Fabrizio
Ferraro

Professor of Strategic Management

Academic Director of Institute for Sustainability Leadership

• Ph.D in Management Science, Stanford University
• M.Sc. in Sociology, Stanford University
• Degree in Economics, Universitá degli studi di Napoli - Federico II

Fabrizio Ferraro is professor of the Strategic Management Department and Academic Director of the Institute for Sustainability Leadership at IESE Business School. He received his PhD in Management from Stanford University. His current research explores the emergence of responsible and impact investing in the financial sector.

Previously he studied the institutionalization of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the robust action strategies to tackle grand challenges and the role of economics language in organizing. His work has been published in Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, and Organization Studies, among others.

He received the 2005 IESE Prize for Excellence in Research, the 2006 Best Paper Award from the Academy of Management Review, and the 2017 Roland Calori Price for the Best Paper published in Organization Studies. His research on responsible investing in the main financial markets has been supported by a five-year grant (2011-2015) of the European Research Council. He serves or has served as a member of the editorial board of Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Discovery, and European Management Review.

His teaching in the MBA, EMBA, GEMBA, AMP and other Executive Education programs is primarily focused on strategic leadership and strategy execution. He also teaches the Impact Investing and Strategic Management Fashion and Luxury Goods Industry courses in the MBA program.

He also taught executive programs and/or consulted for firms such as Shiseido, Swire, Abertis, Telefonica, ENEL, Oracle, Banco Santander, Henkel, Nestlé, Puig, Lavazza, and Gonzalez-Byass.

Areas of interest.

• Strategy Execution
• Responsible Investing
• Fashion and Luxury Goods Industry

Publications

Journal Articles (refereed)

BECCARINI, I., BEUNZA, D., FERRARO, F., HOEPNER, A. (2023). The Contingent role of conflict. Deliberative interaction and disagreement in shareholder engagement. Business Ethics Quarterly, 33 (1), 26-66. doi:10.1017/beq.2021.46. CASASNOVAS, G., FERRARO, F. (2022). Speciation in nascent markets. Collective learning through cultural and material scaffolding. Organization Studies, 43 (6), 829-860. doi:10.1177/01708406211031733. YAN, S., ALMANDOZ, J., FERRARO, F. (2021). The Impact of logic (in)compatibility. Greeninvesting, state policy, and corporate environmental performance. Administrative Science Quarterly, 66 (4), 903-944. doi:10.1177/00018392211005756. YAN, S., FERRARO, F., ALMANDOZ, J. (2019). The Rise of Socially Responsible Investment Funds: The Paradoxical Role of the Financial Logic. Administrative Science Quarterly, 64 (2), 466 - 501. doi:10.1177/0001839218773324. BEUNZA, D., FERRARO, F. (2019). Performative Work: Bridging Performativity and Institutional Theory in the Responsible Investment Field. Organization Studies, 40 (4), 515 - 543. doi:10.1177/0170840617747917. FERRARO, F. (2019). Going Political? Towards Deliberative Corporate Governance. Journal of Management and Governance, 23 (1), 3 - 20. doi:10.1007/s10997-018-9433-9. FERRARO, F., BEUNZA, D. (2018). Creating Common Ground: A Communicative Action Model of Dialogue in Shareholder Engagement. Organization Science, 29 (6), 1187 - 1207. doi:10.1287/orsc.2018.1226. PRATO, M., FERRARO, F. (2018). Starstruck: How Hiring High-Status Employees Affects Incumbents' Performance. Organization Science, 29 (5), 755 - 794. doi:10.1287/orsc.2018.1204. ETZION, D., GEHMAN, J., FERRARO, F., AVIDAN, M. (2017). Unleashing Sustainability Transformations Through Robust Action. Journal of Cleaner Production, 40 (1), 167 - 178. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.06.064. TORRENTS, J., FERRARO, F. (2015). Structural Cohesion: Visualization and Heuristics for Fast Computation. Journal of Social Structure, 16 (8), 1132 - 1250.

Working Papers

BLANCO, I., FERRARO, F., VALENTINI, G., WEHRHEIM, D. (2022). Meet me halfway. Financial analysts and strategic change. FERRARO, F., BEUNZA, D. (2014). Why Talk? A Process Model of Dialogue in Shareholder Engagement (WP-1124-E). O'MAHONY, S., FERRARO, F. (2004). Managing the boundary of an 'open' project (DI-537-E). FERRARO, F., PFEFFER, J., SUTTON, R. I. (2003). Economics language and assumptions: How theories can become self-fulfilling (DI-530-E).

Articles in other publications

FERRARO, F., ALEX EDMANS (2023). ESG is dead, long live ESG. IESE Business School Insight (163), pp. 62-67. FERRARO, F., ALEX EDMANS (2023). El ESG ha muerto, viva el ESG. IESE Business School Insight (163). FERRARO, F., ARGÜELLES, J. M., MAORET, M. (2018). A Road Map for Successful Strategy Execution. Strategic Leadership. IESE Insight (36), pp. 44 - 51. FERRARO, F., ARGÜELLES, J. M., MAORET, M. (2018). Hoja de ruta para ejecutar con éxito la estrategia. Liderazgo estratégico. IESE Insight (36), pp. 44 - 51. FERRARO, F., CASSIMAN, B. (2014). Three Trends That Will Change How You Manage. Globalization, Digitization and Politicization. IESE Insight (23), pp. 23 - 30.

Book Chapters

YAN, S., FERRARO, F. (2016). State Mediation in Market Emergence: Socially Responsible Investing in China. In Joel Gehman, Michael Lounsbury, Royston Greenwood (Eds.), How Institutions Matter! (pp. 173 - 206). Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited. FERRARO, F., TORRENTS, J. (2015). Open Source. In Mie Augier and David Teece (Ed.), The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management. Basingstoke [England]: Palgrave Macmillan. FERRARO, F., O'MAHONY, S. (2012). Managing the Boundaries of an "Open" Project. In John F. Padgett and Walter W. Powell (Ed.), Emergence of Organizations and Markets (pp. 545 - 565). Oxford: Princeton University Press. FERRARO, F., SCHNYDER, G., HEEMSKERK, E. M., CORRAO, R., DEL VECCHIO, N. (2012). Structural Breaks and Governance Networks in Western Europe. In Bruce Mitchel Kogut (Ed.), The Small Worlds of Corporate Governance (pp. 151 - 182). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. SALVAJ, E. H., FERRARO, F., TÀPIES, J. (2008). Family firms and the contingent value of board interlocks: The Spanish case. In Josep Tàpies y John L. Ward (Ed.), Family values and value creation. The fostering of enduring values within family-owned businesses (pp. 236 - 259). Basingstoke [England]: Palgrave Macmillan.

Cases

SASTRE BOQUET, I., FERRARO, F. (2024). GANNI's new skin: Toward responsible fashion (B). IESE, SM-1760-E. FERRARO, F., SASTRE BOQUET, I. (2024). GANNI's new skin: Towards responsible fashion (A). IESE, SM-1752-E. BELLO, B., FERRARO, F. (2023). In Good Company? Should Supreme Join VF Corp? IESE, SM-1737-E. MO UMPIERRE, N., FERRARO, F. (2022). Arcano Partners: Scaling Impact With a Fund of Funds (A). IESE, SM-1713-E. MO UMPIERRE, N., FERRARO, F. (2022). Arcano Partners - Scaling Impact with a Fund of Funds (B). IESE, SM-1714-E.

Technical Notes

FERRARO F., F., PATHAK, R. (2021). The Responsible Investing Landscape: From SRI Through ESG to IMPACT. IESE, SMN-704-E. FERRARO F., F., PATHAK, R. (2021). El panorama de la inversión responsable: de la ISR a la inversión ASG y la de impacto. IESE, SMN-704. FERRARO, F., ARGÜELLES, J. M. (2017). Liderazgo estratégico: un plan de implantación para el director general. IESE, SMN-701. FERRARO, F., ARGÜELLES, J. M. (2017). Strategic Leadership: A Roadmap for the General Manager's Journey. IESE, SMN-701-E. BALDO, A., FERRARO, F. (2014). A Class of Their Own: A Brief History of Fashion and Luxury Goods. IESE, SMN-689-E.