Jan Rivkin

Jan W. Rivkin is the Bruce V. Rauner Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, where he serves as senior associate dean for research and co-chairs the School’s project on the competitiveness of the United States. He was head of the HBS Strategy Unit from 2009 through 2014.

In leading the US Competitiveness Project, Rivkin has worked with a team of about twenty HBS faculty to explore steps that leaders–especially business leaders–can take to help firms in the US win in the global marketplace and raise American living standards. His work on US competitiveness focuses on how managers choose to locate business activities in the US or elsewhere, how business leaders can best work with educators to improve America's schools, and how leaders of American cities can foster cross-sector collaboration for shared prosperity. In support of this work, Rivkin has recently developed case studies on Barry-Wehmiller, the Columbus Partnership, the city of Detroit, and Southwire Corporation.

Rivkin’s research on business strategy focuses on how managers tackle decisions that cut across functions and across product lines. His scholarly work in this area combines computer simulations, large-scale statistical studies, field research, and case studies. To support this research, Rivkin has completed case studies on diverse organizations, ranging from Dell and Delta Air Lines to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and LEGO.

Rivkin was educated at Princeton (BSE), the London School of Economics (MSc), and Harvard (PhD). He and his wife live in Newton, Massachusetts, with their two sons.