Stewart Thornhill
Associate Professor
Executive Director, Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship
ERA Fellow in Entrepreneurship

Stewart Thornhill is Associate Professor of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship and Executive Director, Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship at the Richard Ivey School of Business. Prior to joining Ivey, he belonged to the faculty in Entrepreneurial Studies at York University's Schulich School of Business in Toronto. He received his Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia and also holds a B.Sc. (Eng.) in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA with a concentration in Finance. Before beginning his graduate studies in business, he worked as a production engineer in the manufacturing sector and as a radio journalist. Dr. Thornhill's research interests include strategic execution, leadership, competitive strategy, innovation, and corporate entrepreneurship. His published work has appeared in several top management journals and he currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Business Venturing and the International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal. Professor Thornhill has taught in Europe, Asia and South America. Recent corporate training engagements include the Toronto Dominion Bank Financial Group, Hutchinson Port Holdings, the Globe and Mail, and JD Irving, as well as ongoing development with Canada’s fastest growing companies through the Quantum Shift Executive Development Program. Dr. Thornhill is a Director of the Ontario Telemedicine Network.

PROGRAM TEACHING

Strategic Analysis & Action (MBA, EMBA)
Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation (HBA, MBA)
Quantum Shift (Ivey Executive Programs)
Global Leadership Development (Ivey Executive Program)
TDBFG Leadership Academy (Ivey Executive Program)

RESEARCH/COURSE DEVELOPMENT

Corporate entrepreneurship
Competitive strategy and performance
Innovation
Strategic execution
New venture finance

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Dutta, D. K. & Thornhill, S. 2007. Evolution and change in entrepreneurial growth intentions: Developing a cognition-based model. Journal of Business Venturing, 23(3): 307-332.
• Thornhill, S. & White, R.E. 2007. Strategic Purity: A Multi-industry Evaluation of Pure versus Hybrid Business Strategies. Strategic Management Journal, 28: 553-561.
• White, R. E., Thornhill, S. & Hampson, E. 2007. A biosocial model of entrepreneurship: The effect of testosterone and family business background. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 28: 451-466.
• Branzei, O. & Thornhill, S. 2006. From ordinary resources to extraordinary performance: Environmental moderators of competitive advantage. Strategic Organization, 4(1): 11-41.
• White, R. E., Thornhill, S. & Hampson, E. 2006. Entrepreneurs and evolutionary biology: The relationship between testosterone and new venture creation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 100(1): 21-34.
• Thornhill, S. 2005. Knowledge, innovation and SME performance: Contrasts between high- and low-technology regimes. Journal of Business Venturing, 21(5): 687-703.
• Thornhill, S. & Amit, R. 2003. Learning about failure: Bankruptcy, firm age and the resource-based view. Organization Science, 14(5): 497-509.

EXPERIENCE

2000-2007
Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, Paris, France
Adjunct Professor

2001
Universidad de San Andreas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Karel Steuer Chair in Entrepreneurship

1999-2001
Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto, ON
Assistant Professor
 

EXPERTISE

Corporate entrepreneurship
Competitive strategy and performance
Innovation
Strategic execution
New venture finance