implications for organizational strategy.

Scientific Awards:

• SMS Fellow
• Fellow of the Academy of Management
• Honorary Doctorate from University of Lund
• Honorary Doctorate from Copenhagen Business School
• Honorary Doctorate from Universidad Pontificia Comillas

As a dedicated educator, Barney teaches doctoral seminars and strategy courses while mentoring PhD students in strategic management and entrepreneurship. His professional impact extends through executive training programs across North America and Europe, and strategic consulting engagements focused on organizational transformation. He has significantly shaped the field through editorial leadership as associate editor of Journal of Management, senior editor of Organization Science, and co-editor of Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, while serving in officer roles for both the Strategic Management Society and Academy of Management's Business Policy and Strategy Division.

Barney's research activities are closely integrated with the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute at the University of Utah, where his social entrepreneurship chair supports initiatives connecting strategic management principles with poverty alleviation efforts and opportunity creation in resource-constrained environments.