Professor Alfredo De Massis
ProfessorProfile
Professor Alfredo De Massis is a Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Business at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (Italy), has been Director of the School's Centre for Family Business, and is involved in collaboration and scientific advisory activities by offering intellectual contributions within the Wild Chair in Family Business at the International Institute for Management Development. He serves as Editor of Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice and Associate Editor of Family Business Review - a highly ranked journal of Business (Impact Factor 4.147). Previously, he was at the University of Bergamo (Italy) where he co-founded the Center for Young and Family Enterprise (CYFE) that he ran as Deputy Director. In September 2015, Family Capital ranked him among the world’s top 25 star professors for family business. He currently serves on the Academic Advisory Board of the Institute for Family Business (IFB) Research Foundation and is a Family Owned Business Institute Research Scholar. He also served as Chairman of the STEP European Leadership Council and Member of the Global Board of the Global STEP Project for Family Enterprising founded by Babson College (USA). Engaging over 200 scholars from 41 leading universities, this global applied research initiative explores the entrepreneurial processes within business families and generates solutions that have immediate application for family leaders.
Alfredo is Chair of the Special Interest Group on Family Business Research at the European Academy of Management (EURAM) and has served as Chair or on the Advisory Committee of several academic conferences or conference tracks (e.g., he was member of the Advisory Committee of the Family Enterprise Research Conference FERC). He was TOFT Visiting Professor at Jonkoping International Business School (Sweden) and a visiting scholar at the Haskayne School of Business (Canada).
His specific research focus is on family business, and his work has been published widely in leading academic and professional journals. Alfredo has been invited to present his research and to give lectures to various audiences at many universities in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. His research is regularly presented at international conferences and workshops, such as the Academy of Management Annual Meeting, IFERA World Conference, FERC, EIASM Workshop on Family Firm Management and the Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference. Alfredo's work has been featured in various media outlets, including the Financial Times and Reuters, and he has contributed to the Harvard Business Review online magazine.
Alfredo has received various research grants from public funding bodies and private organizations, and is a recipient of several academic honors and awards (among the most recent, the IFERA 2014 Best Paper Award, FERC 2014 Best Paper Award, 2014 USASBE Best Paper in Entrepreneurship and Public Policy Award, the FOBI Scholarship, the 2015, 2014 and 2013 Academy of Management Best Paper Proceeding and the 2012 and 2013 “Outstanding Researcher Award” provided by the University of Bergamo to the top scholar in each department on account of remarkable research achievements at international level).
He has advised national and regional government on policy development and implementation, as well as leading major projects to support innovation and entrepreneurship at a regional and national level. He is also a frequent speaker at industry groups, business associations and think tanks around the world.
He is member of several academic and professional family business associations and prior to his academic career was Manager in SCS Consulting, senior consultant in the Strategy service line of Accenture and financial analyst at the Italian Stock Exchange (London Stock Exchange Group). In these roles, he provided strategy advice to corporate clients in a wide variety of industries, as well as innovation and succession management advice to family firms, helping them maintain competitive advantage across generations.
Research Interests
Alfredo’s research is goal-centered and process-oriented, and consequently he tends to engage in cross-level research. While he has published work that utilizes surveys or large-scale quantitative data, much of his work is currently based on qualitative methods. His interests particularly include family-centered goal setting processes, intra-family succession, innovation and behavioral issues in family firms and enterprising families. More specifically, he is interested in understanding how the ability and willingness of the controlling family interact to produce idiosyncratic firm behavior and performance. On these topics, he has published six books and several papers in leading academic and professional journals, including papers in leading journals such as Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Academy of Management Perspectives, California Management Review, Family Business Review, Small Business Economics, Journal of Small Business Management, Journal of Business Ethics and Academy of Management Learning & Education. His most recent book (co-authored with Pramodita Sharma, Jess H. Chua and James J. Chrisman) entitled “Family Business Studies: An Annotated Bibliography”, was published by Edward Elgar in October 2012.
External Roles
Alfredo has been an active member of the Academy of Management and served as Chair of several academic conferences or conference tracks (e.g., Academy of Management PDW 2012, 2013, 2014, FERC 2013, IFERA 2012, 2013, EURAM 2012, 2013, EIASM Family Business Management 2013). He is Associate Editor of Family Business Review and currently serves on the Editorial Boards of Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, and Journal of Family Business Strategy, and acts as reviewer, member of the board of reviewers or member of the scientific board of leading academic and professional journals. He has been Editor of nine special issues on family business (the seven most recent are on Strategic Management Journal, California Management Review, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Small Business Economics, Global Strategy Journal, and International Journal of Management Reviews). He has supervised PhD Students and has been external examiner in PhD Dissertation Committees (e.g., Maastricht University, Jonkoping International Business School, University of Edinburgh, Witten/Herdecke University). Alfredo is a member of the Research Advisory Board of the University of Bergamo's Center for Young & Family Enterprise (with Frank Hoy, Mattias Nordqvist and Anita Van Gils).
Qualifications
MSc(Hons), PhD
PhD Supervision Interests
Available for supervising ambitious PhD students willing to conduct qualitative and/or quantitative research on innovation, strategy and entrepreneurship, with a focus on family business.
Examining how the definition of strategic objectives and actions affects value creation
01/11/2015 → 31/10/2017
Research
R&D Investments by Chinese Private Firms
01/11/2014 → 01/12/2014
Research
National Public Research Program PRIN
01/03/2012 → …
Other
Research Scholarship FYRE - Fostering Young Researchers Project
01/01/2012 → 01/02/2012
Other
Research Project on Direct Insurance and Technological Innovation in the Insurance Industry
01/02/2011 → 01/12/2012
Other
Observatory of the Italian Insurance Market
01/01/2011 → 01/01/2012
Other
Research Project on Succession and Generation Transitions in Family Firms
01/01/2011 → 01/01/2012
Other
Investigation of Competitive Strategy Dynamics in the Insurance Industry
01/01/2010 → 01/01/2011
Other
Academy of Management Annual Meeting
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
IFERA 2017 Annual Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
17th European Academy of Management Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
9th International Process Symposium PROS 2017
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
International Journal of Management Reviews (Journal)
Editorial activity
RENT XXX Conference - Innovation, Relational Networks, Technology and Knowledge Transfer as Drivers of Global Competitiveness
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Academy of Management 2016 Annual Meeting
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
European Families in Business Conference (Event)
Membership of committee
Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal (Journal)
Editorial activity
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice (Journal)
Editorial activity
California Management Review (Journal)
Editorial activity
Global Strategy Journal (Journal)
Editorial activity
European Journal of International Management (Journal)
Editorial activity
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice (Journal)
Editorial activity
Campden (External organisation)
Member of Advisory Panel
Berkeley Innovation Forum (Event)
Membership of committee
Family Enterprise Research Conference (FERC) (External organisation)
Membership of committee
Small Business Economics (Journal)
Editorial activity
Family Business Review (Journal)
Editorial activity
Journal of Family Business Strategy (Journal)
Editorial activity
The Journal of Product Innovation Management (Journal)
Editorial activity
Center for Young & Family Enterprise of the University of Bergamo (External organisation)
Member of an organisation
EIASM Workshop on Family Firm Management Research (Event)
Membership of committee
Geospatial Partner Conference 2013
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
University of Saskatchewan, Edwards School of Business
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
University of Manitoba, Asper School of Business
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
I.H Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba
Visiting an external academic institution
European Journal of International Management (Journal)
Editorial activity
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management (Journal)
Editorial activity
Technology Forum (External organisation)
Member of Advisory Panel
University of Bergamo
Visiting an external academic institution
European Academy of Management (External organisation)
Member of an organisation
Family Enterprise Research Conference (Event)
Member of an organisation
Jonkoping International Business School
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Jonkoping International Business School
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Jonkoping University
Visiting an external academic institution
5th European STEP Summit
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Academy of Management Annual Meeting
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Academy of Management Annual Meeting
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
IFERA 2012, 12th Annual World Family Business Research
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
IFERA 2012, 12th Annual World Family Business Research
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary
Visiting an external academic institution
STEP Europe Research Meeting
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Witten Institute for Family Business (WIFU)
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Technology Transfer Society (T2S) Meetings
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Theories of the Family Enterprise Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Theories of the Family Enterprise Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
GITT Workshop on Research and Practice in Technology Transfer
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Second International Symposium Entrepreneurship Today 2010
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Second International Symposium Entrepreneurship Today 2010
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Research Workshop “Technology, Entrepreneurship and Change”
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
International Journal of Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Journal)
Editorial activity
Sistemi and Impresa (Journal)
Editorial activity
Best Paper Award
Prize (including medals and awards)
5x1000 Outstanding Researchers Award
Prize (including medals and awards)
5x1000 Outstanding Researchers Award
Prize (including medals and awards)
Best Paper Proceedings of the 2013 Academy of Management Meeting.
Prize (including medals and awards)
Recognition (Certificate of Appreciation) within the Adopt-a-Member Mentoring Program of the Academy of Management
Other distinction
2nd Runner-up, Best Paper Award
Prize (including medals and awards)
Best Research Paper Award
Prize (including medals and awards)
USASBE Best Paper in Entrepreneurship and Public Policy Award
Prize (including medals and awards)
Best Paper in Family Business Honorable Mention (awarded by USASBE, U.S.A.)
Prize (including medals and awards)
Best Paper Proceedings of the 2014 Academy of Management Meeting
Prize (including medals and awards)
The Best Qualitative Family Business Paper Award
Prize (including medals and awards)
Centre for Family Business, Pentland Centre
Centre for Family Business
- Centre for Family Business
- Entrepreneurship and Innovation