Biography - Sumantra Ghoshal

Sumantra Ghoshal (September 26, 1948 - March 3, 2004)

Professor Ghoshal died suddenly and unexpectedly in London from a brain aneurism in the Spring of 2004. For your convenience we provide here references to some of the obituaries and a list of some of the books and articles by, or about, Ghoshal that are available in the Western Libraries.
Apart from being an influential theorist in the field of international management, Ghoshal was apparently an inspiring teacher and colleague as well. In addition, he was a polymath whose interests were varied and whose intelligence was admired by many. He completed two doctorates, one from Harvard and the other from MIT. They are: The Innovative Multinational: A Differentiated Network of Organizational Roles and Management Processes(HQ- Subsidary Relation) and Environmental Scanning: An Individual and Organizational Level Analysis.

Update: New Book
Birkinshaw, Julian and Piramal, Gita Eds.
Sumantra Ghoshal on Management: A Force for Good (HD 30.5.G55 2005)
Julian is an Ivey graduate

Update:
In a recent article in The Economist it was noted that one of Professor Ghoshal's papers was to be published posthumously and that in it he argued that many of the "worst excesses of recent management practices have their roots in a set of ideas that have emerged from business-school academics over the last 30 years." ("Business: Bad for Business?; Business Schools," The Economist, Vol. 374, No.8414, Feb, 19, 2005, p.66.). That paper has now been published and is available electronically to members of the UWO/Ivey scholarly community. Here is the citation: "Bad Management Theories are Destroying Good Management Practices," The Academy of Management Learning and Education, Vol.4, No.1, 2005. There are also a number of responses in that issue.
For another view and critique of MBA programs and management education see our guide to Mintzberg.

Some remarks from the obituaries are provided below:

" His writing was fervent and his public appearances often mesmerizing. With a razor-sharp mind and a fair dose of charm, his story-telling skills tickled taciturn managers as well as young students of business, making his work highly regarded by both the academic and the business communities." "Skills Appealed to Managers as Well as Students,"Della Bradshaw and Khozen Merchant in the Financial Times, March 5, 2004.

"Sumantra Ghoshal was one of the most influential academics in international business management. An innovative and provocative thinker, he was prepared to challenge any theory, however well established. He was, moreover, a superb communicator whose ideas were admired by students and executives alike...." He came to prominence in the late 1980s through his work with Christopher Bartlett, his mentor at Harvard Business School. Their book, Managing Across Borders: The Transnational Solution (1989) has been translated into nine languages, and its central tenet-the emergence of the 'transnational' corporation-has since become a cornerstone of management thinking." "Professor Sumantra Ghoshal," The Times, March 10, 2004.

"[Mr. Ghoshal]...was not just a man of boundless energy and inventiveness; he also married the theoretical and the pragmatic in a way that is rare in the management literature." " Leadership's Loss- Management Education and Sumantra Ghoshal," The Economist, March 13, 2004.

For comments about Ghoshal by Ivey graduate Julian Birkinshaw see "Euroguru Sumantra Ghoshal Dead," by Rashmee Z Ahmed in The Times of India, March 4, 2004.

For additional commentary see the profile, "Ghoshal, Sumantra" in Vol.I of The Biographical Dictionary of Management, ed. by Morgan Witzel, p.367 (HD30.15.B43)

At the time of his death Ghoshal was working on a book with Heike Bruch. That book - A Bias for Action - which has since been published. The Differentiated Network... noted below won the George Terry Prize from the Academy of Management for the Best Book of 1998.

Books in the Western Libraries by Sumantra Ghoshal
(in reverse chronological order)

Transnational Management: Text, Cases and Readings in Cross-Border Management (5th ed.) HD62.4.B365 2008

Organizational Theory and the Multinational Corporation (2nd ed.) HD62.4.O74 2005

Sumantra Ghoshal on Management: A Force For Good HD30.5.G55 2005
Edited by: Julian Birkinshaw and Gita Piramel. Julian is an Ivey Graduate.

A Bias for Action: How Effective Managers Harvest Their Willpower to Achieve Results (with Heike Bruch) HD31.B76836 2004

Transnational Management: Text, Cases, and Readings in Cross-Border Management (4th ed.) HD62.4.B365 2004

Managing Across Borders: The Transnational Solution (2nd ed.) HD62.4.B36 2002

The Strategy Process HD30.28.Q532 1998

Managing Across Borders: The Transnational Solution (2nd ed.)  [electronic resource]

The Differentiated Network: Organizing Multinational Corporations for Value Creation HD62.4.N64 1997

The Individualized Corporation: A Fundamentally New Approach to Management... HD50.G47 1997

Transnational Management: Text, Cases, and Readings in Cross-Border Management (2nd ed.) HD62.4.B365 1995

Organization Theory and the Multinational Corporation HD62.4.O74 1993

Managing Across Borders: The Transnational Solution HD62.4.B36 1989

Strategic Control Systems HD30.28.L673 1986

 

Books in the Western Libraries with Contributions by or about Ghoshal

Cragg, Wesley, et al Eds., Corporate Social Responsibility, HD60.C69135 2009

Millson, Murray R., and Wilemon, David Eds., The Strategy of Managing Innovation and Technology HD45.M52 2008

Ketchen, David J., and Bergh, Donald D. Eds., Research Methodology in Strategy and Management. Vol. 3  [Electronic Resource]

Birkinshaw, Julian and Piramel, Gita Eds., Sumantra Ghoshal on Management: A Force for Good HD 30.5.G55 2005

Crainer, Stuart and Dearlove, Des, Business, the Universe & Everything...HD38.2.C745 2003

Middleton, John, The Ultimate Strategy Library: The 50 Most Influential Strategic Ideas of All Time HD30.28.M477 2003

Korine, Harry and Gomez, Pierre-Yves, The Leap to Globalization: Creating New Value... HD62.4.K668 2002

Choo, Chun Wei and Bontis, Nick Eds.,The Strategic Management of Intellectual Capital... HD53.S773 2002

Cusumano, Michael and Markides, Constantinos, Strategic Thinking for the Next Economy HD30.23.S768 2001

Spreitzer, Gretchen et al., The Leader's Change Handbook: An Essential Guide... HD57.7.L423 1999

Ulrich, Dave, Delivering Results: A New Mandate for Human Resource Professionals HF5549.D435 1998

Hambrick, Donald et al. Eds.,Navigating Change... HD57.7.N39 1998

Islam, Iyanatul and Shepherd, William Eds.,Current Issues in International Business HD2755.5.C87 1997

Neupert, Kent, Cases for Contemporary Strategy Analysis HD30.28.N478 1996

Champy, James and Nohria, Nitin, Fast Forward: The Best Ideas on Managing Business Change HD58.8.F37 1996

Baker Duffy, Paula, The Relevance of a Decade: Essays to Mark the First Ten Years... HF5351.R443 1996

Baden Fuller, Charles and Pitty, Martyn, Strategic innovation : an international casebook... HD30.28.S72925 1996

Mintzberg, Henry and Quinn, James Brian, The Strategy Process: Concepts, Contexts and Cases HD30.28.Q53 1996

Crainer, Stuart, Ed., The Financial Times Handbook of Management HD38.15.F56 1995

Barnevik, Percy and Mos, Rosabeth, Global Strategies: Insights From the World's Leading Thinkers HD2755.5.G557 1994

Allen, Thomas and Morton, Michael, Information Technology and the Corporation of the 1990s... HD30.2.C662 1994

Tung, Rosalie, Ed.,International Management HD62.4.I564 1994

Aliber, Robert and Click, Reid, Eds.,Readings in International Business: A Decision Approach HD2755.5.R38 1993

Root, Franklin and Visudtibhan, Knoknart, Eds., International Strategic Management... HD62.4.I566 1992

Selected Recent Articles by S. Ghoshal
(for additional articles search Business Source Complete and ProQuest)

"Think Again", Business Strategy Review, Summer 2010, Vol. 21, Iss. 2, p.70-75.

"Beyond Self-Interest Revisited", Journal of Management Studies, May 2006, Vol. 43, Iss. 3, p.585-619.

"Bad Management Theories are Destroying Good Management Practices", Academy of Management Learning and Education, Mar. 2005, Vol. 4, Iss. 1, p.75-91.

"The Hub of the World", Business Strategy Review, Spring 2005, Vol. 16, Iss. 1, p.35-40.

"Beyond Best Practice", MIT Sloan Management Review, Spring 2005, Vol. 46, Iss. 3, p49-57.

"Managing is the Art of Doing and Getting Done", Business Strategy Review, Fall 2004, Vol. 15, Iss. 3, p.4-13.

"The Bold, Decisive Manager: Cultivating a Company of Action-Takers", Ivey Business Journal, Jul/Aug. 2004, Vol. 68, Iss. 6, p.1-6.

"Reclaim Your Job," Harvard Business Review, Mar. 2004, Vol. 82, No. 3, p.41.

"Unleashing Organizational Energy," MIT Sloan Management Review, Fall 2003, Vol. 45, No. 1, p.45-51.

"What is a Global Manager?," Harvard Business Review, Aug. 2003, Vol. 81, No. 8, p.101-108.

"Going Beyond Motivation to the Power of Volition," MIT Sloan Management Review, Spring 2003, Vo. 44, No. 3, p.51-57.

"Integrating the Enterprise," MIT Sloan Management Review, Fall 2002, Vol. 44, No. 1, p.31-38.

"Beware the Busy Manager," Harvard Business Review, Feb. 2002, Vol. 80, No. 2, p.62-69.