Professor of Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Futures
Director of the MPhil in Innovation, Strategy and Organisation Programme
Co-Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre
BBA (College of William and Mary), MSc (Saïd Business School, University of Oxford), PhD (Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University)
My research interests include entrepreneurship and sustainable development. I examine how individuals and organisations create, introduce, and sustain positive social change by way of entrepreneurship by studying both the contextual and individual factors that contribute to innovation and the governance of innovation.
I’m a member of the Organisational Theory and Information Systems subject group at Cambridge Judge Business School, Academic Co-Director of the Cambridge Judge Entrepreneurship Centre, and current Associate Editor at the Academy of Management Journal.
Visionary leadership requires working through our tendency toward polarisation to embrace complexity and competing demands
My details
Contact details
Academic area
Professional experience
Professor Matthew Grimes currently serves as Associate Editor of the Academy of Management Journal. He also serves on the editorial review boards of Academy of Management Review and Journal of Business Venturing. He previously served on the editorial review boards for Administrative Science Quarterly, Entrepreneurship, Theory, & Practice and the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal.
Prior to obtaining his PhD, Professor Grimes was an Associate Director for Research at CEB (now Gartner) in Washington DC, London and New Delhi.
Previous appointments
Matthew Grimes was previously Assistant Professor at the University of Indiana’s Kelley School of Business (2015-2018) and also at the University of Alberta School of Business (2012-2015). Dr Grimes was appointed a Visiting Scholar in the Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School (2015) as well as an International Research Fellow at the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University (2015-2018).
Publications
Selected publications
- Zankl, J. and Grimes, M. (2024) “Taming unicorns: toward a new normal of responsible entrepreneurship.” Academy of Management Review (DOI: 10.5465/amr.2021.0406) (published online May 2024)
- Logue, D. and Grimes, M. (2022) “Living up to the hype: how new ventures manage the resource and liability of future-oriented visions within the nascent market of impact investing.” Academy of Management Journal, 65(3): 1055-1082 (DOI: 10.5465/amj.2020.1583)
- Lucas, D.S., Grimes, M.G. and Gehman, J. (2022) “Remaking capitalism: the strength of weak legislation in mobilizing B Corporation certification.” Academy of Management Journal, 65(3): 958-987(DOI: 10.5465/amj.2020.1688)
- Logue, D. and Grimes, M. (2022) “Platforms for the people: enabling civic crowdfunding through the cultivation of institutional infrastructure.” Strategic Management Journal, 43(3): 663–693 (DOI: 10.1002/smj.3110)
- Grimes, M.G. (2018) “The pivot: how founders respond to feedback through idea and identity work.” Academy of Management Journal, 61(5): 1692-1717 (DOI: 10.5465/amj.2015.0823)
- Grimes, M.G., Williams, T.A. and Zhao, E.Y. (2018) “Anchors aweigh: the sources, variety, and challenges of mission drift.” Academy of Management Review, 61(5): 1692-1717 (DOI: 10.5465/amr.2017.0254)
Journal articles
- Knight, E., Grimes, M. and Gehman, J. (2024) “The limits of pivoting: a culturally-informed model of resource commitments during repeated organizational transformation.” Academy of Management Journal (forthcoming)
- Zankl, J. and Grimes, M. (2024) “Taming unicorns: toward a new normal of responsible entrepreneurship.” Academy of Management Review (DOI: 10.5465/amr.2021.0406) (published online May 2024)
- Grimes, M., von Krogh, G., Feuerriegel, S., Rink, F. and Gruber, M. (2023) “From scarcity to abundance: scholars and scholarship in an age of generative artificial intelligence.” Academy of Management Journal, 66(6): 1617-1624 (DOI: 10.5465/amj.2023.4006)
- Wellman, N., Tröster, C., Grimes, M., Roberson, Q., Rink, F. and Gruber, M. (2023) “Publishing multimethod research in AMJ: a review and best-practice recommendations.” Academy of Management Journal, 66(4): 1007-1015 (DOI: 10.5465/amj.2023.4004)
- Logue, D. and Grimes, M. (2022) “Living up to the hype: how new ventures manage the resource and liability of future-oriented visions within the nascent market of impact investing.” Academy of Management Journal, 65(3): 1055-1082 (DOI: 10.5465/amj.2020.1583)
- Logue, D. and Grimes, M. (2022) “Platforms for the people: enabling civic crowdfunding through the cultivation of institutional infrastructure.” Strategic Management Journal, 43(3): 663–693 (DOI: 10.1002/smj.3110)
- Lucas, D.S., Grimes, M.G. and Gehman, J. (2022) “Remaking capitalism: the strength of weak legislation in mobilizing B Corporation certification.” Academy of Management Journal, 65(3): 958-987(DOI: 10.5465/amj.2020.1688)
- Allison, T.H., Grimes, M., McKenny, A.F. and Short, J.C. (2021) “Occupy Wall Street ten years on: how its disruptive institutional entrepreneurship spread and why it fizzled.” Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 16: e00285 (DOI: 10.1016/j.jbvi.2021.e00285)
- Grimes, M.G. and Vogus, T.J. (2021) “Inconceivable! Possibilisitic thinking and the sociocognitive underpinnings of entrepreneurial responses to grand challenges.” Organization Theory, 2(2) (DOI: 10.1177/26317877211005780)
- Wagenschwanz, A. and Grimes, M. (2021) “Navigating compromise: how founder authenticity affects venture identification amidst organizational hybridity.” Journal of Business Venturing, 36(2): 106085 (DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2020.106085)
- Grimes, M.G., Williams, T.A. and Zhao, E.Y. (2020) “Beyond hybridity: accounting for the values complexity of all organizations in the study of mission and mission drift.” Academy of Management Review, 45(1): 234-238 (DOI: 10.5465/amr.2019.0209)
- Gehman, J., Grimes, M. and Cao, K. (2019) “Why we care about Certified B Corporations: from valuing growth to certifying values.” Academy of Management Discoveries, 5(1): 97-101 (DOI: 10.5465/amd.2018.0074)
- Grimes, M.G., Williams, T.A. and Zhao, E.Y. (2019) “Anchors aweigh: the sources, variety, and challenges of mission drift.” Academy of Management Review, 44(4): 819-845 (DOI: 10.5465/amr.2017.0254)
- Grimes, M.G. (2018) “The pivot: how founders respond to feedback through idea and identity work.” Academy of Management Journal, 61(5): 1692-1717 (DOI: 10.5465/amj.2015.0823)
- Grimes, M.G., Gehman, J. and Cao, K. (2018) “Positively deviant: identity work through B Corporation certification.” Journal of Business Venturing, 33(2): 130-148 (DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2017.12.001)
- Gehman, J. and Grimes, M. (2017) “Hidden badge of honor: how contextual distinctiveness affects category promotion among Certified B Corporations.” Academy of Management Journal, 60(6): 2294-2320 (DOI: 10.5465/amj.2015.0416)
- Amezcua, A.S., Grimes, M.G., Bradley, S.W. and Wiklund, J. (2013) “Organizational sponsorship and founding environments: a contingency view on the survival of business incubated firms, 1994-2007.” Academy of Management Journal, 56(6): 1628-1654 (DOI: 10.5465/amj.2011.0652)
- Grimes, M.G., McMullen, J.S., Vogus, T.J. and Miller, T.L. (2013) “Studying the origins of social entrepreneurship: compassion and the role of embedded agency.” Academy of Management Review, 38(3): 460-463 (DOI: 10.5465/amr.2012.0429)
- Miller, T.L., Grimes, M.G., McMullen, J.S. and Vogus, T.J. (2012) “Venturing for others with heart and head: how compassion encourages social entrepreneurship.” Academy of Management Review, 37(4): 616-640 (DOI: 10.5465/amr.2010.0456)
- Grimes, M. (2010) “Strategic sensemaking within funding relationships: the effects of performance measurement on organizational identity in the social sector.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 34(4): 763-783 (DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2010.00398.x)
Book chapters
- Busch, C. and Grimes, M. (2023) “Serendipity in entrepreneurship, strategy, and innovation – a review and conceptualisation.” In: Copeland, S., Ross, W. and Sand, M. (eds.) Serendipity science: an emerging field and its methods. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp.69-99
- Park, K., Grimes, M.G. and Gehman, J. (2022) “Becoming a generalized specialist: a strategic model for increasing your organization’s SDG impact while minimizing externalities.” In George, G., Haas, M.R., Joshi, H., McGahan, A. and Tracey, P. (eds.) Handbook on the business of sustainability: the organization, implementation, and practice of sustainable growth. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp.439-458
- Cao, K., Gehman, J. and Grimes, M.G. (2018) “Standing out and fitting in: charting the emergence of Certified B Corporations by industry and region.” In Corbett, A.C. and Katz, J.A. (eds.) Hybrid ventures (Advances in entrepreneurship, firm emergence, and growth, vol.19). Bingley: Emerald Publishing, pp.1-38
- Victor, B. and Grimes, M. (2014) “Making moral markets: a professional responsibility ethic for business and poverty.” In Fischer, E.F. (ed.) Cash on the table: markets, values, and moral economies. Santa Fe, AZ: School for Advanced Research Press, pp.171-186
- Victor, B. and Grimes, M. (2013) “Why accountability in social entrepreneurship is crucial.” In Lyons, T.S. (ed.) Social entrepreneurship: how businesses can transform society: vol.3: accountability, performance measurement, and performance management in social entrepreneurship. Santa Barbara, CN: Praeger, pp.223-233
Awards and honours
- Best Developmental Reviewer, Academy of Management Review, 2023
- Outstanding Reviewer Award, Academy of Management Review, 2022
- Responsible Research in Management Finalist, co-sponsored by the Community for Responsible Research in Business and Management and The International Association for Chinese Management Research, 2020
- Developmental Reviewer Award, Academy of Management Review, 2020
- Emerging Scholar Award, ENT Division of the Academy of Management, 2018
- Outstanding Reviewer Award, Academy of Management Journal, 2018
- Presidential Responsible Research in Management Award, co-sponsored by the Community for Responsible Research in Business and Management and The International Association for Chinese Management Research, 2017 (inaugural year)
- Best Paper Award, 13th Annual Social Entrepreneurship Conference, 2016
- Outstanding Reviewer Award, Academy of Management Journal, 2016
- Best Paper Award, SAP Division, Academy of Management, 2016
- People’s Choice Award from the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability, 2015
- Research Fellow, Canadian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, 2012-2015
- Nova Faculty Fellow, 2014-2015
- Southam Edmonton Journal Faculty Fellow, 2013-2014
News and insights
Cambridge Judge Business School collaborated with the Tony Cowling Foundation to host an event for practitioners and academics to explore a shared interest in market research.
Entrepreneurship and innovation
How to better harness unicorn startups
Entrepreneurship needs to shift from a model that prioritises growth at all costs toward a more responsible model that controls negative consequences, argues research co-authored by Professor Matthew Grimes.
AI and technology
What does it mean to be a scholar in an age of AI?
Academic publishing has long been based on the premise of elite scarcity. With generative AI promising to lower barriers for producing exceptional articles, Professor Matthew Grimes asks how this will change the scholarly profession.
Media coverage
Network for Business Sustainability | 22 April 2021
Corporate sustainability reputation matters most during crises
Nareuporn Piyasinchai, a PhD candidate in the Strategy and International Business subject group at Cambridge Judge Business School, discusses reputation management during crisis. A recent study co-authored with Dr Matthew Grimes, suggests companies should pay more attention to reputation in times of upheaval. “That’s especially true when it comes to your environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices. Our research found that during highly disruptive periods, public ESG criticism “imprints” on firms’ reputations, creating a long-lasting impression that shapes their future practices,” Nareuporn writes.
Barron’s | 12 April 2019
Why mission drift can be a good thing
“Mission drift” need not be negative and can help an organisation widen its initial focus productively, Dr Matthew Grimes, Reader in Organisational Theory and Information Systems at Cambridge Judge Business School, argues in an article in financial magazine Barron’s. If managed effectively, says Matthew, initiatives that move beyond a company’s initial focus can become “mission lift” rather than “mission drift”.