Marco Giarratana holds a PhD in Economics and Management from the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa (Italy). He was an Assistant Professor and an Associate Professor at the Carlos III University in Madrid (2003-2010), and an Associate and Full Professor at Bocconi University in Milan (2011-2016).

His main research interests focus on the role of diversification, product strategies, resources, and performance. Do diversified firms suffer more or less compared to a specialized firm when competition increases? Is there a fight or flight response when competition increases in a particular niche market? How does this behavior depend on the type of firm resources? His second stream of research is related to strategies for Social Business Hybrids, where he is studying new strategic business models that could help firms with strong social engagement to thrive and survive. What are the advantages and liabilities of a Social Business Hybrid? How can they build a competitive advantage? Which strategic actions are to be recommended and which need to be avoided?

In 2017, Prof. Giarratana published 21 ISI Web of Science articles that received more than 300 citations. He has received over 1,000 citations in Google Scholar and has published his work in publications such as the Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, and Management Science.

Since 2003, Prof Giarratana has taught in several organizations at different degree levels from bachelor to MBAs. He thinks that the classroom is an amazing environment to exchange his research outcomes with students and receive their feedback. He believes that strategy means an understanding of assumptions and theory mechanisms that help the development of rigorous thinking and the fine-tuning of firms’ actions in the real business environment. A good strategy “lies both in the validity of the inference and in the quality of the observation”.