Wendy Smith, Dana J. Johnson Professor of Management at the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, has earned two major international honors that highlight both the scholarly rigor and practical relevance of her research.
Smith was named to the 2025 Thinkers50 Ranking of Top 50 Management Thinkers, a global list recognizing the most influential global management innovators in academia and industry. She was honored alongside her longtime co-author Marianne Lewis, dean of the University of Cincinnati’s Carl H. Linder College of Business. Their recognition reflects more than two decades of informing how leaders and organizations more effectively navigate complexity, uncertainty and challenges. The pair previously received the 2023 Thinkers50 Breakthrough Idea Award for their book Both/And Thinking, which explores how embracing paradoxes leads to more creative, effective decisions.
Smith was also included on Clarivate’s Web of Science 2025 Highly Cited Researchers list for the seventh consecutive year. The Clarivate distinction identifies researchers whose publications rank among the top 1% of citations worldwide, demonstrating sustained academic influence across global research communities. This year, she was one of five University of Delaware professors selected for the Clarivate list.
Smith said the combination of these two honors reflects the full range of impact that business school scholarship can have.
“These two awards offer the yin and yang of business school impact, rigor and relevance; scholarly achievement (Web of Science) and practical insight (Thinkers50),” she said. “The juxtaposition offers an important message: the most powerful ideas are those that advance knowledge and inform scholarship while helping leaders navigate real-world challenges.”
Smith is internationally known for her research on paradox theory, which explores how leaders can embrace competing demands, such as purpose and profit or innovation and efficiency, to strengthen organizational performance. Her work informs leadership practices in companies, nonprofits and public-sector organizations around the world.
Oliver Yao, dean of the Lerner College, said Smith’s achievements reflect the college’s strategic commitment to pioneering scholarship that drives economic and societal impact.
“Wendy exemplifies Lerner’s mission by producing research that is both academically rigorous and deeply relevant to today’s leaders,” Yao said. “Her continued global recognition demonstrates the influence and reach of Lerner’s faculty.”
Smith’s dual honors reinforce the growing visibility of UD and the Lerner College in shaping the future of management research and leadership education.