Amit Karna

Biography

Amit Karna is a Professor of Strategy at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA). Karna's interests lie in the areas of strategy, technology management, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Karna is the faculty co-chair of Creative and Cultural Businesses Programme (https://ccbp.iima.ac.in/) and offers executive programmes on design thinking, innovation and corporate strategy topics. He has advised several organizations on strategy and management related issues.

Between 2015-2018, Karna chaired the Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE.co) one of the largest and most well-regarded educational institute based business incubators in Asia. He was also involved with various disruptive startups in designing innovative business models. He chaired the Business Policy Area at IIMA between 2017-2020 and served as Placements Chair of IIMA from 2018-2021. Currently he chairs the PGPX (One Year MBA) at IIMA, and is Chairman's nominee to the IIMA Board of Governors.

Karna's research is in the fields of dynamic capabilities, innovation, and international strategy. He has presented several papers on these topics at various international conferences across the world. His research has been published in leading international journals such as Strategic Management Journal, Sloan Management Review, Journal of Management Studies, Long Range Planning, Corporate Governance: An International Review, Global Strategy Journal, R&D Management, Journal of International Management, and other international journals.

Prior to IIMA, Karna was an Assistant Professor at EBS Business School in Germany between 2009 and 2014. He has been a visiting scholar at University of California at Berkeley's Haas School of Business in 2011, and at University of Sydney Business School in 2015 and 2023. He has been a visiting faculty at IESEG School of Management in France between 2012 and 2014. Karna completed his PhD in Strategy from IIMA. Prior to his doctorate, he worked with Aditya Birla Group in various managerial positions.

Area

Primary Area : Strategy

Contact

Email : karna@iima.ac.in

Phone : +91-79-7152 4928

Secretary : Anjali Nair

Phone : +91-79-7152 7742

Website : Personal Website

Education

PhD , Strategic Management, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

Teaching

Business and Corporate Strategy

Technology and Innovation

Disruptive Business Models

Entrepreneurial Mindset

Research Area

Dynamic Capabilities Diversification Strategic Leadership Governance Entrepreneurship

Academic Experience

Professor, Strategy, IIM Ahmedabad, 2020 onwards

Associate Professor, Strategy, IIM Ahmedabad, 2014-2020

Assistant Professor, EBS University (Germany), 2009 - 2014

Visiting Professor, U of Sydney (2015 & 2023), U of California Berkeley (2012), IESEG School of Management (2012-2014)

Academic Services

At IIMA

Chairperson, PGPX (July 2023 - Present)
Member, Board of Governors (Sept 2024 - Present)
Chairperson, Placements (2018-2021)
Chairperson, Strategy Area (2017-2020)
Chairperson, IIMA Ventures (2015-2018)

At EBS

Academic Director, MBA (2012-14)
Academic Director, MSc in Management (2013-2014)

Others

Editorial Board member for Journal of Management and Journal of World Business
Reviewed for Strategic Management Journal, Research Policy, Global Strategy Journal and other International Journals

Professional Services

Advisory for corporations and government agencies
Corporate training in the fields of strategy, innovation and leadership

Professional Experience

Chairperson, Placements, IIM Ahmedabad, 2018-21

Chairperson, Business Policy Area , IIM Ahmedabad, 2017-20

Chairperson, Centre for Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship (CIIE.CO), IIM Ahmedabad, 2015-18

Academic Director, Masters program, EBS Business School, 2013-14

Academic Director MBA program, EBS Business School, 2012-14

Select Journal Publications

Edacherian, S., Karna, A., Uhlenbruck, K. and Sharma, S. 2024 (accepted) Women at Multiple levels of Strategic Leadership: Evidence of Gender Spillovers, Corporate Governance: An International Review, forthcoming.

Purkayastha, A., Karna, A., Sharma, S. and Bhadra, D., 2023,Role of resource investment management and strategic resource deployment capabilities in internationalization-performance relationship, Journal of International Management, 30(2).

Lahiri, S., Karna, A., Kalubandi, S.C. and Edacherian, S., 2022. Performance implications of outsourcing: A meta-analysis. Journal of Business Research, 139: 1303-1316.

Banerjee, S., Karna, A., Sharma S. (2022), "Imprinting effects of exposure to the Indian independence movement on export intensity of firms", Journal of Business Research, Vol. 149, Oct 2022, pp. 548-557.

Karna, A., Mondal, S.S. and Pingali, V. (2022), "Policy uncertainty and behavior of foreign firms in emerging economies", Management Decision (forthcoming)

Karna, A., Mavrovitis, C., & Richter, A. (2022). Disentangling reciprocal relationships between R&D intensity, profitability and capital market performance: A panel VAR analysis. Long Range Planning, 55(5), 102247.

Sovereign credit ratings, relative risk ratings and private capital flows: Evidence from emerging and frontier markets, with S. De and D. Ratha, Studies in Economics and Finance, Vol. 38(4), 2021.

Purkayastha, A., Karna, A., Sharma, S. and Bhadra, D., 2021. Board’s human capital resource and internationalization of emerging market firms: Toward an integrated agency–resource dependence perspective. Journal of Business Research, 135: 391-407.

Purkayastha, A., Sharma, S. and Karna, A., 2020. Theoretical foundations of antecedents of internationalization and moderators in multinationality–performance relationship: What is missing?. Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, 27(2): 213-243

Schommer, M., Richter, A. and Karna, A., 2019. Does the diversification–firm performance relationship change over time? A meta‐analytical review. Journal of Management Studies, 56(1): 270-298.

Täube, F.A., Karna, A. and Sonderegger, P., 2018. Economic geography and emerging market clusters: A co-evolutionary study of local and non-local networks in Bangalore. International Business Review.

Pidun, U., Richter, A., Schommer, M. and Karna, A., 2018. A Playbook for Today's Diversified Companies. Here's How Strong Performers Are Defying Expectations about the Demise of Multi-Business Firms. MIT Sloan Management Review.

Dixit, M.R., Sharma, S., Karna, A. "Strategic Breakthroughs as Flagpoles of Innovation", in International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, forthcoming.

Sharma, S., Dixit, M.R., Karna, A. 2016. Design leaps: Business model adaptation in emerging economies, Journal of Asia Business Studies, 10(2), 105-124.

Landau, C., Karna, A., Sailer, M. 2016, Business model adaptation for emerging markets: a case study of a German automobile manufacturer in India. R&D Management, 46: 480–503.

Landau, C., Karna, A., Richter, A., Uhlenbruck, K. 2016. Institutional leverage capability: creating and using institutional advantages for internationalization. Global Strategy Journal, 6(1), 50-68.

Karna, A., Richter, A., Riesenkampff, E. 2016. Revisiting the role of the environment in the capabilities–financial performance relationship: A meta‐analysis. Strategic Management Journal, 37: 1154–1173.

Karna, A. Upadhyayula, R.S., Kumar, V. 2014. "Strategic Archetypes of Emerging Market Multinationals: Analysis of Outward FDI of Indian Firms", in Orchestration of the Global Network Organization (Advances in International Management, Volume 27) (Pedersen, T., Venzin, M., Devinney, T.M. & Tihanyi L., eds), Vol 27, 325-347

Roy, K., & Karna, A. 2015. Doing social good on a sustainable basis: competitive advantage of social businesses. Management Decision, 53(6), 1355-1374.

Dhandapani, K., Upadhyayula, R. S., Karna, A. 2015. Why do Firms Locate Across Multiple Clusters? Cluster Density, Capabilities and Ethnic Ties. Industry and Innovation, 22(4), 251-272.

Karna, A., Upadhyayula, R.S., Karthik, D. 2013. "What drives Emerging Multinationals? Early stage internationalisation and Performance drivers of Indian IT firms", Proceedings of The world conference on "Emerging Issues in Management"

Karna, A., Taeube, F.A., Sonderreger, P. 2013. "Evolution of Innovation Networks across Geographical and Organizational Boundaries: A study of R&D subsidiaries in the Bangalore IT cluster", European Management Review, Vol. 10, No. 4, 211–226; doi: 10.1111/emre.12017

Fraunhoffer, R., Karna, A., Taeube, F.A. 2012. "The Service Offshoring Code: Location efficiencies for German Firms", in Pedersen, Bals & Jensen (Eds) The Offshoring Challenge: Strategic Design and Innovation for Tomorrow's Organization

Taeube, F.A., Sonderreger, P., Karna, A. 2010. "Entrepreneurial Ventures and Knowledge Spillovers: Case of an Indian Software Cluster", Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research: Vol. 30: No. 15, Article 19

Dixit, M.R., Sharma, S., Karna, A. 2010. "New Environment Stimuli, Enterprise Challenges and Growth Leaps: Evidence from Multi-sector Case Studies", International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, Vol. 1, No. 3, 264-290

Karna, A., Singh R. and Verma S. 2009. "Knowledge Management for Effective Sales and Marketing Function" in Meir Russ (ed), Knowledge Management Strategies for Business Development, IGI Global.

Dixit, M.R., Sharma, S., Karna, A. 2007. "Role of Breakthroughs in Learning and Capability Building: Evidences from Two High Technology Firms", Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Intellectual Capital, Knowledge Management and Organisational Learning at Cape Town, South Africa between October 15th and 16th, 2007

Dixit, M.R., Karna, A., Sharma, S. 2009. "Entrepreneurial Growth Actions and Monetary Consequences in a Startup: Insights from a Low-cost Airline Venture in a Competitive Environment", Venture Capital: An International Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, Vol. 11, No. 4, 361-378

Karna, A., Singh V. 2007. "The East India Company in Reverse - Indian MNCs on a Buying Spree" in T.P.Rajmanohar (ed), India Inc. Going Global: The M&A Way, ICFAI University Press.

Books

Research Handbook on Strategic Entrepreneurship (Edited volume) by Vishal K. Gupta, A. Banu Goktan, Galina V. Shirokova, and Amit Karna, Publication Date: 2022 ISBN: 978 1 78990 443 7 Extent: 288 pp

Faculty & Research