Edward Smith

Ned Smith is an Associate Professor of Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management, Associate Professor (by courtesy) of Sociology, core faculty member of the Northwestern Institute for Complexity (NICO), and faculty associate at the Northwestern Institute for Policy Research. Prior to joining Northwestern, Ned was the NBD Bancorp Assistant Professor of Strategy at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 2010 (specializing in sociology and economics) and BAs in Political Science and Chinese literature & language from Yale University in 2003.

Ned has three main areas of research. First, he studies the effects of social structure on the behavior and decision-making of individuals and organizations. His research in this area has been financially supported by the Kauffman Foundation. Related articles on investor decision-making ("Identities as lenses") and market responses to new executive appointments ("Better in the Shadows") have received the two primary Best Paper Awards given by the Academy of Management. Second, Ned works to connect research on cognitive processes and network theories of social capital to better understand how people utilize (and squander) the resources available to them in their social networks. This research analyzes how people mentally construct their social worlds, i.e., their social networks, according to various cognitive and situational factors. Third, Ned researches colletive intelligence and the "wisdom of crowds." Using empirical data from financial markets and large-scale experiments, Ned and his collaborators are seeking to understand the conditions--for instance, structure and decision-making rules--under which a crowd will outperform the individuals (even expert indivduals) making up the crowd.

Ned has published his research in leading management and sociology journals including the American Journal of Sociology, the Annual Review of Sociology, Administrative Science Quarterly, The Journal of Mathematical Sociology, Management Science, Organization Science, Social Networks, Strategic Management Journal, Social Science Research, Industrial and Corporate Change, and Research in Organizational Sciences. He is currently a senior editor at Organization Science and is a member of the editorial board at Administrative Science Quarterly.

Ned teaches MBA and executive-level courses on strategy, organizational design, strategic alliances, and change management, as well as doctoral-level courses on quantitative research methods. Ned's teaching has been recognized at Northwestern via his selection as both a Searle Teaching Fellow and ASCEND Fellow. For his doctoral-level teaching, Ned recieved the 2019 Kellogg Research Mentorship Award. His MBA and executive courses are consistently among the highest evaluated courses at Kellogg. His online course, "Strategic Change Management" has enrolled more than 500 leaders and executives from around the world. Ned is passionate about supporting the non-profit sector, especially in the areas of cancer research and youth support for families affected by cancer.

Research Interests

Decision Making, Social Networks, Organizational and Group Structure and Relationships, Market Emergence, Creativity and Innovation, Social Structure of Organizations and Markets

Education

• Ph.D., 2010, Economic Sociology and Organizational Behavior, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago
• B.A., 2003, East Asian Studies (Chinese Language and Literature), Political Science, Yale University, Yale University
• Mandarin Chinese Immersion, 2001, Beijing Capital University of Economics and Business

Academic Positions

• Associate Professor of Management and Organizations, MORS, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2013-present
• Bank One Corp Assistant Professor of Strategy and Business Administration, Strategy, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, 2012-2013
• Assistant Professor, Strategy, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, 2010-2013

Awards

• Best Essay of 2019, Parenting Media Association Editorial and Design Award
• Best Symposium Award, Academy of Management OB Division
• Kellogg Research Mentorship Award, Kellogg Graduate School of Management
• Best Paper Award, Strategic Management Society
• Fellow, Northwestern University Office of the Provost ASCEND Program
• Northwestern University Provost Fellowship for Digital Learning
• Academy of Management Division Best Published Paper Award
• Academy of Management Division Best paper Award
• Northwestern University ASCEND Fellow
• Dispute Resolution Research Center Research Grant
• Northwestern University Provost Fellowship for Digital Learning
• 2016 Best Paper Award, Academy of Management (OMT Division)
• Fellow, Searle Institute for Teaching and Learning
• Forbes "Data Freaks" Award for Best Published Research Using Qualtrics Platform, Forbes
• 2012 Best Published Paper Award, Academy of Management (OMT Division)
• Neary Teaching Excellence Award, University of Michigan, Ross School of Business
• Kauffman Foundation Fellowship for research in entrepreneurship, Kaufman Foundation
• Economist Intelligence Unit Global Business Professor of the Year (Nominee), Economist Intelligence Unit