William E. Fruhan, Jr.

William E. Fruhan Jr. is an American academic. He is the George E. Bates Professor Emeritus at the Harvard Business School. He is the author of three books and over 140 business cases.

Early life William E. Fruhan Jr. graduated from Yale University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree. He earned a master in business administration (MBA) and a doctorate in business administration (DBA) from the Harvard Business School. He finds that corporate management cannot influence the profitability of airline carriers due to regulations, Meanwhile, professor Robert L. Thornton of Florida State University wrote in The American Political Science Review that Fruhan's analysis includes an "important inconsistency" in the role played by the Civil Aeronautics Board, which regulates the industry; however, he admits that other researchers have reached the same conclusions.

In his second book, Financial Strategy, Studies In The Creation, Transfer And Destruction Of Shareholder Value, Fruhan looks at business cases of companies with high returns on investment. In a review for The Accounting Review, Villanova University professor says it is "interesting reading if you have entrepreneurial inclinations" and it would be "appropriate for upper-level undergraduates or MBAs."

Works