AWARD CRITERIA
The Educational Impact Award recognizes excellence in contributing to the teaching mission in strategic management. It will be given to an individual who has made an exemplary contribution to quality and innovation in the teaching of strategic management, either through their own teaching and mentoring activities and/or by empowering other teachers with innovations and high-quality teaching materials.
Nominees for this award will be judged according to the following criteria:
- Innovation in the teaching of strategic management (e.g. new pedagogies, new media for learning and knowledge sharing)
- Development and dissemination of teaching materials, such as texts, case studies and digital materials
- Writing and publishing on pedagogy
- Evidence of excellence in teaching at their home institution and other places they have taught (e.g. teaching awards, reference letters from administrators or peers, etc.)
The Award Recipient will be recognized on the SMS Website and at the SMS Annual Conference.
The recipient of this award is selected by a sub-committee appointed by the SMS Awards & Honors Committee, and will include leadership of the SMS Teaching Community.
Nominations are invited from any member of the SMS and should include:
- A nomination letter of not more than two pages in length specifically addressing the nominee’s achievements vis-à-vis the above criteria
- Two additional letters of recommendation for the nominated individual
- A full current CV for the nominated individual
SMS Educational Impact Award 2026 Recipient:
Gautam Ahuja
Gautam Ahuja was selected because of his broad impact and well-roundedness across multiple dimensions of academia. He was recognized for translating strategic management concepts into new domains beyond business schools, helping expand the discipline’s relevance. His educational influence extends across a wide range of audiences, including MBA students, PhD students, executives, and even non-traditional groups such as engineering and healthcare professionals, reflecting a broad and meaningful reach.
About Gautam:
Gautam Ahuja serves as the Eleanora and George Landew Professor of Management at the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. His research interests include competitive analysis, innovation, globalization, and the use of inter-organizational arrangements such as mergers, acquisitions, and alliances. He is a Fellow of the Strategic Management Society (since 2023), Fellow of the Academy of Management (since 2021), and TIM Distinguished Scholar for lifetime achievement in research (2019), the highest award given by the Technology and Innovation Management Division of the Academy of Management. He has served as editor-in-chief of Organization Science, associate editor for Management Science and as a senior editor for Organization Science and Strategy Science.
In 2016, Ahuja received the BPS Wiley Outstanding Educator Award for his lifetime teaching contributions and in 2011, Bloomberg BusinessWeek ranked Ahuja number two in its listing of the Most Popular Professors in the United States in its Popularity Issue naming the market leaders in various business, product, and cultural categories. As a doctoral advisor, he has trained many students who are now faculty at some of the best institutions across the world.
Award Past Recipients
Anita McGahan, 2018