Award for ‘key linchpin’ research

Professor Ammon Salter, pictured, from the University of Bath school of management has won a Strategic Management Society award for research into openness and innovation in the manufacturing sector.

The Bath academic has secured the 2021 Dan and Mary Lou Schendel Best Paper Prize for his research into the role of openness in explaining innovation performance in the manufacturing sector.

The annual best paper award from the strategic management society recognises Professor Salter and co-author Professor Keld Laursen of Copenhagen Business school. Published in 2006, this paper was a pioneering study in the then-nascent area of open innovation.

In a statement the Strategic Management Society said: “We are delighted to award the 2021 Dan and Mary Lou Schendel Best Paper Prize to Keld Laursen and Ammon Salter for “Open for Innovation: The Role of Openness in Explaining Innovation Performance among Manufacturing Firms.”

The award is for a paper published five or more years prior to the recognition. This delay allows time for the impact of papers to be assessed in terms of citations and influence of the paper on teaching, research, and/or practice.

The statement said: “This paper has proven to be a key linchpin in the evolution of the open innovation literature. Not surprisingly, it is one of the most highly cited articles published in Strategic Management Journal over the last 15 years, and appears on numerous syllabi of graduate courses in technology strategy.”

Prof Salter said: “I am absolutely delighted our research has been recognised in this way and would like to thank SMS for their support.”

Authors of the winning paper receive an award of US $5,000.