The Strategy Research Foundation (SRF) of the Strategic Management Society (SMS) announces its 2023 and 2024 Research in Strategic Management (RSM) Program. The RSM program aims to support research on a rotating set of themes central to the field of strategic management.
The theme for this cycle is “New Thinking in Corporate Strategy Research.” A foundational question in the field of strategic management asks how firms and managers make choices about firm scope and boundaries. Combined with the recent theoretical advances and empirical innovations, managerial and contextual changes in the business environment have opened new avenues for approaching corporate strategy research. This call for submissions seeks proposals that revisit this core strategic question with fresh theoretical perspectives, in contemporary contexts, or through advanced data and methodological approaches.
Proposals are required to tackle questions and phenomena that inform corporate-level dynamics and provide insights for corporate-level decision making. We encourage theoretical and especially empirical proposals. All submissions are required to articulate how the proposed research contributes to this theme, to strategic management theory, and to relevant managerial practices.
A few illustrative topics and questions are below:
Target Applicant: A full-time faculty member or post-doctoral researcher affiliated with a university, who is a current member of the Strategic Management Society.
Funding & Key Terms: Grants of up to US$25,000, to support direct research expenses such as data collection and research assistance. No institutional overhead will be paid.
Submission Deadline: October 2, 2023
Grant Period: January 1, 2024 — December 31, 2025
All proposals are required to identify a Principal Investigator (PI). The PI, who leads the research effort and to whom the grant is awarded, must be a full-time faculty member or post-doctoral researcher affiliated with a university and a member of the Strategic Management Society at the time of submission and throughout the grant period. A proposal may include Co-Investigators (CIs).
At any time, a single individual is permitted to serve as a PI or CI on only one proposal across all SRF programs. Further, individuals named in a previously funded SRF proposal may not participate in a new proposal until expiration of the prior award. Individuals named on a proposal must disclose any prior SRF awards and demonstrate that the project in the current proposal is distinct from their previously funded research.
All SRF grants aim to support research that has not been undertaken. Thus, completed work is not eligible for funding.
The SRF plans to award multiple RSM grants of up to $25,000 each during the 2023 funding cycle. Recipients will be named SRF Scholars.
The SRF program provides financial support to cover direct research expenses for data collection, student research assistance, and other activities that enable the conduct of the research project. Examples of ineligible expenses include conference travel and registration fees, compensation for PI or CI time, teaching buyouts, purchases of software or equipment, and university overhead. As the program aims to foster future research, reimbursement for previous expenditures is not permitted. Determination of eligible and ineligible expenses rests with the SRF.
For proposals accepted for funding, the SRF will prepare an agreement to be executed by the PI detailing the responsibilities of both the PI and the SRF. Grant funds awarded will be disbursed at the start of the two-year grant period beginning January 1, 2024.
The SRF requires regular progress reports as well as a final report on the project. The PI will submit a progress report every six months of the grant and a final report within three months of the end of the
grant. The final report will include an executive summary of the research findings and documentation of expenses incurred.
Proposals (in English) are to be submitted by the PI through the online submission system. Submissions will include the following:
Grant recipients will retain copyright to all materials prepared in connection with the funded project. However, the SRF will retain an irrevocable, royalty-free license in perpetuity to use such materials for non-commercial purposes furthering the mission of the SRF. The SRF requires that any publication of the resulting research in articles or other forms includes an acknowledgement that the research was funded in part by the SRF of the Strategic Management Society.
The SRF submission deadline is October 2, 2023. Notification of RSM grants awarded will be made by January 1, 2024. Submissions will be reviewed using the following criteria:
Please send any questions about the Research in Strategic Management Program by email to srf@strategicmanagement.net.