Prof Brad MacKay
Professor of Strategic Management
Biography
Brad MacKay is Professor of Strategy in the University of St Andrews School of Management. Formerly, he held a Chair in Strategic Management at the University of Edinburgh Business School, where he was also Director of Engagement (Associate Dean) on the Executive (2014-2016), Head of the Strategy and International Business Group (2011-2014), and Director of the MBA programmes (2009-2011). He also held an ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) Senior Fellowship in the Future of the UK and Scotland program (2013-2014). He earned a BA in International Development Studies from Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Canada, an MLitt (Distinction) in Management, Economics and Politics (MEP) and a PhD in Strategy from the University of St Andrews, Scotland. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).
Brad is Deputy Principal and Vice-Principal (International Strategy and External Relations) in the Principal's Office of the University.
Research areas
Brad's research, teaching and consultancy interests include strategy development, execution and implementation, contingency planning, scenario planning and the political economy of strategy-making.
He was recently appointed by the ESRC (Economic Social Research Council) as a Senior Fellow for the Scotland Analysis, to investigate the impact of the independence debate in Scotland and the United Kingdom on business decision-making. He has published in a range of scholarly journals including the Academy of Management Journal, Organization Studies, Human Relations, the European Management Review, Futures, International Studies of Management and Organization, Management and Organization History, and Technological Forecasting and Social Change. He is also co-editor of the Edward Elgar Handbook of Research on Strategy and Foresight (2009).
His research is interdisciplinary in nature, importing sensibilities from economics, history, philosophy, psychology and sociology for the purpose of better understanding the mechanisms underpinning wealth creation. He is also a co-founder of the Strategic Foresight Special Interest Group (SIG) of the British Academy of Management, of which he served as its Chairperson between 2003 and 2007. His research has been widely covered in the press, including the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal. He is a regular commentator on business related issues in the media.
Selected publications
-
Open access
Organizational strategy and its implications for strategic studies: a review essay
Hughes, J., Kornberger, M., O'Brien, P., Mackay, B. & Reddy, S., 16 Nov 2021, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of Strategic Studies. Latest Articles, 24 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
-
The performativity of strategic foresight tools: horizon scanning as an activation device in strategy formation within a UK financial institution
Idoko, O. & MacKay, R. B., Jan 2021, In: Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 162, 120389.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
A greener economy: how we make sustainability central to business
Ivory, S. B. & Mackay, B., 16 Jun 2020, The Conversation.Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article
-
Open access
Scaling sustainability from the organizational periphery to the strategic core: towards a practice-based framework of what practitioners “do”
Birrell Ivory, S. & Mackay, R. B., Jul 2020, In: Business Strategy and the Environment. 29, 5, p. 2058-2077Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Scenario planning as strategic activity: a practice-orientated approach
Bowman, G. & MacKay, R. B., 3 Feb 2020, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Futures & Foresight Science. Early ViewResearch output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
Strategy-in-practices: a process philosophical approach to understanding strategy emergence and organizational outcomes
Mackay, B., Chia, R. & Nair, A., 20 Jun 2020, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Human Relations. Online First, p. 1-33 33 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Synthesizing scenario planning and industry recipes through an analysis of the Hollywood film industry
Bezjian, J., Stoyanova, V., McKiernan, P. & MacKay, R. B., Jan 2020, In: Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 150, 119777.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Scenario thinking: a historical evolution of strategic foresight
Mackay, R. B., Oct 2018, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 45 p. (Elements in business strategy)Research output: Book/Report › Book
-
Open access
Scenario planning with a sociological eye: augmenting the intuitive logics approach to understanding the future of Scotland and the UK
Mackay, B. & Stoyanova, V., Nov 2017, In: Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 124, p. 88-100Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Implications for international business of separatist movements: The case of Scottish independence
Frank, M., Barry, F., Driffield, N., MacKay, B., Ross, D., Rugman, A. & Young, S., 2015, The rise of multinationals from emerging economies: achieving a new balance. Konara, P., Ha, Y., McDonald, F., Wei, Y., Pettit, C. P. C. & Dunleavy, P. (eds.). Palgrave Macmillan, (The Academy of International Business).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter