Shaker ZahraAffiliation: University of Minnesota

Bio: Shaker A. Zahra is Robert E. Buuck Chair and Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. He studies international entrepreneurship and strategy, particularly in global technology and science industries. A recent article in Journal of Management identified him as one of the most widely cited authors in management over a 25-year period. He has received 5 honorary doctorates from universities in Sweden, Italy, Spain and Belgium. He has received several awards including: Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research (2014), Award for Outstanding Academic Contributions to Competitiveness, 1996 (the American Society for Competitiveness) as well as best papers published in the Academy of Management Journal (2000), Journal of Management (2001), Journal of Management Studies (2007) and Management Accounting (1984). He has also received the Decade Award from Academy of Management Perspectives (2021). Professor Zahra was listed as a Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researcher (a listing of the world’s most influential researchers) and as one of The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds (a listing of the top-cited researchers in science around the globe). A 2020 study by Stanford faculty also ranked him as the world’s 4th most-cited scholar in the combined field of business and management in an analysis of science-wide author citations published in PLOS Biology, a peer-reviewed journal. He is a Fellow in the Academy of Management, a Research Fellow in the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers, and several other organizations. In 2021, he received the Academy of Management Entrepreneurship Division‘s award in recognition of his “creative and impactful contributions to entrepreneurship research.”

Professor Zahra has taught in the undergraduate, MBA, exec MBA, DBA and PhD levels as well as in management executive programs. His teaching received “best teacher of the year” in the MBA and the Mentor Award from the Entrepreneurship Division of Academy of Management for his work with doctoral students. He was recognized as one of the “Top 100 most influential Entrepreneurship Professors Worldwide” (Hot Topics) in 2016.

At the University of Minnesota, Professor Zahra served as department chair, academic director of the Holmes Entrepreneurship Center, and co-founding director of the Center for Integrative Leadership, and Academic Director of the Carlson Ventures Enterprise. At Tongi, he was the Overseas Director for the Center for Innovation and New Ventures. He was the academic director of the Babson Conference for Entrepreneurship and the Chair of the Entrepreneurship Division of the Academy of Management. He has (co) organized/chaired several international conferences on innovation, entrepreneurship and technology management.  He served on multiple editorial boards in different capacities. His service and outreach contributions have received several awards.

Last Updated: June 2022