Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Eric Knight is Deputy Vice Chancellor (People and Operations) at Macquarie University where his responsibilities include, amongst other things, academic and professional workforce planning, student and corporate shared service delivery, digital transformation, and university-wide student recruitment. He was a Fulbright Senior Scholar and Visiting Professor at Stanford University and completed his doctorate at the University of Oxford as an Australian Rhodes Scholar. In addition, Professor Knight serves on the boards of Macquarie University Health, Sydney Grammar School, the Universities Admissions Centre, and on the advisory boards of the Asia Society and e61.
Professor Knight is a world-leading researcher in the field of organisational theory and strategic management, having published in some of the top journals in his field including the Academy of Managment Journal, Strategic Management Journal, and Academy of Management Review. A central theme in his work is how organisational culture, shared values and leadership shape the capacity for collective decision-making. He has served as Global Chair of the Strategy Practice interest group of the Strategic Management Society and is Chair of the Strategizing Activities and Practices (SAP) interest group of the Academy of Management.
Professor Knight was previously Executive Dean of Macquarie Business School, one of the four faculties of Macquarie University. In this role, he provided strategic and operational leadership of the business school and its academic and professional staff during a period of positive transformation across its research and teaching performance. Before then, he was Professor of Strategic Management and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research - Enterprise & Engagement) at the University of Sydney, and before that worked in industry at Boston Consulting Group.
Professor Knight's research is
- Published in such A* and top-tiered FT50 journals as Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Organization Studies, and Human Relations
- Won multiple research grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and with industry partners
- Formerly worked for a range of clients in Australia and Asia whilst at Boston Consulting Group
- Been awarded Best Paper awards or nominations at the Academy of Management, the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management, and the Strategic Management Society
- Board service on numerous company and government boards, including the founding boards of NSW Smart Sensors Network and the NSW Defence Innovation Network
- Chair of the Strategy Practice interest group of the Strategic Management Society and Chair of the Strategizing Activities and Practices (SAP) interest group at the Academy of Management
- Teaching excellence focused at the intersection of strategy and engineering, with free online access to award-winning Design-led Strategy course available here with 90,000+ students
- Previously Professor of Strategic Management and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research – Enterprise & Engagement) at the University of Sydney, responsible for the university’s R&D research strategy and implementation
- Honorary Professor of Strategic Management at the University of Sydney, and visiting professor at Oxford University and Stanford University
External positions
Principal Fellow, Higher Education Academy
2020 → …
Fellow, The Royal Society of New South Wales
2020 → …
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Australia’s role in global financial and production networks
O'Neill, P. (Chief Investigator), Knight, E. (Chief Investigator) & Wojcik, D. (Primary Chief Investigator)
31/05/16 → …
Project: Research
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Understanding the barriers to cultivating a culture of innovation within the Australian Government Chief Information Officer Group
Knight, E. (Chief Investigator) & Murphy, C. R. (Primary Chief Investigator)
Project: Research
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BFI-MU Australia Data Lab
Knight, E. (Primary Chief Investigator), Kaplan, G. (Chief Investigator), Charlton, A. (Chief Investigator) & Hurley, H. (Other)
1/07/21 → 1/07/26
Project: Research
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E61 Institute at Macquarie Business School
Knight, E. (Primary Chief Investigator)
25/06/21 → 1/08/23
Project: Research
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Who Benefits from the Sharing Economy? Disruption in Australian Cities
Sigler, T. J. (Chief Investigator), Corcoran, J. (Chief Investigator), Charles-Edwards, E. (Chief Investigator), Merkert, R. (Chief Investigator), Wachsmuth, D. (Partner Investigator) & Knight, E. (Primary Chief Investigator)
1/01/20 → 31/12/22
Project: Research
Research Outputs
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The limits of pivoting: a culturally informed model of resource commitments during repeated organizational transformation
Knight, E., Grimes, M. G. & Gehman, J., Oct 2025, In: Academy of Management Journal. 68, 5, p. 1130-1162 33 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
9 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus) -
Sensing the room: the role of atmosphere in collective sensemaking
Knight, E., Lok, J., Jarzabkowski, P. & Wenzel, M., 1 Apr 2025, In: Academy of Management Journal. 68, 2, p. 326-356 31 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile20 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)14 Downloads (Pure) -
Managing ecosystem emergence and evolution: Strategies for ecosystem architects
Daymond, J., Knight, E., Rumyantseva, M. & Maguire, S., Apr 2023, In: Strategic Management Journal. 44, 4, p. O1-O27 27 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile120 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)287 Downloads (Pure) -
The Ontology of organizational paradox: A quantum approach
Hahn, T. & Knight, E., 29 Apr 2021, In: Academy of Management Review. 46, 2, p. 362-384 23 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
177 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus) -
The power of PowerPoint: A visual perspective on meaning making in strategy
Knight, E., Paroutis, S. & Heracleous, L., 1 Mar 2018, In: Strategic Management Journal. 39, 3, p. 894-921 28 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile69 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)96 Downloads (Pure)
Prizes
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Top 20 most read papers in Strategic Management Journal
Knight, E. (Recipient), 2019
Prize: Other distinction
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AFR Higher Ed Award - Industry Engagement, Finalist
Knight, E. (Recipient), 2018
Prize: Other distinction
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Stanford University
Knight, E. (Visiting researcher)
2020 → …Activity: Visiting an external institution › Visiting an external academic institution
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The role of visuals in enabling 'open strategy'
Knight, E. (Speaker)
9 Aug 2019 → 13 Aug 2019Activity: Talk or presentation › Presentation
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Visualization tools and techniques in strategy research: a strategy-as-practice perspective
Knight, E. (Speaker)
9 Aug 2019 → 13 Aug 2019Activity: Talk or presentation › Presentation
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Micro-foundations of paradox: whereto next from a practice perspective?
Knight, E. (Speaker)
9 Aug 2019 → 13 Aug 2019Activity: Talk or presentation › Presentation
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Exploring organizational processes: A tension-based view
Knight, E. (Speaker), Le, J. (Speaker), Stanske, S. (Speaker) & Wenzel, M. (Speaker)
4 Jul 2019 → 6 Jul 2019Activity: Talk or presentation › Presentation
Press/Media
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HE Is A Sovereign Capability, Not An Immigration Liability
5/05/26
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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We can’t let AI raid the foundations of our democracy
13/03/26
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Education-agent commission ban won’t curb course hopping. Here’s what will
3/03/26
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Do university early offer schemes dent year 12 motivation? That’s not what we found
22/08/25
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment