Matthew J. Higgins is the Emma Eccles Jones Chair and Professor of Entrepreneurship & Strategy in the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, Director of the Sorenson Center for Discovery and Innovation Studies, a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (Cambridge, MA) and an Affiliated Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition (Munich, Germany). From 2020 to 2023, he served as Chair of the Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy.

His research interests center primarily on firm responses to productivity changes (and challenges) and the performance implications of these decisions. This includes understanding the interrelationship between internal R&D and the use of external technology markets through acquisitions, alliances, licensing and corporate venture capital. Utilizing a novel risk model, this also includes whether firms are dynamically optimizing their R&D portfolios. Focusing on the external environment, Prof. Higgins is interested in the impact regulation has on innovation and productivity.

Most of his research has been conducted within the context of the pharmaceutical industry and has been published in a diverse range of leading journals including Science, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Economics and Statistics, and The RAND Journal of Economics. His research has received funding and support from the Georgia Research Alliance, Kauffman Foundation, Rich Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), Pfizer Inc., and IMS Health, Inc.

Prof. Higgins is the recipient of numerous awards for his undergraduate, MBA and Executive MBA teaching. In addition to his research and teaching, he also consults with governments and global pharmaceutical companies. He recently served on the NSF SBIR/STTR Advisory Subcommittee in Washington, DC.