Schulich school establishes Chair in global business history

The Schulich School of Business at York University has established a Chair in global business history. The Chair, established with endowed funding provided by school benefactor Seymour Schulich, will focus on teaching business history and on fostering innovative research in global business history.


“The establishment of a Chair in Business History strengthens and deepens our school’s long-standing commitment to this important area of management learning,” says Schulich Dean Dezsö J. Horváth.


Following an extensive international search, the Schulich school has appointed Professor Matthias Kipping (right) to the Chair in Business History. Kipping previously held positions at the University of Reading – a school well-known for its research in international business history – and at the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona.


“Business history offers lessons from the past that can help managers make better decisions in the future,” says Kipping. “For example, history shows us that the fortunes of companies are shaped by long-term resource commitments and by a corporate culture that has developed over a long period of time.”


Some of the key areas of Kipping’s research include the international dissemination of management innovations and comparative business-government relations. Kipping is currently writing the chapter on “Business History and Management” for the Oxford Handbook of Business History.