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Jonathan Sims

  • Associate Professor
Academic Division: Management
Dr. Jonathan Sims is an Associate Professor of Strategic Management at Babson College, where he has been a faculty member since 2013. He holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Management from the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business, an MBA from the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, and a B.A. in Political Science from Emory University.

Jonathan's research primarily centers on open innovation communities and teaching pedagogy. His work has been featured in journals including Innovation, R&D Management, Academy of Management Learning & Education, MIT Sloan Management Review, Industrial and Corporate Change, and Strategic Organization.

He teaches courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including Moonshot Innovations, Strategic Problem Solving, Strategy & The CEO, Introduction to the Entrepreneurial Experience, Contemporary Strategic Issues in Chile, and The Global Entrepreneurial Experience in Spain. He has been inducted into the McCombs School Teaching Hall of Fame at the University of Texas at Austin and received the Dean's Teaching Award at Babson.

Jonathan has presented and organized events for the World Open Innovation Conference and the Academy of Management. Within Babson College, he has served as Co-Chair of the Undergraduate Academic Policy Committee (UAPC), a Teaching Innovation Fund (TIF) member, and Faculty Advisor for both the Glavin Global Fellows and Weissman Scholars Program.

Academic Degrees

  • Ph D, University of Texas at Austin
  • MBA, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland
  • BA, Emory University

Academic Interest / Expertise

Strategy, Open Innovation, Teaching pedagogy

Awards & Honors

  • 2022 — Best Reviewer Award, 2021 Journal of Product Innovation Management Research Forum
  • 2019 — Selected Faculty Speaker at the 2019 Graduation Baccalaureate, Babson College
  • 2018 — Babson College Deans Award in Recognition of Excellence in Teaching, Babson College
  • 2017 — 2017 BFRF Research Grant, Babson Faculty Research Fund
  • 2016 — 2016 BFRF Research Grant, Babson Faculty Research Fund
  • 2014 — Showcase Presenter at the World Open Innovation Conference, 2014 World Open Innovation Conference
  • 2011 — Inductee in the Faculty Honor Roll for outstanding teaching performance, The University of Texas McCombs School of Business
  • 2010 — Outstanding Reviewer Award, Academy of Management BPS Division

Courses

  • Degree Courses 2025

    • STR 3510 MNSHOT ST: REV IMPOSS
    • STR 7501 MOONSHOT INNOVATION

  • Degree Courses 2024

    • STR 3000 STRATEGIC PROBLEM SOLVING
    • STR 7800 STRATEGY
    • STR 7501 MOONSHOT INNOVATION
    • STR 3510 MOONSHOT INNOVATIONS

  • Degree Courses 2023

    • STR 3000 STRATEGIC PROBLEM SOLVING
    • STR 3510 MOONSHOT INNOVATIONS
    • MSM 6110 GLOBAL EPS EXPERIENCE: SPAIN

Publications

Journal Articles

  • Sims, J.P., Woodard, C.J. (2020). Community interactions at crowd scale: hybrid crowds on the GitHub platform. Innovation. Vol: 22, Issue: 2, Page: 105-127. Routledge. link
  • Sims, J.P., Gichoya, J., Bhardwaj, G., Bogers, M. (2019). Write Code, Save Lives: How a Community Uses Open Innovation to Address a Societal Challenge. R & D Management. Vol: 49, Issue: 3, Page: 369-382. link
  • Bhardwaj, G., Crocker, A., Sims, J.P., Wang, R.D. (2018). Alleviating the Plunging-In Bias, Elevating Strategic Problem-Solving. Academy of Management Learning & Education. Vol: 17, Issue: 3, Page: 279-301. Academy of Management. link
  • Bogers, M., Zobel, A., Afuah, A., Almirall, E., Brunswicker, S., Dahlander, L., Frederiksen, L., Gawer, A., Gruber, M., Haefliger, S., Hagedoorn, J., Hilgers, D., Laursen, K., Magnusson, M., Majchrzak, A., McCarthy, I.P., Moeslein, K.M., Nambisan, S., Piller, F.T., Radziwon, A., Rossi Lamastra, C., Sims, J.P., Ter Wal, Anne L. J., . (2017). The open innovation research landscape: established perspectives and emerging themes across different levels of analysis. Industry and Innovation. Vol: 24, Issue: 1, Page: 8-40. Routledge. link
  • Seidel, V.P., Langner, B., Sims, J.P. (2017). Dominant Communities and Dominant Designs: Community-Based Innovation in the Context of the Technology Life Cycle. Strategic Organization. Vol: 15, Issue: 2, Page: 220-241. Sage. link
  • Sims, J.P., Seidel, V.P. (2017). Organizations coupled with communities: The strategic effects on firms engaged in community-coupled open innovation. Industrial and Corporate Change. Vol: 26, Issue: 4, Page: 647-665. Oxford University Press. link
  • Arena, M., Cross, R.L., Sims, J.P., Uhl-Bien, M. (2017). How to Catalyze Innovation in Your Organization. MIT Sloan Management Review. Vol: 58, Issue: 4, Page: 39-47. link

Book Chapters

  • Dąbrowska, J., Sims, J.P. (2024). Teaching Open Innovation in Business Schools: The Oxford Handbook of Open Innovation. Page: 19. Oxford University Press. link
  • West, J., Sims, J.P. (2018). How Firms Leverage Crowds and Other Virtual Communities for Innovation: Creating and Capturing Value Through Crowdsourcing. Oxford University Press. link

Other

  • Sims, J.P., Weintraub, J.R. (2020). Decision Making and Strategic Consulting: Decision Making and Strategic Consulting. Edward Elgar Publishing. link

Presentations

  • The Mindset Match Behind Effective Management Instruction Sims, J. Rosso, B. Western Accademy of Management Annual Meeting, Online (2021)
  • What Is an Ecosystem? Incorporating 25 Years of Ecosystem Research Sims, J. West, J. Bogers, M. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Boston, MA (2019)
  • Integrating the Depth and Breadth of Ecosystem Research Sims, J. West, J. Bogers, M. World Open Innovation Conference, San Francisco, CA (2018)
  • How Firms Leverage Crowds and Communities for Open Innovation West, J. Sims, J. 2018 Academy of Management, Chicago, IL (2018)
  • Long-Term Open Innovation: A Longitudinal Study of Firm Engagement with External Communities Sims, J. West, J. World Open Innovation Conference, San Francisco, CA (2017)
  • Bridging ideas, frameworks, and current business challenges using Issue-Based Problem Solving Sims, J. Wang, R. Organizational Behavior Teaching Conference, Providence, Rhode Island (2017)
  • Challenge, Champions, and Community: Open Source Communities and Healthcare Software in the Developing World Sims, J. Gichoy, J. Bhardwaj, G. Babson Faculty Research Chat, Babson Park, MA (2017)
  • Working with Open Innovation Communities Sims, J. Connected Commons, Babson College (2016)
  • Community at Babson, in Research, and between Us Sims, J. Santiago, Chile Babson Alumni Club, Santiago, Chile (2016)
  • Strategic Open Sourcing: Observations on Open Source Development of Machine Learning Toolkits on GitHub Sims, J. Briskman, J. Open and User Innovation Conference, Harvard University (2016)
  • Issue-based Problem Solving: From Management Consulting to the Management Classroom Sims, J. Organizational Behavior Teaching Conference, Canton, Ohio (2016)
  • Building Community and Trust in the Sharing Economy Sims, J. Erzurumlu, S. Sustainability, Ethics, & Entrepreneurship Conference 2016, Denver, CO (2016)
  • Cooperative and Competitive dynamics among Community Allies Sims, J. Annual Conference of the Strategic Management Society , Denver, CO (2015)
  • Ebola: Developing a Framework for Solving Big, Societal Problems Bhardwaj, G. Sims, J. Annual Conference of the Strategic Management Society , Denver, CO (2015)
  • Researching Open Innovation: Theoretical and Empirical Approaches at Different Levels Sims, J. 2015 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Vancouver, BC, Canada (2015)
  • What is New About ‘Openness’? Implications for Value Creation and Value Capture Sims, J. 2015 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Vancouver, BC, Canada (2015)
  • Inbound, Outbound, and Coupled Open Innovation Practices in a Community Setting Sims, J. 2nd Annual World Open Innovation Conference, Santa Clara, CA (2014)
  • Strategic Implications of Community Engagement: The Performance Consequences of Open Innovation Exchange Relationships Sims, J. 34th Annual International Conference of the Strategic Management Society: Strategies in a World of Networks, Madrid, Spain (2014)
  • Innovation and the Modern Firm: How firms Benefit from the Contributions of Communities Sims, J. 2014 Academy of Management Meeting, Philadelphia, PA (2014)
  • Is it Better to Give than Receive? Exchange Relationships between Firms & An Open Source Community Sims, J. 2014 Academy of Management Meeting, Philadelphia, PA (2014)
  • Evolution of Coupled Engagement between SMEs and an Open Source Community Sims, J. 12th Annual Open and User Innovation Workshop, Boston, MA (2014)
  • Meaningful Connections: Practical Job Design Ideas for Prosocial Relationships in Management Education Sims, J. Rosso, B. Academy of Management Teaching and Learning Conference, Lake Buena Vista, FL (2013)
  • Meaningful Connections: Practical Job Design Ideas for Prosocial Relationships in Management Education Sims, J. Rosso, B. First Annual Academy of Management Teaching and Learning Conference, Orlando, FL (2013)
  • Firm Engagement with an Open Source Community: Preliminary findings from the Drupal Community Sims, J. Rosso, B. Conference on Open Innovation: The Journey from Ideation to Innovation, Austin, TX (2012)
  • How Innovative are Innovation Communities, and when do Firms Care? Sims, J. 2012 Annual Open and User Innovation Workshop, Boston, MA (2012)
  • Connecting Today with ‘Someday:’ Practical Ideas for Pro-Social and Relational Job Design in Management Education Sims, J. Dekas, K. Rosso, B. OBTC 2012, Ontario, Canada (2012)
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Professional Services

  • Reviewer, Conference Paper JPIM Research Forum (2021 - Present)
  • Reviewer, Journal Article Academy of Management Journal (2022 - 2022)

Department & College Wide Services

  • Teaching Innovation Fund Committee (Fall 2023 - Present)
  • Faculty Advisor to the Glavin Global Fellows Program (Spring 2018 - Present)
  • Advisory Committee on Education Abroad (Fall 2016 - Present)
  • Undergraduate Academic Policy Committee (Fall 2019 - Summer 2020)
  • Steering Committee on Framing the Future of Undergraduate Education (Summer 2019 - Spring 2020)
  • Undergraduate Academic Policy Committee (Fall 2018 - Spring 2020)
  • Faculty Advisor to the Weissman Scholars Program (Fall 2017 - Spring 2020)
  • Faculty Workload and Compensation Committee (Fall 2015 - Fall 2018)
  • Course Coordinator for Strategic Problem Solving (ASM3300) (Spring 2015 - Fall 2018)
  • #ILoveTeaching (Babson-specific teaching conference planning committee) (Spring 2018 - Spring 2018)
  • Faculty Senate (Fall 2014 - Spring 2015)