Alfred Marcus
Contact
Education:
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PhD 1977Harvard University
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MA 1973University of Chicago
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BA 1971University of Chicago
Expertise:
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Business regulation
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Competition
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Food industry
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Automotive industry
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Oil and natural gas industry
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Electric utility industry
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Computer industry
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Global economy
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International security
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Corporate social responsibility
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Ethics, fraud, and white collar crime
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Government regulation
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Environmental and energy policies
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Sustainability
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Future planning
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Population aging
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Demographics
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Scenarios
Biography
Professor Marcus is the author, co-author, or editor of more than 20 books and many academic articles in journals such as the Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, and Organization Science. Twice he won outstanding teacher of the year awards at the Carlson School. His most recent book, Comeback: Can Great Companies Rise Again will be published by the University of Toronto Press in 2025. In 2022, he was awarded the Distinguished Scholar Award from the Academy of Management ONE Division. In 2016, Innovations in Sustainability: Fuel and Food, Cambridge University Press, 2015, was named an Outstanding Book of the Year by this division. While at the Carlson School Professor Marcus also had a faculty position in the Technological Leadership Institute (TLI) in the College of Science and Engineering. He published Managing Strategic Uncertainty: Booms and Busts in the Energy Industry with Cambridge University Press in 2019. From 1995-2001, he was chair of the Carlson School's Strategic Management and Organization Department. His Ph.D. is from Harvard University and he has bachelor and master's degrees from the University of Chicago. Professor Marcus has consulted with major corporations and received grants from government agencies. Other books he has published are: Demography and the Global Business Environment (Edgar Elgar, 2021, with M. Islam), Managing Business Ethics (Sage Press, 2021 with T. Hargrave), and The Future of Technology Management and the Business Environment: Lessons on Innovation, Disruption, and Strategy Execution (Pearson Press, 2016).
Selected Works & Activities
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Whole BooksManaging Business Ethics: Making Ethical Decisions, A.Marcus and T. Hargrave (Sage Press, 2021)
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Whole BooksDemography and the Global Business Environment, A. Marcus and M. Islam (Edgar Elgar, 2021)
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Whole BooksManaging Strategic Uncertainty: Booms and Busts in the Energy Industry (Cambridge University Press: 2019)
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Whole BooksManagement Strategy: Sustaining Competitive Advantage, A. Marcus and A.Cohen (McGraw Hill/Irwin, 3rd edition 2017).
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Whole BooksThe Future of Technology Management and the Business Environment" Lessons on Innovation, Disruption, and Strategy, A. Marcus (Pearson, 2016)
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Whole BooksInnovations in Sustainability: Fuel and Food, A. Marcus (Cambridge University Press, 2015).
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Book Chapters"Managing Shifting Goal Consensus and Task Ambiguity in Implementing Corporate Sustainable Projects,” A.Marcus and A. Van de Ven, H. Gulati, O. Tushman (eds.), Change and Sustainability (Oxford University Press, 2015)
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Whole BooksStrategic Foresight: A New Look at Scenarios, A. Marcus (Palgrave MacMillan, 2009).
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Whole BooksBig Winners and Big Losers: The Four Secrets of Long-Term Business Success and Failure, A. Marcus (Wharton School Press, 2005).
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Whole BooksReinventing Environmental Regulation: Lessons from Project XL, (Resources for the Future, A. Marcus, D. Geffen and K. Sexton (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002)
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Whole BooksThe Adversary Economy, A. Marcus (Quorum, 1984).
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Book Chapters“Hedging: Organizational Responses to the Formulation, Implementation, and Enforcement of Government Mandated Changes," A.Marcus and J. Malen, for Oxford Handbook of Organization Change and Innovation, A. Van de Ven and M. Scott Poole (eds), 2021.
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Journal Articles"The Effects of Mandatory and Voluntary Regulatory Pressures on Firms’ Environmental Strategies: A Review and Recommendations for Future Research" J. Alberto Aragon-Correa, A. Marcus, and D. Vogel, Academy of Management Annals, 2020.
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Journal Articles"Venture Capital’s Role in Creating a More Sustainable Society: The Role of Exits in Clean Energy’s Investment Growth." A.Ginsberg and A. Marcus, Advances in Strategic Management, 2018
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Journal Articles“The Role of Governance Systems and Rules in Wind Energy Development: Evidence from Minnesota and Texas,” A. Fremeth, and A. Marcus, Business and Politics, 2016.
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Journal Articles“Promoting Clean Energy Technology Entrepreneurship: The Role of External Context,” J. Malen and A. Marcus, Energy Policy, 2016
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Journal Articles“The Natural Environmental Strategies Of International Firms: Old Controversies And New Evidence On Performance And Disclosure,” J. Alberto Aragon-Correa, A. Marcus, Hurtado-Torres, N, Academy of Management Perspectives (2016)
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Journal Articles"Public Policies in a Regulated Entrepreneurial Setting," A. Marcus and Cohen, S, Business and Politics (2015).
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Journal Articles"The Promise and Pitfalls of Venture Capital as an Asset Class for Clean Energy Investment: Research Questions for Organization and Natural Environment Scholars," A. Marcus, Malen, J., and Ellis, S (Organization & Environment 2013)
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Journal Articles"Firms, Regulatory Uncertainty, and the Natural Environment," A.Marcus, J.Aragon-Correa, and J. Pinske, California Management Review, (2011).
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Journal Articles"Green Management Matters Regardless," A. Marcus and A. Fremeth, Academy of Management Perspectives (2009).
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Journal Articles"Youth Bulges, Busts, and Doing Business in Violence-Prone Nations," A. Marcus, M. Islam, and J. Moloney, Business and Politics (2009).
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Journal Articles"The Effects of Administrative Innovation Implementation on Performance: An Organizational Learning Approach," E. Naveh, O. Meilich, and A. Marcus, Strategic Organization (2006).
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Journal Articles"A General Dynamic Capability: Does it Propagate Business and Social Competencies in the Retail Food Industry," A. Marcus and M. Anderson, Journal of Management Studies (2006).
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Journal Articles"Embeddedness and the Acquisition of Competitive Capabilities," W. McEvily and A. Marcus, Strategic Management Journal (2005).
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Journal Articles"Rules Versus Discretion: The Productivity Consequences of Flexible Regulation," S. Majumdar and A. Marcus, Academy of Management Journal (2001).
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Journal Articles"On the Edge: Heeding the Warning of Unusual Events," A. Marcus and M. Nichols, Organizational Science (1999).
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Journal Articles"The Dialectics of Competency Acquisition: Pollution Prevention in Electric Generation," A. Marcus and D. Geffen, Strategic Management Journal (1998).
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Journal Articles"The Causes and Consequences of Management Buyouts," I. Fox and A. Marcus, Academy of Management Review (1992).
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Journal Articles"Victims and Shareholders," A. Marcus and R. Goodman, Academy of Management Journal (1991).
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Journal Articles"The Market Deterrent to Dubious Behavior," A. Marcus and P. Bromiley, Strategic Management Journal (1989).
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Journal Articles"Implementing Externally-Induced Innovations: A Comparison of Rule-Bound and Autonomous Approaches," A. Marcus, Academy of Management Journal (1988).
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Journal Articles"Responses to Externally-Induced Innovations: Their Effects on Organizational Performance," A. Marcus, Strategic Management Journal (1988).
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Journal Articles"Policy Uncertainty and Technological Innovation," A. Marcus, Academy of Management Review (1981).
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Current Research
Alfred Marcus' current work considers the rise, decline, and reemergence of such major companies as Intel, Dell, Best Buy, and Disney. He asks about the causes of their declines and the strategies that they have used to find solutions to the business problems they have faced and make a comeback. An important question Professor Marcus has addressed in prior research is when does the market economy open up a space for sustainability. Factors he considered are the role of government policies and grants, rare performance events, corporate disclosure and transparency, and investing in cleaner energy. His book, Innovations in Sustainability, examines how competitive rivalries can stimulate sustainable innovation. Managing Strategic Uncertainty assesses recent major changes in the oil and natural gas and motor vehicle industries. A recent paper in the Academy of Management Annals looks at the role of mandatory and voluntary regulation in stimulating environmental improvement in business. A prior research project addressed the role of demographic factors in generating entrepreneurial activity. Professor Marcus has continuing interests in demography. Another of his interests is the role of intuitions and reasoning in business ethics.