Professor Kamal Munir

PHD

College position:

Professor of Strategy & Policy
Academic Director, Centre for Strategic Philanthropy (CSP)
Pro-Vice-Chancellor (University Community and Engagement)
Professorial Fellow of Homerton College

Kamal Munir
Kamal Munir

Kamal Munir is Pro-Vice-Chancellor (University Community & Engagement) and Professor of Strategy and Policy at the University of Cambridge. In addition, he is Director of the Centre for Strategic Philanthropy at CJBS, a Professorial Fellow of Homerton College, and serves on the syndicates of the Cambridge University Botanic Gardens and the University Library. In the past, he has served as Acting Director of the Centre of South Asian StudiesUniversity of Cambridge, and Dean of the Humanities and Social Sciences School at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Professor Munir has published several articles on issues ranging from organisational inequality to institutional change in leading organisational and management journals, including the Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Management, Annals of the Academy of Management, and Organization Studies. At the same time, he has published in economics, history and policy journals. He is frequently invited to give keynotes and plenaries at major conferences and universities. He has won several teaching awards and his courses on strategy in the face of disruption enjoy global popularity.

Professor Munir’s work is cited frequently in the media – including the BBC, CNN, Wall Street JournalBusinessWeekWired, Financial Times, The Guardian, The Tribune and several others. In management, he is frequently invited to consult with, and run strategy off-site workshops for corporations ranging from Airbus Industries to HSBC. In policy circles, he has served as a consultant to the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and State Bank of Pakistan. He was part of the team that developed the 2010 Industrial Policy of Pakistan.

Professor Munir has served as a Senior Editor of Organization Studies, and as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Management Inquiry. He is the founder of OTREG, an international discussion forum for organisational theorists, and serves on the Editorial Board of Academy of Management Review.

Research Interests

Strategy in highly turbulent and disruptive competitive environments; positioning in ecosystems; platform-based strategy; business models; economic development and national competitiveness.

Subject group: Strategy & International Business

Awards
  • First Henry Mintzberg Distinguished Alumni Award, bestowed by McGill University for outstanding career accomplishments, 2021
  • Cambridge Judge Business School Faculty Award for Research Impact, 2021
  • Listed on #ThinklistAmplify, a list of the top influential thinkers in the domain of responsible business, University of Bath, 2020
  • Winner, Best PhD Paper Prize (with Maima A. Syakhroza), Strategic Management Society Annual Conference, 2016
  • Runners-Up, Best Paper Prize, Strategic Management Society Annual Conference, 2016
  • Best International Symposium Award, for Symposium on University-Industry Collaborations, Academy of Management Conference, Chicago, USA, 2009
Links to online publications, articles or other work

Selected publications 

A more comprehensive list can be found on the Judge Business School website.

Munir, K., Ansari, S. and Brown, D. (2021) “From Patañjali to the ‘gospel of sweat’: yoga’s remarkable transformation from a sacred movement into a thriving global market.” Administrative Science Quarterly, 66(3): 854-899 (DOI: 10.1177/0001839221993475)

Radic, M., Ravasi, D. and Munir, K. (2021) “Privatization: implications of a shift from state to private ownership.” Journal of Management (DOI: 10.1177/0149206320988356) (published online Feb 2021)

Amis, J.M., Mair, J. and Munir, K. (2020) “The organizational reproduction of inequality.” Academy of Management Annals, 14(1): 195-230 (DOI: 10.5465/annals.2017.0033)

Syakhroza, M.A., Paolella, L. and Munir, K. (2019) “Holier than thou? Identity buffers and adoption of controversial practices in the Islamic banking category.” Academy of Management Journal, 62(4): 1252-1277 (DOI: 10.5465/amj.2016.1017)

Amis, J.M., Munir, K.A., Lawrence, T.B., Hirsch, P. and McGahan, A. (2018) “Inequality, institutions and organizations.” Organization Studies, 39(9): 1131-1152 (DOI: 10.1177/0170840618792596)

Dacin, M.T., Munir, K. and Tracey, P. (2010) “Formal dining at Cambridge colleges: linking ritual performance and institutional maintenance.” Academy of Management Journal, 53(6): 1393-1418

Media interviews

Pro-Vice-Chancellor Kamal Munir on diversity and inclusion at Cambridge

Today’s Biggest Challenges For CEOs According To Cambridge Pro Vice Chancellor Kamal Munir

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