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Ken Matsuno

  • Professor
  • Murata Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College
Academic Division: Marketing
781-239-4363
Dr. Matsuno has taught courses in Babson's integrated first-year MBA program, marketing strategy, marketing communications, global marketing strategy, and marketing research. He has also been a faculty member in both open-enrollment and custom executive programs, such as the one for Biogen-Idec, DSM, Novartis, Toshiba, and the Bio-pharma program. He has served as a consultant in the areas of corporate and marketing strategies in such industries as automobile manufacturing, bio-tech and pharmaceutical, and information technology.

Prior to his academic career, Dr. Matsuno worked at C. Itoh Fashion Systems in Japan, and at Eli Lilly & Co., Indianapolis, Indiana. His research interests include corporate and marketing strategies, business-to-business relationships, and global issues in marketing. His most recent research projects investigate apparent responses and non-responses by businesses to such external forces as aging population, natural disasters, and rising environmental consciousness. His published works can be found in the Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Product Innovation Management, International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, among others.

Academic Degrees

  • Ph D, The University of Tennessee
  • MBA, University of Virginia
  • BS, University of Oregon
  • BA, Aoyama Gakuin University

Academic Interest / Expertise

Fashion Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Competitive Strategy; Global Marketing; Japan; Market Orientation; Marketing Strategy; Technology and Product Strategy; Automotive Industry

Awards & Honors

  • 2011 — The Gerald E. Hills Award, American Marketing Association - Entrepreneurial Marketing SIG

Publications

Journal Articles

  • Matsuno, K., Kohlbacher, F. (2020). Proactive Marketing Response to Population Aging: The Roles of Capabilities and Commitment of Firms. Journal of Business Research. Vol: 113, Issue: May, Page: 93-104. link
  • Matsuno, K., Kohlbacher, F. (2019). Firms’ (Non)responses: The Role of Ambivalence in the Case of Population Aging in Japan. Long Range Planning. Vol: 52, Issue: 1, Page: 236-254. link
  • Ali, A., Matsuno, K. (2018). Mediating Roles of Capabilities Between R&D-Marketing Integration and Business Performance. Journal of Asia Business Studies. Vol: 12, Issue: 1, Page: 81-98. Emerald Publsihing.
  • Zhu, Z., Matsuno, K. (2016). Entrepreneurial proclivity: its environmental conditions and growth consequences. Journal of Strategic Marketing. Vol: 24, Issue: 1, Page: 20-33. Routledge. link
  • Matsuno, K. (2015). The Effects of Environmental Uncertainty and Entrepreneurial Proclivity on Market Orientation Process and Growth Momentum. Kindai Management Review. Vol: 3, Page: 36–48. Maruzen Planet. link
  • Matsuno, K., Zhen, Z., Rice, M.P. (2014). Innovation Process and Outcomes for Large Japanese Firms: Roles of Entrepreneurial Proclivity and Customer Equity. Journal of Product Innovation Management. Vol: 31, Issue: 5, Page: 1106–1124. Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc.. link
  • Bharadwaj, N., Matsuno, K. (2006). Investigating the Antecedents and Outcomes of Customer Firm Transaction Cost Savings in a Supply Chain Relationship. Journal of Business Research. Vol: 59, Page: Bharadwaj.
  • Cohen, A., Bhardwaj, G., Matsuno, K. (2005). The Uncertain Future. BioExecutive International. Vol: 1, Issue: 3, Page: 18-20.
  • Matsuno, K., Mentzer, J.T., Rentz, J.O. (2005). A conceptual and empirical comparison of three market orientation scales. Journal of Business Research. Vol: 58, Issue: 1, Page: 1–8. link
  • Matsuno, K., Mentzer, J.T., Ozsomer, A. (2002). The effects of entrepreneurial proclivity and market orientation on business performance. Journal of Marketing. Vol: 66, Issue: 3, Page: 18–32. link
  • Jackson, T., David, C., Deshpande, S., Jones, J., Joseph, J., Lau, K.F., Matsuno, K., Nakano, C., Park, H., Piorunowska-Kokosuzko, J., Taka, I., Yoshihara, H. (2000). Making ethical judgements: A cross-cultural management study. Asia Pacific Journal of Management. Vol: 17, Issue: 3, Page: 443–472. link
  • Matsuno, K., Mentzer, J.T. (2000). The effects of strategy type on the market orientation-performance relationship. Journal of Marketing. Vol: 64, Issue: 4, Page: 1–16. link
  • Matsuno, K., Mentzer, J.T., Rentz, J.O. (2000). A refinement and validation of the MARKOR scale. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. Vol: 28, Issue: 4, Page: 527–539. link
  • Mentzer, J.T., Rutner, S.M., Matsuno, K. (1997). Application of the means‐end value hierarchy model to understanding logistics service value. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management. Vol: 27, Issue: 9/10, Page: 630–643. link

Cases and Teaching Notes

  • Ottley, G.A., Matsuno, K. (2017). Apple Watch (B) . Issue: BAB362C. Babson College.
  • Ottley, G.A., Matsuno, K. (2017). Apple Watch (B) Teaching Note. Issue: BAB363.

Presentations

  • Research: How Do We Build on Our Legacy? Nersessian, D. Matsuno, K. Greenberg, D. Levinson, J. Sulkowski, A. Spinelli, S. Babson College Research Day, Wellesley, MA (2022)
  • "Organizational Post-traumatic Growth: How Disasters Affect Responsiveness to Environmental Forces" Nava, L. Matsuno, K. Kohlbacher, F. 2020 Academy of Management Conference, Vancouver, BC, Canada (2020)
  • Organizational Post-Traumatic Growth: How Disasters Affect Responsiveness to Environmental Forces Nava, L. Matsuno, K. Kohlbacher, F. Sustainability Salon: Responses and Solutions to System Disruptions, London, Ontario, Canada (2020)
  • Thought Leaders in Entrepreneurial Marketing on the Past, Present, and Future Directions of the Field Matsuno, K. AMA Summer Educators Conference, Chicago, Illinois (2019)
  • Proactive Marketing Response to Population Aging: The Roles of Capabilities and Commitment of Firms Matsuno, K. Kohlbacher, F. Business & Society Seminar - ESADE Business School, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain (2019)
  • The Effects of Ambivalence on Firms’ (Non)responses to Natural Disasters and Rising Ecological Consciousness Matsuno, K. Kohlbacher, F. The 31st Global Research Symposium on Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Boston, MA (2018)
  • “Proactive Marketing Response to Population Aging: The Roles of Capabilities and Commitment of Firms” Matsuno, K. Kohlbacher, F. Research Seminar, IESE Business School, IESE Business School, Barcelona, Spain (2018)
  • "Proactive Marketing Response to Population Aging: The Roles of Capabilities and Issue-specific Orientation of Firms" Kohlbacher, F. Matsuno, K. 30 Years of Research at the Marketing/Entrepreneurship Interface - Current Concepts and Future Directions, San Francisco, CA (2017)
  • The Pollyanna Effect in Marketing-R&D Integration Matsuno, K. Özturan, P. Özsomer, A. The 38th ISMS Marketing Science Conference, Shanghai, China (2016)
  • Caught in Inaction: Firms’ (Non)responses to Important but Uncontrollable Environmental Forces Matsuno, K. Kohlbacher, F. 2015 Academy of Management Conference, Vancouver, BC, Canada (2015)
  • Japanese Firms’ (Non-)responses to Obvious but Not-so-controllable External Forces: Aging Population, Rising Environmental Consciousness, and Significant Natural Disaster Matsuno, K. DIJ Forum, Tokyo, Japan (2013)
  • Firms non-Response to Obvious but less Controllable External Forces Matsuno, K. Kohlbacher, F. Doctoral Program Colloquium, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, Japan (2012)
  • Firms non-Response to Obvious but less Controllable External Forces Kohlbacher, F. Matsuno, K. 24th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics, Cambridge, MA (2012)
  • The Effects of Marketing- R&D Integration and R&D Strength on Business Growth and Customer Equity: A Corporate Entrepreneurship Study Matsuno, K. Zhu, Z. Rice, M. 2011 Academy of Marketing Science World Marketing Congress, Rheims, France (2011)
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