John Eklund

John Eklund is an Assistant Professor at USC's Marshall School in the Management and Organization Department. His research lies at the intersection of strategy and innovation, with an emphasis on how firms’ organization designs can shape their performance outcomes. These outcomes can relate to firms’ innovation efforts as well as their broader performance. In examining this phenomenon, John studies the underlying mechanisms such as incentives, knowledge flows and the breadth of strategies firms pursue that both shape organization design choices and their consequences. Prior to his PhD at the Wharton School, John was a management consultant at A.T. Kearney, Booz & Company and PwC. John also holds a doctorate in physical chemistry and was previously a research scientist at Unilever.

Research Interests

• Organization Design, Technology & Innovation Management, Strategy Implementation

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy - PhD University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School (2014 — 2019)
• MBA University of Notre Dame (2003 — 2005)
• Post-Doc Monash University, Melbourne, Australia (1997.01 — 1998.08)
• PhD University of Oxford (1992.10 — 1995.08)
• MA University of Oxford (1988.10 — 1992.07)

Companies

• Assistant Professor University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business (2019)
• Assistant Professor University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business (2019)
• Management PhD Student The Wharton School (2014)
• Director (Temporary) PwC (2014 — 2014)
• Senior Strategy Development Manager Origin Energy (2011 — 2014)
• Senior Associate Booz & Company (2009 — 2011)
• Associate Booz & Company (2008 — 2009)
• Senior Consultant Fair Isaac (2007 — 2007)
• Associate AT Kearney (2005 — 2007)

Publications

• Eklund, J.C. & Kapoor, R. 2019 "Pursuing the New while Sustaining the Current: Incumbent Strategies and Firm Value during the Nascent Period of Industry Change" Organization Science. 30(2): 383-404
• Eklund, J.C. & Mannor, M.J. 2021 “Keep Your Eye on the Ball or on the Field? Exploring the Performance Implications of Executive Strategic Attention” Academy of Management Journal. 64(6): 1685-1713
• Eklund, J.C. & Kapoor, R. “Mind the Gaps: How Organization Design Choices Shape the Sourcing of External Inventions” Forthcoming, Organization Science