Wouter Hendrik Dessein
Eli Ginzberg Professor of Finance and Economics
Economics
B.S. in Management and Applied Sciences (Handelsingenieur), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, 1997; M.A., University of Toulouse, 1997; Ph.D, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium; 2000
Joined CBS in 2008
Office:
597
Kravis
Phone:
212-851-1805
E-mail:
[email protected]
Fax:
212-316-9219
Personal Website
Curriculum Vitae
Biography
Wouter Dessein is the Eli Ginzberg Professor of Finance and Economics at Columbia Business School. He served as chair of the Economics division from 2017 until 2021 and as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Law, Economics and Organization from 2013 until 2019. He is also an Associate Editor of the American Economic Journal: Microeconomics. Dessein's research interests center on the economics of organizations: the allocation of decision-rights in organizations, the organizational structure of multi-divisional firms, the role of managers in setting firm strategy, and the impact of corporate leaders on the long-term performance of firms. His research has been published in leading journals such as the American Economic Review, the Journal of Political Economy, the Review of Economic Studies, and the Journal of Finance. At Columbia, he teaches a popular elective on the `Economics of Strategic Behavior', a course which examines the underlying economics of successful business strategy. Prior to joining the Columbia Business School faculty in July 2008, Dessein was an assistant and associate professor of economics at the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business, where he taught Competitive Strategy and Organizational Strategy. Dessein earned a Bachelor in management and applied sciences from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, in 1997, and a Ph.D. in economics from Toulouse University and the Universite Libre de Bruxelles, in 2000.
Teaching
Spring 2022
Economics of Strategic Behavior
(EMBA)
Summer 2021
Economics of Strategic Behavior
(MBA)
Fall 2021
Economics of Strategic Behavior
(EMBA)
Spring 2020
Economics of Strategic Behavior
(EMBA)
Summer 2020
Economics of Strategic Behavior
(MBA)
Fall 2020
Economics of Strategic Behavior
(EMBA)
Spring 2019
Global Immersion South Africa: Business & Culture in the Rainbow Nation
(MBA)
Summer 2019
Economics of Strategic Behavior
(MBA)
Fall 2019
Economics of Strategic Behavior
(EMBA)
Spring 2018
Economics of Strategic Behavior
(MBA)
Summer 2018
Economics of Strategic Behavior
(MBA)
Fall 2018
Economics of Strategic Behavior
(MBA)
Economics of Strategic Behavior
(EMBA)
Columbia Caseworks cases
Kohl & Frisch: A Prescription for Competition
(2020)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein
Pratt & Whitney and the Geared Turbofan: This Changes Everything
(2019)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein
Setting Strategy at S Group: Finland's Largest Retailer Anticipates Amazon's Arrival
(2019)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein, Juliette Powell
Albert Heijn: Price War among Retailers
(2010)
Coauthor(s): Wouter H. Dessein, Remmelt De Jong
Research
Journal articles
Coordination and Organization Design: Theory and Micro-evidence
In American Economic Journal: Microeconomics
(forthcoming)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein, Desmond Lo, Chieko Minami
Managerial Style and Attention
In American Economic Journal: Microeconomics
(2021)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein, Tano Santos
Rational Inattention and Organizational Focus
In American Economic Review
(2016)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein, Andrea Galeotti, Tano Santos
Price Delegation and Performance Pay: Evidence from Industrial Sales Forces
In The Journal of Law, Economics and Organization
(2016)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein, Mrinal Ghosh, Francine Lafontaine, Desmond Lo
Organizing to Adapt and Compete
In American Economic Journal: Microeconomics
(2015)
Coauthor(s): Ricardo Alonso, Wouter Dessein, Niko Matouschek
Incomplete Contracts and Firm Boundaries: New Directions
In The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization
(2014)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein
Pandering to Persuade
In American Economic Review
(2013)
Coauthor(s): Yeon-Koo Che, Wouter Dessein, Navin Kartik
Organizing for Synergies
In American Economic Journal: Microeconomics
(2010)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein, Luis Garicano, Robert Gertner
Strategic Communication: Prices versus Quantities
In Journal of the European Economic Association
(2010)
Coauthor(s): Ricardo Alonso, Wouter Dessein, Niko Matouschek
When Does Coordination Require Centralization?
In American Economic Review
(2008)
Coauthor(s): Ricardo Alonso, Wouter Dessein, Niko Matouschek
Centralization versus Decentralization: An Application to Price Setting by a Multi-Market Firm
In Journal of the European Economic Association
(2008)
Coauthor(s): Ricardo Alonso, Wouter Dessein, Niko Matouschek
Adaptive Organizations
In Journal of Political Economy
(2006)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein, Tano Santos
Information and Control in Ventures and Alliances
In The Journal of Finance
(2005)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein
Network Competition with Heterogeneous Customers and Calling Patterns
In Information Economics and Policy
(2004)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein
Network Competition in Nonlinear Pricing
In RAND Journal of Economics
(2003)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein
Authority and Communication in Organizations
In Review of Economic Studies
(2002)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein
Working papers
Managing with Style? Micro-Evidence on the Allocation of Managerial Attention
(2021)
Coauthor(s): Francisco Brahm, Wouter Dessein, Desmond Lo, Chieko Minami
Organizations with Power-Hungry Agents
(2021)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein, Richard Holden
Organizational Capital, Corporate Leadership, and Firm Dynamics
(2019)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein, Andrea Prat
Why a Group Needs a Leader: Decision-Making and Debate in Committees
In Discussion Paper No. DP6168
(2007)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein
Case studies
Kohl & Frisch: A Prescription for Competition
(2020)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein
Setting Strategy at S Group: Finland's Largest Retailer Anticipates Amazon's Arrival
(2019)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein
Pratt & Whitney and the Geared Turbofan: This Changes Everything
(2019)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein
Albert Heijn: Price War among Retailers
(2010)
Coauthor(s): Wouter Dessein, Remmelt De Jong