Robert Nason
William Dawson Scholar
PhD, Syracuse University
MBA, Babson College
B.A., Wheaton College (IL)
Robert Nason is a William Dawson Scholar and associate professor of Strategy and Organization at the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University. Robert’s research has focused on the role of entrepreneurship in society covering areas of family business, behavioral strategy, growth, and the informal economy. His current research initiatives are particularly focused on entrepreneurship and economic inequality – examining entrepreneurial activity in contexts of poverty and wealth. Robert has received awards for research, including the Academy of Management Entrepreneurship Division’s Emerging Scholar Award in 2020, and teaching, including Poets & Quants Best 40 Under 40 MBA Professors (2022) and the Desautels Core Strategy MBA Teaching Award (2022).
Robert’s research has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture (FRQ-SC). His work has been published in leading academic outlets such as Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management, Journal of Business Venturing, and Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. Robert previously served as an Editor for Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice and is on the Editorial Board of Academy of Management Review, Journal of Management, Journal of Business Venturing, and Strategy Entrepreneurship Journal. In his commitment to research with practical relevance, Robert collaborates in his research and its dissemination with non-profit organizations including the Family Enterprise Foundation in Canada and the Sustainable Livelihood Foundation in South Africa.
MGPO 438 - Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation
MGCR 622 - Organizational Strategy
Jack Sadek
Rayan Chelli
Kate Picone (co-supervised with Anicet Fangwa)
Dat Tran (co-supervised with Henry Mintzberg)
Nason, R., Vedula, S., Bacq, S., Bothello, J. & Charman, A. (2024). Sight Unseen: The Visibility Paradox of Entrepreneurship in the Informal Economy. Journal of Business Venturing. 39(2): 1-21.
Williams, T., Nason, R., Wolfe, M., & Short, J. (2023) Seizing the Moment—Strategy, Social Entrepreneurship, and the Pursuit of Impact. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. Special Issue Introduction. 3-18.
Nason, R. & Bothello, J. (2023). Far from void: informal institutions and growth in the informal economy. Academy of Management Review. 48(3): 485-503.
Ye, Y., Yu, W., & Nason, R. (2021). Performance Feedback Persistence: Comparative Effects of Historical vs. Peer Performance Feedback on Innovative Search. Journal of Management, 47(4): 1053-1081.
Nason, R., Mazzelli, A., & Carney, M. (2019). The Ties that Unbind: Socialization and Business-owning Family Reference Point Shift. Academy of Management Review, 44(4): 846-870.
Bothello, J., Nason, R., & Schnyder, G. (2019). Institutional Voids and Organization Studies: Towards an Epistemological Rupture. Organization Studies, 40(10), 1499–1512.
Yu, W., Minniti, M., & Nason, R. (2019). Underperformance Duration and Innovative Search: Evidence from the High-Tech Manufacturing Industry. Strategic Management Journal, 40(5): 836-861.
Nason, R., Wiklund, J., McKelvie, A, Hitt, M., & Yu, W. (2019). Orchestrating Boundaries: The Effect of R&D Boundary Permeability on New Venture Growth. Journal of Business Venturing. 34(1): 63-79.
Nason, R., Bacq, S., & Gras, D. (2018). A Behavioral Theory of Social Performance: Social Identity and Stakeholder Expectations. Academy of Management Review. 43(2): 259-283.
Carney, M. & Nason, R. (2018). Family Business and the 1%. Business & Society. Special issue on Economic Inequality. 39(1): 7-18.
Nason, R. & Wiklund, J. (2018). An Assessment of Resource-Based Theorizing on Firm Growth and Suggestions for the Future. Journal of Management. 44(1): 32-60.
Gras, D. & Nason, R. (2015). Bric by bric: The role of the family household in sustaining a venture in impoverished Indian slums. Journal of Business Venturing. 30 (4), 546-563.
Zellweger, T., Nason, R., Nordqvist, M., & Brush, C. (2013). Why do Family Firms Strive for Nonfinancial Goals? An Organizational Identity Perspective. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 37(2): 229-248.
Zellweger, T, Nason R., & Nordqvist, M. (2012). From Longevity of Firms to Transgenerational Entrepreneurship of Families: Introducing Family Entrepreneurial Orientation. Family Business Review, 25(2): 136-155.
Zellweger, T. & Nason, R. (2008). A Stakeholder Perspective on Family Firm Performance. Family Business Review,21(3). 203-216.
2024 Academy of Management Review Outstanding Reviewer
2023 Academy of Management Review Best Paper Finalist
2023 Academy of Management OMT Division Best Paper Award
2023 Kauffman Best Paper Award in Entrepreneurial Cognition (MOC Division of AOM)
2023 Journal of Management Scholarly Impact Award Finalist
2022 Poets & Quants Best 40 Under 40 MBA Professors
2022 Desautels Core Strategy MBA Teaching Award
2020 Emerging Scholar Award, Academy of Management, Entrepreneurship Division
2020 Best Paper Award, Organizational Theory Division, Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Annual Meeting (with Hami Yousefdehi)
2016 Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award in the Strategic Research Cluster “The Person and Society,” Concordia University.
2016 Emerald Citation of Excellence Award for Zellweger, T., Nason, R., Nordqvist, M., & Brush, C. (2013). Why do Family Firms Strive for Nonfinancial Goals? An Organizational Identity Perspective. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 37(2): 229-248.
2015 EGOS Conference Best Paper Finalist. Nason, R. & Gras, D. The impact of family household health on family economic activity. Athens, Greece.
