Dr. Eric Van Den Steen

Biography

Eric Van den Steen is the Royal Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, where he specializes in strategy. He holds the Roy chair, a position established by the founder of Textron. Professor Van den Steen's research delves into the fundamentals of strategy, competitive advantage, and the role of leadership within organizational strategy. His work extensively investigates the impact of fundamental disagreements within organizations, with a keen focus on the roles of culture and managerial vision, as well as the effects of mergers and acquisitions on organizational behavior. He has also served as the faculty chair for HBS executive education programs and as the head of the first-year Strategy course at HBS, where he developed a second-year elective titled 'Creating and Sustaining Competitive Advantage.' Before joining Harvard, he consulted for McKinsey & Company and taught at MIT. Professor Van den Steen obtained his MS in Mechanical Engineering from KULeuven in Belgium, along with an MBA from the University of Chicago and a PhD from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Outside of academia, he enjoys spending time with his family.

Research Interests