Sinyi Professor of Chinese Management
BA (University of Notre Dame), MA, MBA (University of Pittsburgh), MA, PhD (University of Michigan)
Research interests
Organisational theory; institutional theory; corporate governance; business and society; emerging markets; China; digital innovation; social innovation; stakeholders; sustainability.
Subject group: Strategy & International Business
Professional experience
Professor Marquis’ research and teaching focus on how businesses are creating a more resilient and sustainable capitalism by focusing on the elusive triple bottom line of environmental, social and financial performance. He is the author of the recent award winning book Better Business: How the B Corp Movement is Remaking Capitalism. He also studies entrepreneurship and market development in China, and in the fall of 2022 published a new book titled Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise. He is the author of more than 20 peer-reviewed academic articles and more than 50 Harvard business cases on topics related to social innovation, sustainable business and doing business in China.
Professor Marquis served two terms as an Associate Editor at Administrative Science Quarterly, and has also been a Senior Editor at Organization Science and Management and Organization Review. He has also served a term as Representative at Large for the International Association for Chinese Management Research (IACMR) and Organization and Management Theory Division, Academy of Management.
Before returning to academia, Marquis was a Vice President and Technology Manager at JP Morgan Chase. He currently is on the advisory board of China-focused media platform The China Project.
Previous appointments
Professor Marquis was previously the Samuel C Johnson Professor in Sustainable Global Enterprise and Professor of Management and Organizations, SC Johnson College of Business. Before his six years at Cornell, he spent 10 years as an Assistant and Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Professor Marquis also spent a year and a half at Harvard Kennedy School as a Professor of Social Innovation and Public Policy and he is currently a Faculty Affiliate at the Harvard Kennedy School Social Innovation and Change Initiative, and the Harvard University Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies.
Awards & honours
- One of the Financial Times “Best books of 2022: Economics” (for Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise, co-authored by Kunyuan Qiao), 2022
- Winner, Responsible Research in Management Award, Community for Responsible Research in Business and Management (RRBM), 2021
- Gold Medal(Business Ethics Category), Axiom Business Book Awards, 2021
- Finalist, Best Business Book, Porchlight Books, 2020
- Runner-up, Best Book (Management & Workplace Culture category), Porchlight Books, 2020
- Finalist, Responsible Research in Management Award, Community for Responsible Research in Business and Management (RRBM), 2019
- International Educator Award, State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs, Government of China, 2018
- Emerald Citation of Excellence Award (for Marquis and Qian (2014)), Organization Science, 2017
- Finalist, Aspen Institute Faculty Pioneer Award, 2013
- Finalist, Aspen Institute Faculty Pioneer Award, 2010
- Academy of Management, William H Newman Award for best paper based on a dissertation, 2006
- Academy of Management, OMT Division, Louis R Pondy Award for best paper based on a dissertation, 2006
- State Farm Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Award, 2004
- Finalist, INFORMS/Organization Science Dissertation Proposal Competition, 2004
- American Sociological Association, OOW Division, James D Thompson Award for best graduate student paper, 2003
Selected publications
Here are a selection of Christopher Marquis’s publications. Please see the “Selected publications” tab above for a more comprehensive list.
Marquis, C. and Qiao, K. (2023) Mao and markets: the Communist roots of Chinese enterprise. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
Marquis, C. (2020) Better business: how the B corp movement is remaking capitalism. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
Marquis, C. and Qiao, K. (2020) “Waking from Mao’s dream: communist ideological imprinting and the internationalization of entrepreneurial ventures in China.” Administrative Science Quarterly, 65(3): 795-830 (DOI: 10.1177/0001839218792837)
Marquis, C. and Bird, Y. (2018) “The paradox of responsive authoritarianism: how civic activism spurs environmental penalties in China.” Organization Science, 29(5): 948-968 (DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2018.1212)
Marquis, C. and Tilcsik, A. (2016) “Institutional equivalence: how industry and community peers influence corporate philanthropy.” Organization Science, 27(5): 1325-1341 (DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2016.1083)
Marquis, C., Toffel, M. and Zhou, Y. (2016) “Scrutiny, norms, and selective disclosure: a global study of greenwashing.” Organization Science, 27(2): 483-504 (DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2015.1039)
Journal articles
Marquis, C. (2003) “The pressure of the past: network imprinting in intercorporate communities.” Administrative Science Quarterly, 48(4): 655-689 (DOI: 10.2307/3556640) (Winner of the James D. Thompson Award, 2003)
Davis, G.F. and Marquis, C. (2005) “Prospects for organization theory in the early twenty-first century: institutional fields and mechanisms.” Organization Science, 16(4): 332-343 (DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1050.0137)
Mizruchi, M.S. and Marquis, C. (2006) “Egocentric, sociocentric, or dyadic? Identifying the appropriate level of analysis in the study of organizational networks.” Social Networks, 28(3): 187-208 (DOI: 10.1016/j.socnet.2005.06.002)
Mizruchi, M.S., Stearns, L.B. and Marquis, C. (2006) “The conditional nature of embeddedness: a study of borrowing by large U.S. firms, 1973-1994.” American Sociological Review, 71(2): 310-333 (DOI: 10.1177/000312240607100207)
Marquis, C., Glynn, M.A. and Davis, G.F. (2007) “Community isomorphism and corporate social action.” Academy of Management Review, 32(3): 925-945 (DOI: 10.5465/amr.2007.25275683)
Marquis, C. and Lounsbury, M. (2007) “Vive la résistance: competing logics and the consolidation of U.S. community banking.” Academy of Management Journal, 50(4): 799-820 (DOI: 10.5465/amj.2007.26279172)
Marquis, C. and Battilana, J. (2009) “Acting globally but thinking locally? The enduring influence of local communities on organizations.” Research in Organizational Behavior, 29: 283-302 (DOI: 10.1016/j.riob.2009.06.001)
Marquis, C. and Huang, Z. (2009) “The contingent nature of public policy and the growth of U.S. commercial banking.” Academy of Management Journal, 52(6): 1222-1246 (DOI: 10.5465/amj.2009.47084828) (Runner-Up, Best Published Paper in Organization and Management Theory, Academy of Management, 2009)
Marquis, C. and Huang, Z. (2010) “Acquisitions as exaptation: the legacy of founding institutions in the U.S. commercial banking industry.” Academy of Management Journal, 53(6): 1441-1473 (DOI: 10.5465/amj.2010.57318393)
Marquis, C., Zhang, J. and Zhou, Y. (2011) “Regulatory uncertainty and corporate responses to environmental protection in China.” California Management Review, 54(1): 39-63 (DOI: 10.1525/cmr.2011.54.1.39)
Marquis, C., Guthrie, D. and Almandoz, J. (2012) “State activism and the hidden incentives behind bank acquisitions.” Social Science Research, 41(1): 130-145 (DOI: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2011.07.001)
Marquis, C., Davis, G.F. and Glynn, M.A. (2013) “Golfing alone? Corporations, elites, and nonprofit growth in 100 American communities.” Organization Science, 24(1): 39-57 (DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1110.0717)
Marquis, C. and Lee, M. (2013) “Who is governing whom? Executives, governance, and the structure of generosity in large U.S. firms.” Strategic Management Journal, 34: 483-497 (10.1002/smj.2028)
Marquis, C. and Tilcsik, A. (2013) “Imprinting: toward a multi-level theory.” Academy of Management Annals, 7(1): 195-245 (DOI: 10.1080/19416520.2013.766076)
Tilcsik, A. and Marquis, C. (2013) “Punctuated generosity: how mega-events and natural disasters affect corporate philanthropy in U.S. communities.” Administrative Science Quarterly, 58(1): 111-148 (DOI: 10.1177/0001839213475800)
Marquis, C. and Qian, C. (2014) “Corporate social responsibility reporting in China: symbol or substance?” Organization Science, 25: 127-148 (DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2013.0837)
Sullivan, B.N., Tang, Y. and Marquis, C. (2014) “Persistently learning: how small-world network imprints affect subsequent firm learning.” Strategic Organization, 12(3): 180-199 (DOI: 10.1177/1476127014543772)
Marquis, C., Jackson, S. and Li, Y. (2015) “Building sustainable organizations in China.” Management and Organization Review, 11(3): 427-440 (DOI: 10.1017/mor.2015.37)
Marquis, C. and Raynard, M. (2015) “Institutional strategies in emerging markets.” Academy of Management Annals, 9(1): 291-335 (DOI: 10.5465/19416520.2015.1014661)
Luo, X.R., Zhang, J. and Marquis, C. (2016) “Mobilization in the Internet age: Internet activism and corporate response.” Academy of Management Journal, 59(6): 2045-2068 (DOI: 10.5465/amj.2015.0693)
Marquis, C. and Tilcsik, A. (2016) “Institutional equivalence: how industry and community peers influence corporate philanthropy.” Organization Science, 27(5): 1325-1341 (DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2016.1083)
Marquis, C., Toffel, M. and Zhou, Y. (2016) “Scrutiny, norms, and selective disclosure: a global study of greenwashing.” Organization Science, 27(2): 483-504 (DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2015.1039)
Zhang, J., Marquis, C. and Qiao, K. (2016) “Do political connections buffer firms from or bind firms to the government? A study of corporate charitable donations of Chinese firms.” Organization Science, 27(5): 1307-1324 (DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2016.1084)
Marquis, C., Yin, L. and Yang, D. (2017) “State-mediated globalization processes and the adoption of corporate social responsibility reporting in China.” Management and Organization Review, 13(1): 167-191 (DOI: 10.1017/mor.2016.55)
Liang, H., Marquis, C., Renneboog, L. and Sun, S.L. (2018) “Future-time framing: the effect of language on corporate future orientation.” Organization Science, 29(6): 1093-1111 (DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2018.1217)
Marquis, C. and Bird, Y. (2018) “The paradox of responsive authoritarianism: how civic activism spurs environmental penalties in China.” Organization Science, 29(5): 948-968 (DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2018.1212)
Wang, D., Du, F. and Marquis, C. (2019) “Defending Mao’s dream: how politicians’ ideological imprinting affects firms’ political appointment in China.” Academy of Management Journal, 62(4): 1111-1136 (DOI: 10.5465/amj.2016.1198)
Marquis, C. and Qiao, K. (2020) “Waking from Mao’s dream: communist ideological imprinting and the internationalization of entrepreneurial ventures in China.” Administrative Science Quarterly, 65(3): 795-830 (DOI: 10.1177/0001839218792837)
Chen, W.D. and Marquis, C. (2022) “Remaking capitalism: the movement for sustainable business and the future of the corporation.” Management Decision, 60(11): 2897-2903 (DOI: 10.1108/MD-08-2021-1086)
Books, monographs, reports & case studies
Marquis, C. (2020) Better business: how the B corp movement is remaking capitalism. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
Marquis, C. and Qiao, K. (2023) Mao and markets: the Communist roots of Chinese enterprise. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
