John Chen

Professional Summary 

John Chen, PhD, is an associate professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy. Prior to joining the Department of Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation at Baylor University, he was an assistant professor of Management at the Warrington School of Business, University of Florida. Chen's research interests are twofold. First, he examines decision-making under uncertainty, which he has applied to contexts such as the lean startup, entrepreneurial teams and learning curves. Second, he focuses on technology platforms and standardization. Chen employs computational modeling in much of his work. His research has been published in the Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science and Journal of Management.  

Education

• Ph.D., University of Michigan
• M.S.E.E., University of California, Santa Barbara
• B.S., California Institute of Technology

Courses

• BUS 5385 – Strategic Management
• ENT 6310 – Ph.D. Seminar in Strategic Management

Research Interests

• Behavioral Theory of the Firm
• Real Options
• Technology Platforms and Ecosystems
• Lean Startup
• Venture Capital

Selected Publications

• Ranganathan, R., Chen, J. S. & Ghosh, A. (2025). Shaping ecosystem rules: Complementarities, interdependencies, and firms’ success in coordinating ecosystems via standard-setting. Organization Science, forthcoming.
• Chen, J. S., Elfenbein, D. W., Posen, H. E., & Wang, M. Z. (2024). Programs of experimentation and pivoting for (overconfident) entrepreneurs. Academy of Management Review, 49(1), 80–106.
• Leiblein, M. J., Chen, J. S., & Posen, H. E. (2023). Uncertain learning curves: Implications for first-mover advantage and knowledge spillovers. Academy of Management Review, 48(1), 123–148.
• Chen, J. S., Elfenbein, D. W., Posen, H. E., & Wang, M. Z. (2022). The problems and promise of entrepreneurial partnerships: Decision-making, overconfidence, and learning in founding teams. Academy of Management Review, 47(3), 489–520.
• Posen, H. E., Leiblein, M. J., & Chen, J. S. (2018). Toward a behavioral theory of real options: Noisy signals, bias, and learning. Strategic Management Journal, 39(4), 1112–1138.