Rankings / Candidate
Daniel A. Levinthal
University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School · Innovation and firms
Photo: MeJudice, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Currently #11, tier Field, score 14.3, named by 1 source.Score history: 100.0, 25.0, 14.3
The work. Absorptive capacity with Cohen, plus the rugged-landscape model of how organizations adapt and work with James March on the myopia of learning.
The case for. Two of the most cited papers in organizational science, and the adaptation work gave economics a way to think about firms searching in the dark.
The case against. His influence lives in management journals, not economics, and the committee rewarded innovation in 2018 and 2025. A joint prize with Cohen is the only obvious route.
The KmikeyM angle. Levinthal's landscapes show an organization making local moves to climb a hill it cannot see, which is the shareholder-run life in one picture.
What the sources say
- Clarivate alumni (prior years) named Daniel A. Levinthal: named in 2018: for the introduction and development of the concept of absorptive capacity (heat 100) Preseason: the Clarivate alumni pool