This is an annotated list of important business writers. It is in alphabetical order based on last name.

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A

  • David Aaker (born 1938) - marketing, brand strategy
  • Wil van der Aalst
  • James Abegglen (1926–2007) - management and business in Japan
  • Bodo Abel
  • Russell L. Ackoff (1919–2009) - operations research, organizational theory
  • John Adair (born 1934) - leadership
  • Karol Adamiecki (1866–1933) - management
  • Ichak Adizes
  • Niclas Adler (born 1971) - Swedish organizational theorist
  • Charles Constance César Joseph Matthieu d'Agoult
  • Yoji Akao
  • Ali Akdemir
  • Howard E. Aldrich (born 1940s) - American sociologist and organizational theorist
  • Leon P. Alford (1877–1942) - scientific management
  • Tim Ambler (1938–2024) - marketing effectiveness
  • Igor Ansoff (1918–2002) - strategic management
  • Ingeman Arbnor
  • Chris Argyris (1923–2013) - learning systems, learning organization
  • Horace Lucian Arnold (1837–1915)
  • Neal Ashkanasy

B

  • Stephen R. Barley (born 1953) - technology, organizational change, organizational culture
  • Chester Barnard (1886–1961) - management
  • Gary S. Becker
  • Charles Bedaux (1886–1944) - scientific management
  • Warren Bennis (1925–2014) - leadership studies
  • Per Olof Berg (born 1946) - Swedish organizational theorist
  • Manfred Berliner
  • Björn Bjerke
  • Patrick Blackett, Baron Blackett (1897–1974) - operations research
  • Ken Blanchard
  • Charles Bosanquet
  • Matthew Boulton (1728–1809) - labor productivity
  • Marvin Bower
  • Richard Boyatzis (born 1946) - emotional intelligence, behavior change, and competence
  • Leland Lawrence Briggs (1893–1975) - American accounting scholar
  • John Seely Brown
  • Wilfred Brown, Baron Brown
  • Nils Brunsson (born 1946) - institutionalized hypocrisy of organizations
  • Lawton Burns (born c. 1950) - health care systems

C

  • Noel Capon
  • Charles U. Carpenter
  • Jean-Luc Cerdin
  • James A. Champy - business process reengineering (1990s)
  • Alfred D. Chandler, Jr. - management, Pulitzer Prize for The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business (1977)
  • Clayton M. Christensen
  • Alexander Hamilton Church - industrial management (1900s–1910s)
  • C. West Churchman
  • Stewart Clegg
  • Ronald Coase - transaction costs, Coase theorem, theory of the firm (1950s) (Nobel Prize in 1991)
  • James C. Collins - vision statement, strategic planning and BHAG (1990s)
  • Morris Llewellyn Cooke
  • Cary Cooper
  • Stephen Covey
  • Philip B. Crosby
  • Richard Cyert
  • Barbara Czarniawska

D

  • Robert Dahlstrom (born 1958) - American organizational theorist, works on international marketing
  • David Dale
  • Thomas H. Davenport
  • George S. Day - marketing (1970s)
  • Jeff DeGraff
  • Morris H. DeGroot
  • W. Edwards Deming - statistical quality control (1950s, 1960s)
  • Daniel R. Denison
  • Eric Dent
  • Hugo Diemer - industrial engineering (1910s)
  • Jan Dietz
  • Patrick Dixon
  • Henk van Dongen
  • Sytse Douma
  • Wiebe Draijer
  • Peter Drucker (1909&ndash;2005) - management (1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s)
  • Anna Dubois (born 1962) - Swedish organizational theorist
  • Peter Dunn

E

  • Andrew S.C. Ehrenberg
  • Michael Eisner
  • Chester Elton
  • Tunç Erem
  • Richard F. Ericson
  • Hans-Erik Eriksson (born 1961) - Swedish computer scientist and organizational theorist
  • Agner Krarup Erlang
  • Hamid Etemad

F

  • Henri Fayol - management (1910s)
  • Armand V. Feigenbaum - quality control (1950s)
  • Tim Ferriss
  • Harry Anson Finney (1886–1966) - American accountancy author
  • Ronald Fisher - statistics (1920s)
  • Mary Follett - organizational studies (1930s)
  • Nicolai J. Foss
  • R. Edward Freeman
  • Mike L. Fry
  • Adrian Furnham

G

  • John Kenneth Galbraith - The New Industrial State (1967)
  • Henry Gantt - Gantt chart (20th century)
  • Burleigh B. Gardner (1902–1985) - motivation research
  • Michael Gerber - E-Myth Revisited
  • Jamshid Gharajedaghi (born 1940) - American organizational theorist, management consultant, and Adjunct Professor of Systems Thinking
  • Sumantra Ghoshal
  • John P. van Gigch
  • Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Sr.
  • Frank Gilbreth - time and motion study (20th century)
  • Seth Godin
  • Eliyahu M. Goldratt - theory of constraints (1980s)
  • Marshall Goldsmith
  • Daniel Goleman
  • Vytautas Andrius Graiciunas - management (1933)
  • Lynda Gratton
  • C. Jackson Grayson
  • Danny Greefhorst (born 1972) - Dutch enterprise architect
  • James Bray Griffith (1871–1937) - American business theorist
  • William H. Gruber (born 1935) - American organizational theorist
  • Erich Gutenberg - theory of the firm (1950s)

H

  • Stephan H. Haeckel
  • Stephen G. Haines
  • Noel Frederick Hall
  • Brian Halligan
  • Gary Hamel (born 1954) - core competency, strategic management (1990s)
  • Michael Hammer - business process reengineering (1990s)
  • Charles Handy - organisational behaviour (1990s)
  • Paul Harmon - management author
  • G. Charter Harrison (1881–1959) - Anglo-American management consultant and cost account pioneer
  • Sven A. Haugland (born 1948) - Norwegian organizational theorist
  • David L. Hawk
  • Igor Hawryszkiewycz (born 1948) - American computer scientist and organizational theorist
  • Robert Heller
  • Frederick Herzberg - two factor theory, motivation theory, job enrichment (1970s)
  • Steen Hildebrandt
  • Charles DeLano Hine
  • Geert Hofstede
  • Kenneth Hopper
  • Yasheng Huang
  • Albert S Humphrey - strategic planning, SWOT analysis (1970s, 1980s)
  • Shelby D. Hunt
  • Walter Hunziker

I

  • Masaaki Imai (1930–2023) - Kaizen (continuous improvement) (1980s, 1990s, 2000s)
  • Kaoru Ishikawa (1915–1989) - Ishikawa diagram in industrial process; quality circles (1960s)

J

  • Mike Jackson - systems scientist
  • Lars Jaeger
  • John Jantsch
  • Dave Jenks
  • Anita Jose
  • Joseph M. Juran (1904–2008) - quality control, especially quality circles (1960s, 1970s)

K

  • Rosabeth Moss Kanter - business management and change management (1977)
  • Robert S. Kaplan - management accounting and balanced scorecard (1990s)
  • Dexter Keezer
  • Kevin Lane Keller
  • Roy B. Kester (1882–1965) - American accountancy scholar
  • Tarun Khanna
  • Walter Kickert (born 1950) - Dutch academic and professor of public management
  • John Warren Kindt
  • Charles Edward Knoeppel
  • Richard Koch
  • Lars Kolind
  • Monika Kostera
  • Philip Kotler - marketing management and social marketing (1970s, 1980s, 1990s)
  • John Kotter - organizational behaviour and management (1980s, 1990s)
  • Vladimir Kvint - strategy

L

  • John Christian Langli
  • Jean-Claude Larréché
  • Kyoung Jun Lee
  • William Henry Leffingwell - office management (1910s–1940s)
  • Paul Leonardi
  • Harry Levinson
  • Theodore Levitt - marketing and globalization (1960s, 1970s)
  • Michael Lewis
  • Peter Lindgren (born 1961) - Danish organizational theorist
  • John Lintner - capital asset pricing model (1970s)
  • Ted London
  • Juan Antonio Pérez López
  • Jay Lorsch
  • Michael Lounsbury
  • Randi Lunnan (born 1963) - Norwegian organizational theorist, works on strategic alliances
  • Reijo Luostarinen (1939–2017) - Finnish organisational theorist
  • James Alexander Lyons (1861–1920) - American accountancy author

M

  • John Van Maanen
  • James MacGregor Burns
  • Kenneth D. Mackenzie
  • Teemu Malmi (born 1965) - Finnish organizational theorist
  • Vincent Mangematin
  • James G. March - theory of the firm (1960s)
  • Constantinos Markides - strategic management and strategy dynamics (1990s)
  • Harry Markowitz - modern portfolio theory (1960s, 1970s), Nobel Prize in 1990
  • Perry Marshall
  • John C. Maxwell - leadership (1990s, 2000s, 2010s)
  • Elton Mayo - job satisfaction and Hawthorne effect (1920s, 1930s)
  • John H. McArthur
  • Daniel McCallum - organizational charts (1850s)
  • Douglas McGregor
  • Dalton McGuinty, Sr.
  • Geoff Meeks (born 1949) - British accounting scholar
  • Lucas Meijs
  • Leo Melamed - currency futures and derivatives (1980s, 1990s)
  • Gary Metcalf
  • Henry C. Metcalf - the science of administration (1920s)
  • Henry Metcalfe - the science of administration (1880s)
  • Gerald Midgley
  • Danny Miller - economist
  • Merton Miller - Modigliani–Miller theorem and corporate finance (1970s)
  • Henry Mintzberg (born 1939) - organizational architecture, strategic management (1970s–2000s)
  • Franco Modigliani - Modigliani–Miller theorem and corporate finance (1970s)
  • Geoffrey Moore
  • Richard Moran
  • Gareth Morgan
  • Gerry Morgan
  • Silvina Moschini
  • Hugo Münsterberg - psychology of work (1910s)
  • J. Keith Murnighan
  • Christa Muth

N

  • Peter Naudé - marketing and business networks
  • Nicholas Negroponte - human-computer interaction (1970s–1990s)
  • Nobuo Noda - Japanese business scholar
  • Kjell A. Nordström
  • Arne Nygaard (born 1957) - Norwegian organizational theorist

O

  • George S. Odiorne - management by objectives
  • Kenichi Ohmae - 3C's model and strategic management (1970s, 1980s)
  • Taiichi Ohno - Toyota Production System, lean manufacturing, just in time (1980s)
  • David Ogilvy - advertising (1960s–1980s)
  • Sharon Oster
  • William Ouchi - Theory Z (1980s)
  • Robert Owen - cooperatives (1810s)

P

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  • Luca Pacioli - double-entry bookkeeping system and financial statements (1494)
  • Javier Perez-Capdevila - strategic management and business analysis and valuation
  • Krishna Palepu - business analysis and valuation, financial statements
  • Scott Patterson
  • Keith Pavitt - innovation clusters and innovation taxonomy (1970s through 2000)
  • Edith Penrose - The Theory of the Growth of the Firm (1959)
  • Juan Antonio Pérez López - negative learning (1990s)
  • Oscar E. Perrigo - shop management (1900s)
  • Laurence J. Peter - Peter Principle (1970s)
  • Thomas J. Peters - management (1970s, 1980s)
  • Jeffrey Pfeffer - organizational development (1970s–?)
  • Robert Allen Phillips
  • Rebecca Piekkari (born 1967) - Finnish organizational theorist
  • Henry Varnum Poor - principles of organization (1850s–?)
  • Michael Porter - strategic management and Porter's 5 forces (1970s–1990s)
  • C. K. Prahalad (1941–2010) - core competency (1980s)
  • Derek S. Pugh

R

  • J. Donald R. de Raadt
  • Navi Radjou
  • N. Ravichandaran
  • Jeffrey Rayport
  • W. Charles Redding
  • Robert Reich
  • Fred Reichheld
  • Reg Revans
  • Jeremy Rifkin
  • Fritz Roethlisberger
  • Georges Romme
  • Mike Rother

S

  • Martti Saario (1906–1988) - Finnish organizational theorist and Professor of Accounting
  • Kenan Sahin
  • Jason Saul
  • August-Wilhelm Scheer
  • Edgar Schein
  • Eugen Schmalenbach - economic value added (1920s–?)
  • Hein Schreuder
  • David Meerman Scott (born 1961) - inbound marketing and PR in the Internet era (2008-)
  • Walter Dill Scott - psychology of personnel management (1920s)
  • Esbjörn Segelod (born 1951) - Swedish organizational theorist
  • Peter Senge
  • Dorian Shainin
  • Stanley J. Shapiro
  • Seena Sharp
  • Oliver Sheldon - business philosophy (1920s)
  • Walter A. Shewhart - control charts (1920s–1930s)
  • Shigeo Shingo (1909–1990) - Zero Quality Control (Poka-Yoke) and Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED)
  • Herbert A. Simon (1916–2001) - satisficing Nobel Prize, 1978
  • Ibrahim Sirkeci
  • Adrian Slywotzky - marketing strategy (1990s)
  • Linda Smircich
  • Adam Smith - economics, capitalism, free trade (1770s)
  • Ivan Snehota (1946–2022), Italian organizational theorist
  • Henk G. Sol
  • Rolf Solli
  • Thomas J. Stanley
  • Andy Stefanovich
  • Victor Hermann Stempf (1893–1946) - American accountant
  • Joel Stern - economic value added (1980s)
  • Rosemary Stewart - business theorist
  • Antonio Strati
  • Robert I. Sutton
  • G. A. Swanson
  • Richard A. Swanson
  • William R. Synnott

T

  • Genichi Taguchi (1924–2012) - Taguchi methods, quality control
  • Don Tapscott
  • Frederick Winslow Taylor - scientific management, time and motion study (20th century)
  • Sridhar Tayur
  • David Teece
  • Vern Terpstra
  • Jacques Thomassen (born 1945) - Dutch organizational theorist
  • C. Bertrand Thompson
  • Alvin Toffler
  • Thomas Thorburn (1913–2003) - Swedish Professor of Business Administration
  • Jean-Marie Toulouse
  • Phil Town
  • Henry R. Towne - scientific management (1890s)
  • John Tregoning - factory management (1890s)
  • Jack Trout
  • Josiah Tucker
  • Bruce Tuckman - stages of team development
  • Dominique Turpin

U

  • Yoichi Ueno
  • Werner Ulrich
  • Lyndall Urwick

V

  • Peter Vaill
  • Andrew H. Van de Ven
  • Jan Vanthienen
  • Hal Varian
  • Antoaneta Vassileva
  • Henrik Virkkunen (1917–1963) - Finnish organizational theorist and professor of accounting
  • Henk Volberda
  • Victor Vroom

W

  • André de Waal
  • Jean-Baptiste Waldner - computer-integrated manufacturing
  • Alexandra Waluszewski (born 1956) - Swedish organizational theorist
  • James Watt (1736–1819) - Industrial Revolution, division of labour, standard operating procedures, cost control (1810s)
  • Max Weber - a founder of the modern study of sociology and public administration (1900)
  • Frank E. Webner (1865–1940s) - American consulting cost accountant
  • Karl E. Weick (1936–2026) - American organizational theorist
  • Lawrence Welch (born 1945) - Australian organisational theorist
  • Joseph Wharton (1826–1909) - protective tariffs, business cycles, Wharton School
  • Alasdair A. K. White
  • John Whitmore (c. 1870–1937) - American accountant, contributed to standard costing
  • Eli Whitney (1765–1825) - interchangeable parts, cost accounting (1810s, 1820s)
  • Jennifer Wilby
  • Thomas Williams of Llanidan
  • Oliver E. Williamson - transaction costs, theory of the firm (1960s)
  • Mark W. Willis
  • Pieter Winsemius
  • Clinton Edgar Woods (1863–c. 1930) - factory organization (1900s)

Y

  • Candace A. Yano

Z

  • Udo Zander (born 1959) - Swedish organizational theorist

See also

  • List of economists

References