Walter J. Ferrier
Professor, Carol Martin Gatton Professorship in Management, Chair - Department of Management
Education
- Ph.D., University of Maryland, 1995
- M.A., University of Kentucky, 1988
- B.S., University of Kentucky, 1987
Walter “Wally” Ferrier is the chair of and professor in the Department of Management in the University of Kentucky Gatton College of Business and Economics. He received his Ph.D. in Strategic Management from the University of Maryland, an M.A. in International Commerce from the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky, and a B.S. in Economics also from the University of Kentucky. He served as a visiting scholar at both Stanford University and the Helsinki University of Technology (now Aalto University) in Finland.
Wally’s research interests include the dynamics of head-to-head competition, strategic decision making and the influence of inter-organizational networks on strategy. His research has been published in the Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Managemen; and others. He won the Academy of Management Journal’s “Best Paper Award” for his research on competitive interaction published in 1999. He was awarded research grants from the National Science Foundation and the Social Sciences Research Council of Canada.
He teaches courses in strategic management and international business in the Gatton College’s Ph.D., MBA and undergraduate programs.
Wally has international work experience in Germany as a sales representative for a New Hampshire-based industrial computer terminal manufacturer, in Austria as a market research intern with IBM-Vienna and in the U.S. with PNC Bank as an international banking officer.
Prior to pursuing graduate work, Wally competed as a member of UK’s track team and later competed nationally as a triathlete and cyclist. Although raised in the metropolitan New York-New Jersey area, he is a Kentucky native who currently enjoys recreational cycling, hunting and the shooting sports, cooking and competitive swimming.
Teaching Expertise:
- Strategic Management
- International Business
Research Expertise:
- Competitive Interaction
- Competitor Intelligence
- Strategic Decision-Making
- Inter-organizational Networks
Selected Publications:
- Ferrier, W., Smith, K., & Grimm, C. 1999. The role of competitive action in market share erosion and industry dethronement: A study of industry leaders and challengers. Academy of Management Journal, 42: 372-388.
- Ferrier, W. 2001. Navigating the competitive landscape: The drivers and consequences of competitive aggressiveness. Academy of Management Journal, 44: 858-877.
- Rindova, V., Ferrier, W., & Wiltbank, R. 2010. Value from gestalt: How sequences of competitive actions create advantage for firms in nascent markets. Strategic Management Journal, 31: 1474-1497.
- Andrevski, G. & Ferrier, W. 2016. Does it pay to compete aggressively? Contingent roles of internal and external resources. Journal of Management, 45: 620-644.
- Andrevski, G., Miller, D., LeBreton-Miller, I., & Ferrier, W. 2022. Competitive rationales: Beneath the surface of competitive behavior. Journal of Management, 48: 2286-2317.
