Contact: James Carskadon

STARKVILLE, Miss.—A professor and department head in Mississippi State University’s College of Business is being recognized as one of the most-cited researchers in business and economics in the world.

James J. Chrisman, head of MSU’s Department of Management and Information Systems, is ranked No. 10 in a recent analysis published in the journal Scientometrics. The study analyzed 2,140 highly cited papers from 2005 through 2014 to determine the top authors. As the author or co-author of seven highly cited papers, Chrisman came in tied for 10th among the top scientists.

“The extent to which an article is cited is a very democratic way of measuring its contributions to knowledge,” Chrisman said. “Therefore, it is very gratifying that my work and that of my co-authors has been cited so frequently. I believe that my success in this regard is reflective of the many excellent colleagues I have in the Center of Family Enterprise Research at Mississippi State, as well as the international network of scholars our focus on family business has allowed us to develop.”

Chrisman is the director of MSU’s Center of Family Enterprise Research. The center produces original research on family business and disseminates the results to family businesses throughout the U.S., and Mississippi in particular, in order to improve their management and performance.

“This study further shows that Dr. Chrisman is one of the preeminent business researchers in the world,” College of Business Dean Sharon Oswald said. “His scholarship and leadership, along with our other outstanding faculty, have helped make MSU a recognized leader in family business research. This has been a consistent goal for the College of Business and our faculty have made it happen with their impactful and relevant research.”

Renowned for his expertise in management, entrepreneurship and family business, Chrisman was named to the 2017 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher List. Last fall, the Journal of Small Business Management ranked him as the No. 6 leading individual contributor to entrepreneurship research. The same article ranked MSU No. 6 in the world for the impact of its entrepreneurship research.

Recently, Chrisman and now-retired MSU faculty members Allison W. Pearson and Tim Barnett, along with the University of Calgary’s Jess H. Chua were named as recipients of the 2018 Greif Research Impact Award. The award, given annually by the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, recognizes the authors of the most impactful entrepreneurship article in top management and entrepreneurship journals. Chrisman, Pearson, Barnett and Chua received the award for their 2012 article “Family Involvement, Family Influence, and Family-Centered Non-Economic Goals in Small Firms,” which was published in Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice.

Founded in 1915, MSU’s nationally accredited College of Business is the oldest in Mississippi and among the oldest in the Southeastern Conference. For more, visit www.business.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.