Nicolai Juul Foss

Nicolai Juul Foss is a Professor of Strategy at the Department of Strategy and Innovation at Copenhagen Business School (CBS), with additional appointments as Honorary Adjunct Professor at Southern Denmark University, External Chair at the Danish Institute for Advanced Studies (2020-2025), and Professor II at the Norwegian School of Economics. A Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog, he has established himself as one of the most influential scholars in business and management.

Trained as an economist at Copenhagen University (M.Sc., 1989), Foss received his PhD from Copenhagen Business School in 1993. His academic journey includes progression from Assistant to Associate to Full Professor at CBS, followed by his role as Rodolfo Debenedetti Chaired Professor of Entrepreneurship at Bocconi University (2016-2019). He has maintained numerous visiting positions globally, including at Warwick Business School, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Norwegian School of Economics.

Foss's research spans strategic management (particularly resource-based view and micro-foundations), organizational design (focusing on knowledge processes and open innovation), entrepreneurship theory, and social science methodology. His work has achieved extraordinary impact with approximately 60,000 Google Scholar citations and an H-index of 116, ranking him as the 13th most cited living business administration scholar worldwide. He has been a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher since 2018.

His scholarly contributions appear in top-tier journals including Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, and Journal of International Business Studies, with many works translated into multiple languages and featured in Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Fortune.

• Member of Academia Europaea (2012)
• Fellow of the Strategic Management Society
• Research.com Business and Management in Denmark Leader Award (2022-2025)
• Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog
• Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher (since 2018)
• Best Danish economist by Børsen (2013-2015)

Foss founded CBS's Department of Strategic Management and Globalization in 2005, serving as its Director until 2015 while managing two 'World Class Environment' programs. His leadership extends to the European Research Council panel and Strategic Management Society Board. With 266 journal articles, 109 book chapters, and 26 books, his scholarly influence continues to shape strategic management theory and organizational design globally.