AMA Entrepreneurial Marketing SIG
2026 Gerald E. Hills Best Paper Award
Gerald E. (Gerry) Hills is widely recognized for his research and expertise in entrepreneurial marketing, especially for his work on opportunity recognition. In addition, in the mid eighties Gerry initiated an annual research symposium on Marketing and Entrepreneurship, which is now the Global Research Conference on Marketing and Entrepreneurship. Gerry was one of the AMA leaders who initiated the Special Interest Group concept. The Entrepreneurial Marketing SIG is pleased to continue to present a best paper award in recognition of Gerry's lifetime contributions to the field.
Award Criteria:
The Gerald E. Hills Award Best Paper on Entrepreneurial Marketing award is presented annually to the author(s) of the “best paper” who have made a significant impact on the marketing/entrepreneurship interface research. The domain of nominated articles would be papers published in the previous 10 years in any refereed publication. After a thorough review of candidate papers by this year’s selection committee, we are very pleased to announce the winners:
Innovation Pathway to Profitability: The Role of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Marketing Capabilities, S. Arunachalam, Sridhar N. Ramaswami, Pol Herrmann, and Doug Walker, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2018, 46(4), 744–766.
Abstract: Drawing from the marketing capabilities and innovation literatures, we identify a process through which a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation impacts profits and demonstrate that this relationship depends on marketing capabilities. Using a half-longitudinal design, we integrate survey data with performance metrics collected over two time periods from a sample of 190 firms. We find that the effect of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on innovation is strengthened by architectural marketing capabilities, whereas the effect of innovation outcomes on profits is strengthened by specialized marketing capabilities. Ultimately, the pathway from EO to firm performance, mediated by innovation, is significantly stronger at higher levels of both types of marketing capabilities. The results, obtained using Bayesian conditional process modeling, are robust across alternative model specifications and endogeneity tests and provide new insights into a capabilities-based understanding of the entrepreneurship–marketing interface. We conclude by discussing the resource allocation implications for managers seeking to maximize profits through innovation.
2026 Hills Best Paper Award selection committee:
Yinghong Susan Wei (Chair), Texas A&M International University
Stern Neill, California Polytechnic State University
Maija Renko, Aalto University
Previous Award Winners:
2025: Man Yang and Peter Gabrielsson: "Entrepreneurial Marketing of International High-Tech Business-to-Business New Ventures: A Decision-Making Process Perspective," Industrial Marketing Management, 2017, 64, 147-160.
2024: Peter Whalen, Can Uslay, Vincent J. Pascal, Glenn Omura, Andrew McAuley, Chickery J. Kasouf, Rosalind Jones, Claes M. Hultman, Gerald E. Hills, David J. Hansen, Audrey Gilmore, Joe Giglierano, Fabian Eggers, and Jonathan Deacon: "Anatomy of Competitive Advantage: Towards a Contingency Theory of Entrepreneurial Marketing," Journal of Strategic Marketing, 2016, 24(1), 5-19.
2023: Gordon Liu, Teck–Yong Eng, and Sachiko Takeda: "An Investigation of Marketing Capabilities and Social Enterprise Performance in the UK and Japan," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2015, 39(2), 267-298.
2022: Gillian Sullivan Mort, Jay Weerawardena, and Peter Liesch: “Advancing Entrepreneurial Marketing: Evidence from Born Global Firms,” European Journal of Marketing, 2012, 46 (3/4), 542-561.
2021: Christian Homburg, Alexander Hahn, Torsten Bornemann, and Philipp Sandner: “The Role of Chief Marketing Officers for Venture Capital Funding: Endowing New Ventures with Marketing Legitimacy,” Journal of Marketing Research, 2014, 51(5), 625-644.
2020: Rosalind Jones and Jennifer Rowley: “Entrepreneurial Marketing in Small Businesses: A Conceptual Exploration,” International Small Business Journal, 2011, 29(1), 25-36.
2019: Nicole E. Coviello and Richard M. Joseph: “Creating Major Innovations with Customers: Insights from Small and Young Technology Firms,” Journal of Marketing, 2012, 76 (6), 87-104.
2018: Raghunath Singh Rao, Rajesh K. Chandy, and Jaideep C. Prabhu: “The Fruits of Legitimacy: Why Some New Ventures Gain More from Innovation than Others,” Journal of Marketing, 2008, 72 (4), 58-75.
2017: Justin W. Webb, R. Duane Ireland, Michael A. Hitt, Geoffrey M. Kistruck, and Laszlo Tihanyi: “Where is the Opportunity without the Customer? An Integration of Marketing Activities, the Entrepreneurship Process, and Institutional Theory,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2011, 39 (4), 537-554.
2016: Diane M. Martin and John Schouten: "Consumption-Driven Market Emergence," Journal of Consumer Research, 2014, 40 (5), 855-870.
2015: Stuart Read, Nicholas Dew, Saras Sarasvathy, Michael Song, and Robert Wiltbank: "Marketing Under Uncertainty - The Logic of an Effectual Approach," Journal of Marketing, 2009, 73 (3), 1-18.
2014: Marc Gruber, Ian C. MacMillan, and James D. Thompson: “Look Before You Leap: Market Opportunity Identification in Emerging Technology Firms,” Management Science, 2008, 54 (9), 1652-1664.
2013: Nicole E. Coviello: "Network Dynamics in the International New Venture," Journal of International Business Studies, 2006, 37 (5), 713-731.
2012: Michael H. Morris, Minet Schindehutte, and Raymond W. Laforge: “Entrepreneurial Marketing: A Construct for Integrating Emerging Entrepreneurship and Marketing Perspectives,” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 2002, Fall, 1-18.
2011: Ken Matsuno, Tom Mentzer, and Aysegul Ozsomer: "The Effects of Entrepreneurial Proclivity and Market Orientation on Business Performance," Journal of Marketing, 2002, 66 (3), 18-33.
2010: Helena Yli-Renko, Erkko Autio, and Harry J. Sapienza: "Social Capital, Knowledge Acquisition, and Knowledge Exploitation in Young Technology-Based Firms," Strategic Management Journal, 2001, 22, 587-613.
Inaugural 2009 Award: Saras Sarasvathy: "Causation and Effectuation: Toward a Theoretical Shift from Economic Inevitability to Entrepreneurial Contingency," Academy of Management Review, 2001, 2, 243-263.
2027 Nomination Deadline:
Please email your nomination, together with a one-page statement of endorsement, to Stern Neill (AMA EMSIG-Chair) or Susan Wei (AMA EMSIG-Vice Chair of Research) by May 15, 2027. Self-nominations (for up to two articles) are also welcome.
E-mails: [email protected]; [email protected]