Russ Coff, the Thomas J. Falk Distinguished Chair in Business and a professor of management and human resources at the Wisconsin School of Business, will receive the 2024 Herbert Simon Award from Rajk College for Advanced Studies in Budapest, Hungary.
Established in 2004, the annual award recognizes scholars whose work has significantly contributed to solving real-world economic and business problems. The Herbert Simon Award is named after Nobel laureate and Milwaukee native Herbert A. Simon, who visited Rajk College in 1988.
This will be the 20th presentation of the Herbert Simon Award and honors Coff’s impressive contributions to the field of strategic management.
“Professor Coff’s research has had a major impact on the field of strategic management, particularly in understanding how firms create and capture value through human capital and how sustained competitive advantage can be achieved through firm-specific resources,” the college said in a statement announcing his selection. “His research has been widely cited and applied by both academics and practitioners, and it has deeply inspired the students of Rajk College—making him a natural choice as the 20th recipient of the Herbert Simon Award.”
Coff will attend the award ceremony in Budapest in June and deliver a lecture, “Rethinking Human Capital and Competitive Advantage—or—How Could I Have Been So Wrong?”.
“I am thrilled to see Russ recognized by this prestigious award,” said Page Moreau, WSB’s associate dean for research and a professor of marketing. “It is a testament to his groundbreaking research on the strategic management of human capital and its influence on the field. In accepting this honor, Russ joins the ranks of prior recipients which include James March, C. K. Prahalad, and Clayton Christensen. We are fortunate to have him as a colleague and as a mentor to the next generation of management scholars.”
A renowned expert in the field of management and strategic human resources, Coff’s research explores the role of human assets in innovation, creativity, and, ultimately in competitive advantage. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, and was a faculty member at Emory University in Atlanta and Washington University in St. Louis.