Ph.D. (Management), UCLA, 1989

Academic Positions Held

Current Appointments:

Associate Dean, Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University (2005-Present)

Associate Professor, Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University (2005-Present)

Previous Appointments:

Associate Professor, City University of Hong Kong, 2001–2005

Associate Professor, California Polytechnic University, 2000–2001

Assistant Professor, University of California, Irvine, 1997–2000

Assistant Professor, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 1994–1997

Visiting Assistant Professor, University of California, Irvine, 1991–1993

Assistant Professor, Stanford University, 1987–1991

Other Positions:

Senior Associate, Practical Concepts Inc., Washington, DC, 1979–1981

Project Associate Director, American Bar Foundation, 1976–1979

Honors & Awards

Faculty Research Award, City University of Hong Kong, 2003

Best Paper Award, Academy of Management OMT Division, 1985

Hewlett-Packard Fellow, UCLA, 1984

Course Taught in SMU

Strategy

Selected Consulting Activities

Organizational development and performance evaluation design for the US Small Business Administration, Washington, DC

Project planning and analysis for the US Agency for International Development, Washington, DC

Project evaluation for the Government of Haiti (under USAID sponsorship), Haiti

Policy planning and analysis for the Sustainable Futures Project, San Francisco, CA

Marketing strategy analysis for the Digital Equipment Corporation, Boston, MA

Research Areas

Corporate strategy and diversification

New technology ventures in emerging economies

International cooperative ventures

Management and organization theory

Current Projects

Technology sourcing and development in Chinese ventures

The context of group faultlines: diversity and conflict in organizations

A behavioral approach to corporate governance

Selected Book, Journal & Other Publications

“When does the age of data matter? Notes on the selection of data for strategy research,” Research Methods in Strategy and Management, Vol I, Ketchum, D. and Bergh, D. (eds) JAI/Elsevier Press, 2004

James A. Robins and M. Wiersema (2003), “The measurement of corporate portfolio strategy: analysis of the content validity of related diversification indexes,” Strategic Management Journal, Vol 24, 39-59.

K. Atuahene-Gima and James A. Robins (2003), “The effects of external relationships on innovative activities within firms” Proceedings of the Academy of Management, Best Papers.

K. Fladmoe-Lindquist, S. Tallman and James A. Robins (2002), “Autonomy and dependence of international cooperative ventures: an exploration of the strategic performance of US ventures in Mexico,” Strategic Management Journal, Vol 23, 881-901.

Z. Lin and James A. Robins (2000), “Institutional influences on organizational control: an empirical examination of agency relations in Sino-Japanese and Sino-American joint ventures,” Advances in International and Comparative Management, Vol 13, 119-148.

James A. Robins and M. Wiersema (2000), “Strategies for unstructured competitive environments: using scarce resources to create new markets,” Winning Strategies for a Deconstructing World, R. Bresser, M. Hitt, R. Nixon and D. Heuskel (eds) New York, Wiley 2000.

K. Fladmoe-Lindquist, James A. Robins and S. Tallman (1997), “Alliance strategies of US firms in Mexico,” Strategic Discovery H. Thomas (ed), London: Wiley 1997.

James A. Robins and M. Wiersema (1995), “A resource-based approach to the multi-business firm: empirical analysis of portfolio inter-relationships and corporate financial performance,” Strategic Management Journal, Vol 16, 277-299.

James A. Robins (1994), “Public information and private profit,” Proceedings of the Academy of Management, Best Papers.

James A. Robins (1993), “Organization as strategy: restructuring production in the film industry,” Strategic Management Journal, Vol 14, 103-118.

James A. Robins (1992), “Organizational considerations in the evaluation of capital assets: toward a resource-based approach to strategic investment by firms,” Organization Science, Vol 3, 522-536.

James A. Robins (1987), “Organizational economics: notes on the use of transaction-cost theory in the study of organizations,” Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol 32, 68-86.

James A. Robins (1985), “Ecology and society: a lesson for organization theory from the logic of economics,” Organization Studies, Vol 6, 335-348.