University of Utah
University of Arizona
The Stern Award Selection Committee (comprised of Erik Mooi of the University of Melbourne (Chair); Inge Geyskens of Tilburg University; Colleen Harmeling of the University of Kentucky; and Alok Kumar of the University of Nebraska) is pleased to announce Stephen J. Carson and Mrinal Ghosh as winners of the 2026 Louis W. Stern Award. Their winning article, “An Integrated Power and Efficiency Model of Contractual Channel Governance: Theory and Empirical Evidence” was published in the July 2019 issue of the Journal of Marketing.
The committee stated:
“There are significantly different ideas around how exchanges between firms are governed. Power theories suggest that the more powerful firm dictates terms. Efficiency theories suggest that firms will devise governance that maximizes joint value. The authors find ways to reconcile those seemingly different ideas into a coherent new framework. In doing so, they break new ground in how to think about interorganizational exchange. A strong set of empirics rounds off excellent theorizing.”
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About the Authors
Stephen J. Carson is David Eccles Professor of Marketing and a former Chair of the Marketing Department at the University of Utah. He joined the David Eccles School of Business in 2000 after receiving a PhD from the University of Minnesota. He holds an MBA from the University of Texas-Austin and an A.B. in Economics from the University of Illinois. His research focuses on marketing strategy, marketing channels, and digital marketing. It has appeared in leading marketing and strategy journals including Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Marketing Science, Management Science, Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, Strategy Science, and the Academy of Management Journal. Professor Carson has won both the Brady Superior Teaching Award and the Faculty Research Excellence Award at the University of Utah, as well as a Management Science Best Paper Award and the American Marketing Association Louis W. Stern Award. He currently teaches the core marketing strategy class in the Professional MBA program along with a PhD seminar in marketing strategy and empirical research methods.
Mrinal Ghosh joined the Eller College of Management in 2007. He earned his PhD in marketing from the University of Minnesota. Prior to joining the Eller College, he was a faculty at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan–Ann Arbor. His area of expertise includes Business Models in Technology Markets and Entrepreneurial Ventures, Designing Effective Cooperative Relationships in Marketing Channels and Business-to-Business Markets, Pricing Strategies in Technology and Business Markets, Salesforce Design and Compensation Issues, and Health Care Marketing.
About the Stern Award
The Interorganizational SIG (IOSIG) Louis W. Stern Award was established by Louis W. and Rhona L. Stern in 1999 through the American Marketing Association Foundation (AMAF). The award recognizes an outstanding article published in a widely recognized and highly respected refereed journal that has made a significant contribution to the literature on marketing and channels of distribution between three and eight calendar years after publication.
The article will be honored at the 2026 Summer AMA Academic Conference in Denver, CO.