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Department of Business Administration,
College of Business, 350 Wohlers Hall, 1206 South Sixth Street,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
Email: mawdsle1@illinois.edu; Tel: +1 (217) 979-9874.
Citizenship: United Kingdom; Date of Birth: September 28 th
Languages: English (Native), French (Basic).
1978.
E DUCATION
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business.
PhD - Strategy, Department of Business Administration
Committee: Deepak Somaya (Chair), Joseph Mahoney,
Huseyin Leblebici, Olivier Chatain.
University of Liverpool .
B.A. (with honors), Archaeology.
Expected May 2015
2000
RESEARCH
Interests.
Cooperative strategy; Corporate strategy; Strategic human capital; Buyer-supplier relationships;
Professional service firms.
Dissertation.
My three-essay dissertation examines the impact of relational commitments on strategy and performance of professional service firms. Essay one investigates how relational commitments by professional service firms (suppliers) and their clients induces professional service firms to diversify in response to diversification by their clients. This essay provides a novel relational theory of corporate diversification. Essay two investigates the impact of relational commitments on firm growth performance. I show that under different conditions, relational commitments both enables and constrains the growth of professional service firms, with growth constraints particularly heightened in dynamic markets. My empirical results generate new insights regarding the efficacy of embedded inter-organizational relationships for firm performance. My third essay examines the effect of relational commitments on the bargaining over relational rents between a supplier firm and its employees. This essay extends the theory of relational advantage (a predominant theory of value creation) by revealing how relational commitments can influence value appropriation.
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Publications.
Mawdsley, J.K., & Somaya, D. Forthcoming. Strategy & Strategic Alignment in Professional Service
Firms; in Empson, L., Muzio, D., Broschak, J., Hinings, B. (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Professional
Service Firms, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Working papers and research in progress.
1.
“Employee Mobility and Firm Performance. An Integrative Theoretical Framework and
Research Agenda” (with Deepak Somaya). o Encouraged revision for 2016 review issue of the Journal of Management.
2.
“Relational Advantage and Partner-Driven Corporate Scope: The Case for Client-Led
Diversification” (with Deepak Somaya). o Revise and Resubmit at Strategic Management Journal. o Best Conference Paper (Finalist); Strategic Management Society Meeting,
Madrid 2014. o Best Paper (Runner up); Cooperative Strategy Interest Group, Strategic
Management Society Meeting, Madrid 2014.
3.
“Relational Advantage and the Growth Performance of Knowledge-Based Service Firms”
(Job market paper). Full Draft in preparation for submission to Strategic Management Journal.
4.
“Acquiring External Human-Based Capabilities through M&A versus Hiring” (with Deepak
Somaya). Working draft. Targeted for submission to Academy of Management Review (Planned Spring
2015).
5.
“The Interactive Effects of Relational-Specific and Firm-Specific Human Capital on
Employee and Firm Value Appropriation”. Working draft.
6.
“Hierarchy, Rent Division and Firm Performance in Knowledge-Based Services” Data
Collection Stage.
INVITED RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS
2014
Relational Advantage and Partner-Driven Corporate Scope: The Case for Client-Led Diversification.
 Strategic Management Society Conference, Madrid, Spain.
Acquiring External Human-Based Capabilities through M&A versus Hiring.
 Academy of Management Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
The Interactive Effects of Relational-Specific and Firm-Specific Human Capital on Employee and
Firm Value Appropriation.
 Academy of Management Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
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2013
Relational Advantage and Partner-Driven Corporate Scope: The Case for Client-Led Diversification.
 Early Career Workshop. Cass Business School, City University, London.
Strategy & Strategic Alignment in Professional Service Firms
 Academy of Management Meeting, Orlando, FL.
2012
Acquiring External Human-Based Capabilities through M&A versus Hiring.
 Academy of Management Annual Meeting. Boston, MA.
2011
Acquiring External Human-Based Capabilities through M&A versus Hiring.
 Annual Atlanta Competitive Advantage Conference. Atlanta, GA.
 Strategic Management Society Human Capital Special Interest Group, Ohio State
University, OH.
 Novak Druce Annual PSF Conference, Oxford, UK.
A WARDS AND HONORS
 Dissertation Award, UIUC.
 Finalist Best Conference Paper, Strategic Management Society.
 Runner up Best Paper, Cooperative Strategy Interest Group, Strategic Management
2014
2014
2014 Society.
 Richard D. and Anne Marie Irwin Fellowship, Irwin Foundation ($30,000).
 Student scholarship – Practising Law Institute.
 Certificate in Foundations of Teaching
 Incomplete List of Excellent Teachers – “Outstanding Ranking” (top 10%)
UIUC.
 Best Reviewer (peer assessed) for UIUC Strategy brown-bag doctoral seminar.
 Outstanding Reviewer Award for the Business Policy and Strategy (BPS) Division:
Academy of Management.
 University of Illinois Fellowship, Graduate College, UIUC.
REFEREE ACTIVITY
Reviewer for Academy of Management Conference (2011; 2012; 2013; 2014).
2014
2013
2013
2012
2012
2011
2010/11
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PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Member: Academy of Management; Strategic Management Society.
TEACHING AND MENTORSHIP
Teaching.
BADM 449; Business Policy & Strategy (Undergraduate capstone course).
Case-based course organized around industry analysis, competitive strategy and dynamics, competitive advantage, corporate strategy, and high technology strategy.
 Teaching evaluation 4.8 out of 5 (45 students).
Fall 2013
Mentorship.
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
 Supervising data-based work of undergraduates from the University of Illinois
James Scholar Honors Program (2 students spring 2011; 9 students spring 2012;
6 students spring 2013).
P ROFESSIONAL E XPERIENCE
Employment.
Royal Liver Assurance Ltd, Liverpool, UK
 Internal Auditor (2008-09); Project Manager - Regulatory and Business Change
2004-2009
(2006-08); Product Sourcing Assistant Manager (2005-06); Customer Services Agent
(2004-05).
Field Archaeologist, UK and Eire. 2000-2003
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2000-2003.
Professional Education.
Chartered Insurance Institute, UK.
 Certificate in Financial Planning;
 Life and Pensions Foundation Certificate.
R EFERENCES
Prof Deepak Somaya
350 Wohlers Hall
Dept. of Business Administration
College of Business
Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Tel: +1 (217) 333-6873
Email: dsomaya@illinois.edu
Prof Joseph Mahoney
350 Wohlers Hall
Dept. of Business Administration
College of Business
Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Tel: +1 (217) 244-8257 josephm@illinois.edu
Prof Huseyin Leblebici
350 Wohlers Hall
Dept. of Business Administration
College of Business
Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Tel: +1 (217) 333-4512 hleblebi@illinois.edu
2006
2005
John K. Mawdsley. Nov2014