Sinan Erzurumlu

Sinan Erzurumlu is professor of innovation and operations management at Babson College. Sinan's research and teaching interests are at the confluence of innovation and operations management, entrepreneurship and sustainability. Sinan was named among The Best 40 B-School Profs Under the Age of 40 in the 2015 Poets & Quants ranking of Business School professors. He also received 2016 Kaplan Award for Sustainability in Academics and Research at Babson College.

Sinan examines how managers can assess complex, uncertain and ambiguous challenges and manage innovations to advance the organizational growth. In particular, he focuses on developing and commercializing technological innovations in complex contexts such as business ecosystems, entrepreneurial ventures, and socio-ecological systems. His research agenda is organized within four interrelated themes: strategic management of innovation, startup risks and operations hedging, digital technologies, and sustainability.

Through collaborations with academics and practitioners, Sinan conducts applied research in a number of different industries including mining, clean tech & energy, healthcare, and high tech. He uses research techniques that range from mathematical quantitative analysis, grounded in operations research, microeconomics and game theory, to empirical analysis of data sets. He experiments with new applications of techniques from other research fields to innovation research. His research has been published in leading journals including Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Production and Operations Management, Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, and Omega.

Prior to joining Babson, Sinan has worked as a project-based consultant for Dell on service operations and as a research engineer for Center for Space Research at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his PhD in Management Science and Information Systems from McCombs School of Business and M.S. in Operations Research/Industrial Engineering from Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. He holds a B.S. in electrical and electronics engineering with distinction from Bogazici University in Turkey.

Academic Degrees

• Ph D, The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business
• MS, The University of Texas at Austin
• BS, Bogazici University, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Awards & Honors

• 2018 — Babson College Deans’ Teaching Award , Babson College
• 2018 — Babson Research Scholar, Babson College
• 2016 — Babson College Kaplan Award Sustainability in Academics, Sustainability Office
• 2015 — 40 Most Outstanding B-School Profs under 40 in the World, Poets & Quants
• 2013 — Best Teaching Brief Award, Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education
• 2012 — Best Case Competition Winner, Decision Sciences Institute

Publications

Journal Articles

• Deets, S.G., Rodgers, V.L., Erzurumlu, S.S., Nersessian, D. (2020). Systems Thinking as a Tool for Teaching Undergraduate Business Students Humanistic Management. Humanistic Management Journal. link
• Erzurumlu, S.S., Pachamanova, D.A. (in press). Topic Modeling and Technology Forecasting for Assessing the Commercial Viability of Healthcare Innovations. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. Elsevier.
• Erzurumlu, S.S., Tanrisever, F., Levesque, M., Joglekar, N. (in press). Managing capital market frictions via cost-reduction investments. Manufacturing and Service Operations Management.
• Erzurumlu, S.S., Levesque, M., Joglekar, N., Tanrisever, F. (2019). How angel know-how shapes ownership sharing in stage-based contracts. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. Vol: 43, Issue: 4, Page: 773-801. link
• Erzurumlu, S.S., Canakoglu, E., Erzurumlu, Y. (2018). How data-driven entrepreneur analyzes imperfect information for business opportunity evaluation. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. Vol: 65, Issue: 4, Page: 604-617.
• Erzurumlu, S.S. (2018). What can the innovator learn from the operations manager? An operations view of innovation strategy. IEEE Engineering Management Review. Vol: 46, Issue: 2, Page: 97-102.
• Erzurumlu, S.S., Yu, W. (2018). Development and deployment dynamics of sustainability-driven innovations in the electricity and energy utilities industry. Journal of High Technology Management Research, The. Vol: 29, Issue: 1.
• Erzurumlu, S.S. (2017). 4Cs of innovation: A conceptual framework for evaluating innovation strategy. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. Vol: 45, Issue: 3.
• Deets, S.G., Greenberg, D., Erzurumlu, S.S., Hunt, J.M., Manwaring, M.M., Rodgers, V.L., Swanson, E. (2017). Signing to Living PRME: Learning from a Journey Towards Responsible Management Education. The International Journal of Management Education. Vol: 15, Issue: 2, Page: 205-218.
• Erzurumlu, S.S., Erzurumlu, Y.O. (2015). Sustainable mining development with community using design thinking and multi-criteria decision analysis. Resources Policy. Vol: 46, Issue: 1, Page: 6-14. Pergamon Press. link
• Erzurumlu, S.S., Davies, J., Joglekar, N. (2014). Managing Highly Innovative Projects: The Influence of Design Characteristics on Project Valuation. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. Vol: 61, Issue: 2, Page: 349 - 361. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. link
• Erzurumlu, S.S., Erzurumlu, Y.O. (2013). Development and deployment drivers of clean technology innovations. Journal of High Technology Management Research, The. Vol: 24, Issue: 2, Page: 100-108. Pergamon Press.
• Erzurumlu, S.S., Rollag, K.W. (2013). Increasing Student Interest and Engagement with Business Cases by Turning Them into Consulting Exercises. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education. Vol: 11, Issue: 4, Page: 359–381. Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc..
• Erzurumlu, S.S. (2013). The compatibility of durable goods with contingent generic consumables. Omega - The International Journal of Management Science. Vol: 41, Issue: 3, Page: 574-585. Pergamon Press.
• Bell, J.E., Erzurumlu, S.S., Fowler, H. (2012). Deploying Sustainability at Solea. IMA Educational Case Journal. Vol: 5, Issue: 2, Page: 1-11. Institute of Management Accountants.
• Tanrsever, F., Erzurumlu, S.S., Joglekar, N. (2012). Production, Process Investment and the Survival of Debt Financed Startup Firms. Production and Operations Management. Vol: 21, Issue: 4, Page: 637–652. Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc..
• Erzurumlu, S.S. (2010). Collaborative Product Development with Competitors to Stimulate Downstream Investment. International Journal of Innovation Management. Vol: 14, Issue: 4, Page: 1-30.