Business History

Business History at Harvard Business School

Fellowships

Fellowships and research grants are awarded by the business history group. The Harvard-Newcomen Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Business History has been given annually since 1966. The winner spends a year in residence working on his or her research project and participating in the School's various activities in business history. Many scholars who now rank among the world's leading business historians have held this fellowship. Since 1991 the Alfred D. Chandler Jr. Travel Fellowships have been offered to enable graduate students in history or related disciplines to come to Harvard—and Harvard students to go elsewhere—for research in business history or institutional economic history. The Alfred D. Chandler Jr. International Visiting Scholar Program in Business History was established in 2005 to allow established scholars based outside the United States to spend several months at Harvard Business School. The newest fellowship is the Thomas K. McCraw Fellowship in U.S. Business History, which was established in 2008.

Business History Review Awards

The Alfred and Fay Chandler Book Award
This book award is given once every three years to the best work in the field of business history published in the United States. The winner is determined by a vote of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Business History Review.

The Henrietta Larson Article Award
This article award is given every volume year to the best article published in the Business History Review. The winner is determined by a vote of the journal's Editorial Advisory Board.

Harvard Business School Fellowships in History

Harvard Business School currently offers two business history fellowships for established scholars: The Thomas K. McCraw Fellowship in U.S. Business History and the Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., International Visiting Scholarship in Business History. Applicants may apply for both if their work fits the requirements, although they are only eligible to win one of the fellowships. The due date for each fellowship is September 15, 2011.

The Thomas K. McCraw Fellowship in U.S. Business History

This award honors the work and contributions of Thomas K. McCraw, the Isidor Straus Professor of Business History, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School. The fellowship will enable established scholars from around the world whose primary interest is the business and economic history of the United States to spend time in residence at Harvard Business School. The main activities of the Thomas K. McCraw Fellow will be to conduct research in the archives of Baker Library or in other Boston-area libraries, present his or her work at a seminar, and interact with HBS faculty. The Thomas K. McCraw Fellow will receive a stipend of $7,000 to cover travel and living expenses. Fellows are expected to be in residence for a minimum of two months. Recipients of the fellowship will receive work space, an e-mail account, a phone, a computer, an ID card, and access to the University's libraries and to the HBS Intranet for the duration of the appointment.

Applicants should send a cover letter, a CV, and a two- to three-page research proposal to Walter A. Friedman, Rock Center 104, Harvard Business School, Boston, MA 02163, U.S.A. This material can also be sent via e-mail to wfriedman@hbs.edu

Applications for the fellowship should arrive no later than September 15, 2011. The applicant should also arrange for two letters of reference, sent directly by the recommender, to arrive at the above address by September 15, 2011.

Harvard University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

Current and previous recipients:

Year Recipient
2011 Christopher McKenna Saďd Business School, University of Oxford
2010 Patrick Fridenson École des Hautes Études
2009 Kenneth Lipartito Florida International University

The Alfred D. Chandler Jr. International Visiting Scholars in Business History Program

The Alfred D. Chandler Jr. International Visiting Scholar in Business History Program invites established scholars in business history based outside the United States to spend a period of time in residence at Harvard Business School. The primary activities of the Chandler International Visiting Scholar will be to interact with faculty and researchers, present work at research seminars, and conduct business history research. The program will encourage research concerned to relate historical reality to underlying economic theories of business development. Recipients will be given a $7,000 stipend (payable at the end of their visit), office space, an email account, phone, computer, ID card, and access to the University's libraries and the HBS Intranet. The program requires a two-month minimum length of stay. Scholars may stay up to a maximum of six months. Applicants should indicate when, during the calendar year 2011, they would like to be in residence at the School. It is expected that the recipient will be actively engaged in the intellectual life of the business history group.

Applicants should send a cover letter, a CV, and a two- to three-page research proposal to Walter A. Friedman, Rock Center 104, Harvard Business School, Boston, MA 02163, U.S.A. This material can also be sent via e-mail to wfriedman@hbs.edu

Applications for the fellowship should arrive no later than September 15, 2011. The applicant should also arrange for two letters of reference, sent directly by the recommender, to arrive at the above address by September 15, 2011.

Grants will be announced by the end of October 2011.

Current and previous recipients:

Year Recipient
2011 Gijsbert Oonk ESHCC, Rotterdam
2010 John Turner Queen's University Belfast
2009 Maria Ines Barbero Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires
2008 Gelina Harlaftis Ionian University, Corfu
2008 James Bamberg Cambridge University
2007 Maria Eugenia Mata Universidade Nova de Lisboa
2007 Richard Whittington Oxford University
2006 Hans Sjögren Linköping University
2006 Hartmut Berghoff German Historical Institute
2005 Ludovic Cailluet University of Toulouse
2005 Per H. Hansen Copenhagen Business School

Harvard University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

The Alfred D. Chandler Jr. Travel Fellowships
The purpose of this fellowship is to facilitate library and archival research in business or economic history. The program will encourage research concerned to relate historical reality to underlying economic theories of business development. Individual grants range from $1,000 to $3,000.

Three categories of applicants will be eligible for grants:

  • Harvard University graduate students in history, economics, business administration, or a related discipline, such as sociology, government, or law, whose research requires travel to distant archives or repositories;

  • Graduate students or nontenured faculty in those fields from other universities, in the US and abroad, whose research requires travel to the Boston-Cambridge area (to study, for example, in the collections of the Baker, Widener, McKay, Langdell, Kress, or Houghton libraries);

  • and Harvard College undergraduates writing senior theses in these fields, whose research requires travel away from Cambridge.

To apply, send a CV, a summary of past academic research (of 1-2 pages), and a detailed description of the research you wish to undertake (of 2-3 pages). Applicants must indicate the amount of money requested (up to $3,000). Please also arrange to have one letter of reference sent independently of the application. The deadline for receipt of applications is November 1 of the calendar year preceding that in which the fellowship is to be used. All materials should be sent to Walter A. Friedman, Rock Center 104, Harvard Business School, Boston, MA 02163. Email wfriedman@hbs.edu.

The Harvard-Newcomen Postdoctoral Fellowship in Business History
To be awarded for twelve months' residence, study, and research at Harvard Business School, July 1, 2012-June 30, 2013.

The fellowship is open to scholars who, within the last ten years, have received a Ph.D. in history, economics, or a related discipline. The fellowship has two purposes: The first is to enable scholars to engage in research that will benefit from the resources of Harvard Business School and the larger Boston scholarly community. About two-thirds of the fellow's time will be available for research of his or her own choosing. A travel fund and a book fund will be provided. The second purpose is to provide an opportunity for the fellow to participate in the activities of Harvard Business School. Approximately one-third of the fellow's time will be devoted to school activities, including attendance of the Business History Seminar, and working with faculty teaching the business history courses offered in the MBA curriculum. The fellow is required to research and write a case, under the direction of a senior faculty member, to be used in one of the business history courses. Finally, the fellow is encouraged to submit an article to Business History Review during his or her year at the School.

Applicants should submit a CV, undergraduate transcript and graduate-school record, thesis abstract, and writing sample (such as an article or a book chapter). Applicants should also state the topics, objectives, and design for the specific research to be undertaken. Finally, applicants should indicate the names of three people who will write references on their behalf. The three letters of recommendation are to be submitted by the writers directly by October 14, 2011. It is the responsibility of the applicant to solicit these letters. The fellowship will be awarded and all applicants notified by mid-January 2012. Hard copy materials submitted with applications will be returned only if accompanied by postage and a self-addressed return envelope.

Applications should be received no later than October 14, 2011 and submitted online to: http://www.hbs.edu/research/faculty-recruiting.html If there are materials that can only be sent in hard copy, please send them to:

Walter A. Friedman Rock Center 104 Harvard Business School Boston, MA 02163 email wfriedman@hbs.edu

Please direct your recommenders to visit: http://www.hbs.edu/research/faculty-recruiting/recommenders.html

Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

Current and recent recipients:

Year Recipient
2011 Espen Storli Ph.D., Norwegian University of Science and Technology
2010 Christina Lubinski Ph.D., The University of Göttingen
2009 Felipe Tamega Fernandes Ph.D., London School of Economics
2008 Véronique Pouillard Ph.D., University of Brussels
2007 Stephanie Decker Ph.D., University of Liverpool
2006 Andrea Lluch Ph.D., Universidad Nacional del Centro de Buenos Aires
2005 Michelle MacDonald Ph.D., Michigan
2004 Marcelo Bucheli Ph.D., Stanford
2003 Stephen Mihm Ph.D., New York University
2002 Rohit Daniel Wadhwani Ph.D., Pennsylvania
2001 Jason Scott Smith Ph.D., Berkeley
2000 Paul Sabin Ph.D., Berkeley
1999 Meg Jacobs Ph.D., Virginia
1998 Richard Sicotte Ph.D., Illinois
1997 Walter Friedman Ph.D., Columbia
1996 Wyatt Wells Ph.D., North Carolina
1995 Sven Beckert Ph.D., Columbia
1994 Donna Rilling Ph.D, Pennsylvania
1993 Jeffrey Fear Ph.D., Stanford