Guy Holburn

Guy Holburn is Professor of Business, Economics and Public Policy at the Ivey Business School. His areas of expertise are strategy, stakeholder management, corporate social responsibility, governance and regulation, with a focus on the energy and utilities sectors. He has published widely in top peer-reviewed academic journals, including Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, Energy Policy, Harvard Business Review, Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, Organization Science, Public Choice, Strategic Management Journal, and Strategy Science. He has authored numerous reports on provincial and federal energy policies, and is a regular contributor to local and national media.

Dr. Holburn is the founder and Director of the Ivey Energy Policy and Management Centre, Canada’s leading university-based centre for applied research on energy sector policy. He is also a board member of the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability, a member of the Council for Clean and Reliable Energy, and a director of London Hydro, a Canadian utility.

Dr. Holburn has served as an expert consultant and advisor to corporations and governments in Canada and the U.S. He has provided advice on corporate governance, economic impact assessments, merger/acquisition strategy, electricity regulation, pipeline regulation, and regional economic development strategy. He testified as an expert witness on utility regulation and Crown corporation governance issues at the Muskrat Falls Inquiry in 2018 and 2019. He has also testified in court as an expert witness on business strategy issues in commercial litigation.

Holburn joined Ivey in 2001 and teaches both degree and executive development programs. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.A. Hons. (First Class) from Cambridge University. Previously Holburn worked for several years as a management consultant for Bain and Company in England and in South Africa, and for the California Public Utilities Commission.

Programs Taught

• MSc
• PhD
• Executive Education

Education

• BA Hons, First Class - Cambridge University
• MA, University of California - Berkeley
• PhD, University of California - Berkeley

Recent Refereed Articles

• Fremeth, A.; Holburn, G. L. F.; Piazza, A., 2022, "Activist Protest Spillovers into the Regulatory Domain: Theory and Evidence from the U.S. Nuclear Power Generation Industry", Organization Science, May 33(3): 1163 - 1187.
• Fremeth, A.; Holburn, G. L. F., 2020, "The Impact of Political Directors on Corporate Strategy for Government-Owned Utilities: Evidence from Ontario's Electricity Distribution Sector", Energy Policy, August 143
• Guerello, A.; Page, S.; Holburn, G. L. F.; Balzarova, M., 2020, "Energy for off-grid homes: Reducing costs through joint hybrid system and energy efficiency optimization", Energy and Buildings, January 207
• Jiang, G. F.; Holburn, G. L. F., 2018, "Organizational performance feedback effects and international expansion", Journal of Business Research, September 90: 48 - 58.
• Holburn, G. L. F.; Raiha, D., 2017, "Startups Are Turning Customers into Lobbyists", Harvard Business Review
• Fremeth, A.; Holburn, G. L. F.; Vanden Bergh, R., 2016, "Corporate Political Strategy in Contested Regulatory Environments", Strategy Science, December 1(4): 272 - 284.
• Jiang, F.; Holburn, G. L. F.; Beamish, P. W., 2016, "The Spatial Structure of Foreign Subsidiaries and MNE Expansion Strategy", Journal of World Business, April 51(3): 438 - 450.
• Fremeth, A.; Holburn, G. L. F.; Richter, B. K., 2016, "Bridging Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Organizational Research: Applications of Synthetic Control Methodology in the U.S. Automobile Industry", Organization Science, March 27(2): 462 - 482.
• Fremeth, A.; Holburn, G. L. F.; Spiller, P. T., 2014, "The Impact of Consumer Advocates on Regulatory Policy in the Electric Utility Sector", Public Choice, October 161(1): 157 - 181.
• Jiang, G. L. F.; Holburn, G. L. F.; Beamish, P. W., 2014, "The Impact of Vicarious Experience on Foreign Location Strategy", Journal of International Management, September 20(3): 345 - 358.
• Holburn, G. L. F.; Vanden Bergh, R., 2014, "Integrated Market and Nonmarket Strategies: Political Campaign Contributions around Merger and Acquisitions Events in the Energy Sector", Strategic Management Journal, March 35(3): 450 - 460.
• Holburn, G. L. F., 2012, "Assessing and Managing Regulatory Risk in Renewable Energy: Contrasts between Canada and the United States Energy Policy", Energy Policy, May 45: 654 - 665.
• Fremeth, A.; Holburn, G. L. F., 2012, "Information Asymmetries and Regulatory Decision Costs: An Analysis of U.S. Electric Utility Rate Changes 1980-2000", Journal of Law, Economics & Organization, February 28(1): 127 - 162.
• Holburn, G. L. F.; Lui, K.; Morand, C., 2010, "Policy Risk and Private Investment in Ontario’s Wind Power Sector", Canadian Public Policy, December 36(4): 465 - 486.
• Holburn, G. L. F.; Zelner, B., 2010, "Political capabilities, policy risk, and international investment strategy: evidence from the global electric power generation industry", Strategic Management Journal, November 31(12): 1290 - 1315.

Experience

• Consultant, Bain & Company, London, U.K. and Capetown, South Africa (1993-1995)
• Research Fellow, California Public Utilities Commission (1999-2000)

Research/Course Development

• Competitive strategy
• Regulation
• Energy, utilities and infrastructure
• Stakeholder management