About
Shyam Kumar is Professor of Management at the Lally School of Management. His research examines how firms grow and attain competitive advantage through strategic decisions, innovation, and entrepreneurship. His current work focuses on the role of AI and time in organizations. He received his B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, and his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore. He earned his doctoral degree in Strategy from the University of Illinois. Prior to joining academia, he worked with the blue chip Tata group in their steel business, where he was part of the International Business division.
Professor Kumar's research has appeared in leading journals and book volumes, including several Financial Times top 50 journals. He has won wide recognition for his teaching, and was voted “Outstanding Professor” by graduating Lally master’s students on multiple occasions. He has held various fellowships, and he serves as an editorial review board member at Strategic Management Journal, a premier journal in the strategy field.
At Rensselaer, Professor Kumar has held multiple leadership positions, including Director of the MBA program, Graduate Programs Director, and Acting Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. In these roles he has spearheaded important initiatives such as working towards the launch of the Life Sciences MBA concentration. Professor Kumar enjoys playing golf, listening to music, and working across disciplines to pursue novel research ideas.
HONORS AND AWARDS
Lawrence Fellow of Professional Excellence, Lally School of Management, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Best student paper award (co authored with Josue Reynoso), Product Development Management Association (PDMA).
Trustee celebration of faculty achievement, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2013, 2017, 2022.
Nominated for best conference paper award, Strategic Management Society, 2014.
Outstanding professor, Master’s class of 2013, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Outstanding professor, Master’s class of 2012, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Outstanding professor, Master’s class of 2011, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Dean’s award for outstanding curriculum design, 2008, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Dean’s recognition for teaching excellence 2006, Baruch College, The City University of New York.
Dean’s recognition for teaching excellence 2004, Baruch College, The City University of New York.
Dean’s recognition for teaching excellence 2003, Baruch College, The City University of New York.
Zicklin Scholar, Baruch College, The City University of New York, 2001-2003.
Richard D. & Anne Marie Irwin Fellowship for dissertation research, 2001-2002.
Best Reviewer, International Management Division, Academy of Management, 1999.
Center for International Business Education Research (CIBER), Research Assistantship, 1998- 2000.
Seymour Sudman Fellowship, University of Illinois, 1996-1998.
Merit Scholarship for Outstanding Performance, Indian Institute of Management, 1990.
Google scholar site:https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KRjdprEAAAAJ&hl=en
Research
"The important thing in science is not so much to obtain new facts as to discover new ways of thinking about them."-- William Henry Bragg
My research builds on this philosophy to both uncover ‘new facts’ as well as lend them deeper theoretical significance in the context of decision making in organizations. I use an organizational economics lens as the foundation to study a range of phenomena, including how firms draw their vertical and horizontal boundaries, the strategic management of alliances and acquisitions, and the financing of innovation and entrepreneurship. My current work focuses on the impact of AI adoption and the role of time in organizations.
Select Research Seminars
The Effect of CEOs on Corporate Communication: A Natural Language Processing Approach
- Artificial Intelligence and Strategy, Indian School of Business.
The CEO Effect in Communication
- University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
- Artificial Intelligence and Strategy, Indian School of Business.
Persistence of Profits: A Machine Learning Approach
- Artificial Intelligence and Strategy, Indian School of Business.
Gender and Alliances.
- Cass Business School, City University of London.
- Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
The Coexistence of Sustained Competitive Advantage and Disadvantage.
- University of Nevada.
- Fordham University.
The Impact of Alliance Scope on Knowledge Flows.
- Rutgers Alliance Conference.
Capital Structure and Innovation Trajectory: The Role of Debt in Balancing Exploration and Exploitation.
- Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.
- Drexel University.
- University of Texas.
Do Stock Markets Induce Cognitive Biases in Managerial Decision Making? Thoughts, Evidence, and Future Research Directions.
- University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
- University of Colorado, Boulder.
- Research Problems in Cognitive Sciences Lecture Series, Cognitive Sciences Department, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Bank Loans.
- Indian School of Business.
The Costs of Related Diversification.
- Tilburg University.
- Syracuse University.
- University of Pittsburgh.
Doctoral Students Supervised
Xinying Qu, Dissertation Committee Chair, placed in University of Hartford. Dissertation-"Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Firm Strategy: Perspectives on Corporate Decision Making and Firm Strategy".
Dongge Zhou, Dissertation Committee Chair, placed in Kean University. Dissertation- "Essays on Subjective Time in Strategy"
Joseph Cabral, Dissertation Committee Chair, placed in Louisiana State University. Dissertation-“The Antecedents of Corporate Venture Capital Utilization”
Byung Chul Choi, Dissertation Committee Chair, placed in Nottingham University. Dissertation-“Behavioral and Economic Determinants of Innovation Strategy”
Pamela Harper, Dissertation Committee Chair, placed in Marist College. Dissertation- “Two Essays on Firm Strategy and Corporate Social Responsibility”
Google Scholar Site
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KRjdprEAAAAJ&hl=en
Teaching
At the undergraduate and graduate levels, my teaching has spanned three areas that are fundamental to business and management education:
- Corporate Strategy, which is concerned with strategy formulation, implementation, and competitive advantage in large firms.
- Management of Innovation, which explores the dynamics of disruption, and the interplay between large firms and entrepreneurial firms in the context of technological change.
- Technological Entrepreneurship, which covers the challenges involved in starting a new venture, and building a sustainable enterprise.
At the doctoral level I have contributed to the research mission at Lally by teaching in the following areas:
- An introductory course for all PhD students entering Lally, including Marketing, Finance, and Management. The class traces the development of the philosophy of science, and exposes students to the intellectual roots of management research.
- A strategic management discussion seminar that familiarizes students with the latest research in the strategy field.
Courses Taught
- Foundations of Management Thought (PhD)
- Seminar in Strategic Management (PhD)
- Corporate Strategy (Executive MBA)
- Strategy, Technology, Competitions (Masters)
- Business Implications of Emerging Technologies (Masters)
- Principles of Technological Entrepreneurship
- Professional Development Workshop I (MBA)
- Professional Development Workshop III (MBA, Experiential Learning)
- Strategy and Policy (Undergraduate)
Select Teaching Recognition
Outstanding professor, Master’s class of 2013, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Outstanding professor, Master’s class of 2012, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Outstanding professor, Master’s class of 2011, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Grants
- Part of team awarded grant of $500,000 from New York State for development of Life Sciences Entrepreneurship MBA concentration.
Pedagogy Related Keynote Addresses
- “Commonalities Between the East and the West”. Keynote address, Master’s students’ graduation dinner, May 2013.
- “Should Capitalism Be Motivated by Greed or Ambition”? Keynote address, Master’s students’ graduation dinner, May 2012.
- “Socially Responsible Capitalism”. Keynote address, Master’s students’ graduation dinner, May 2011.
Publications
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Cabral, J., Kumar, M.V.S, Park, H. 2024. A Reputation for Commitment: The Inclusion of Corporate Venture Capitalists in Investment Syndicates. Volume 39, Issue 3,
Cabral, J., Kumar, M.V.S. 2023. The Impact of Underpricing on Newly Public Firm Investments. Journal of Business Venturing Insights. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbvi.2023.e00380
Zhou, D., Kumar, M.V.S., & Chi, T. 2023. The Construction of Temporal Duration of External Events: The Case of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings, Strategic Management Division, Boston.
Kumar, M.V.S., Nagarajan, N., & Schlingemann, F. 2021. The Performance of Acquisitions of Founder CEO Firms: The Role of Founder Firm Premium. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 15(4): 619-646.
Giura, S., & Kumar, M.V.S. 2021. The Impact of Alliances and Knowledge Growth Within Firms. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 68(4): 1155-1167
Cabral, J., Francis, B., & Kumar, M.V.S. 2020. The Impact of Managerial Job Security on Corporate Entrepreneurship: Evidence From Corporate Venture Capital Programs. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 15(1): 28-48.
Cabral, J., Deng, C., & Kumar, M.V.S. 2020. Internal Resource Allocation and External Alliance Activity of Diversified Firm. Journal of Management Studies, 57(8): 1437-1780.
Francis, B., Harper, P., & Kumar, M.V.S. 2018. The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Bank Loans. Business and Society, 57: 1407-1439.
Choi, B-C., Kumar, M.V.S., & Zambuto, F. 2016. Capital Structure and Innovation Trajectory: The Role of Debt in Balancing Exploration and Exploitation. Organization Science, 27: 1183-1201.
Kumar, M.V.S., Dixit, J., & Francis B. 2015. The Impact of Prior Market Reactions on Risk Taking in Acquisitions. Strategic Management Journal**, 36: 2111-2121.
- Featured in “The Psychology of Decision Making in Acquisitions”, ISB Insights, July-Sept 2015.
Ma, J., Huang, D., Kumar, M.V.S., and Strijnev A. 2015. The Impact of Supplier Bargaining Power on the Advertising Costs of Movie Sequels. Journal of Cultural Economics, 39: 43-64.
Zambuto, F., Kumar, M.V.S., O 'Brien, J. 2014. Financial Health and Market Attractiveness in the Market for Inter-Firm Collaboration. Advances in Strategic Management, 31: 147-184.
Tracy, W., Kumar, M.V.S., and Paczowski, W. 2013. Parametric Interdependence, Learning-by-doing, and Industrial Structure. Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, 19: 580-600.
Kumar, M.V.S. 2013. The Costs of Related Diversification: The Effect of the Core Business on the Productivity of Related Segments. Organization Science**, 24: 1827-1846.
Cui, A., & Kumar, M.V.S. 2013. Advancing Multilevel Alliance Research: Rejoinder to Commentary on Cui and Kumar (2012). Journal of Business Research, 66:662-664.
Kumar, M.V.S. 2013. Production Knowledge and the Mechanisms of Governance. Journal of Management and Governance, 17: 261-281.
Kumar, M.V.S, & Park, J-C. 2012. Partner Characteristics, Information Asymmetry and the Signaling Effects of Joint Ventures. Managerial and Decision Economics, 33: 127-145.
Cui, A., & Kumar, M.V.S. 2012. The Termination of Related and Unrelated Joint Ventures: A Contingency Approach, Journal of Business Research, 65: 1202-1208.
Kumar, M.V.S. 2011. Are Joint Ventures Positive Sum Games? The Relative Effects of Cooperative and Non Cooperative Behavior. Strategic Management Journal**, 32: 32-54.
Kumar, M.V.S. 2010. Differential Gains Between Partners in Joint Ventures: The Role of Resource Appropriation and Private Benefits. Organization Science**, 21: 232-248.
Kumar, M.V.S. 2009. The Relationship Between Product and International Diversification: The Effects of Short Run Constraints and Endogeneity. Strategic Management Journal**, 30: 99-116.
Kumar, M.V.S. 2007. Asymmetric Wealth Gains in Joint Ventures: Theory and Evidence. Finance Research Letters, 4: 19-27.
Kumar, M.V.S. 2005. The Value from Acquiring and Divesting a Joint Venture: A Real Options Approach. Strategic Management Journal, 26: 321-331.
SELECTED WORKS IN PROGRESS
The CEO Effect in Communication: An Analysis of Earnings Conference Calls (with Sen Li and Xinying Qu).
Temporal Perceptions of External Shocks and Their Determinants (with Dongge Zhou)
Reputation for Reliability in Corporate Venture Capital Investing (with Joe Cabral, and Dennis Park)
The following is a selection of recent publications in Scopus. M.V. Shyam Kumar has 21 indexed publications in the subjects of Business, Management and Accounting, Economics, Econometrics and Finance, Mathematics.
Work Experience
Consulting Experience
New York Press Association:
- Developed a strategic blueprint for newspapers to survive in the face of digital disruption titled ‘Community 360’
Invited Presentations:
- “Path Forward: Dealing with Disruption in the Community Newspaper Industry”, New York Press Association, September 2015.
- “Implementing Community 360”, New York Press Association, April 2015.
- “Transformation in the Newspaper Industry”, New York Press Association, September 2014
Work Experience
Synaptic Communications LLC (2017-2019)
- Co-founded a startup, launched a mobile app ‘Qwigle’ in 2018
The Tata Iron and Steel Co. (1992-1996)
- India’s blue chip conglomerate
- International Business and Strategic Planning.
Cadbury’s India Ltd. (Summer, 1991)-Intern in Sales and Marketing.