Aks Zaheer

Aks Zaheer serves as Department Chair of Strategic Management & Entrepreneurship and Academic Director of the Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. He holds the Curtis L. Carlson Chair in Strategic Management and maintains office 3-430 at the Carlson School. His educational background includes a PhD in Strategic Management from MIT, a PGDBA (MBA equivalent) from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, and a BA in Economics from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University.

Zaheer's research examines complex organizational dynamics including:

• Interfirm networks and knowledge transfer mechanisms
• Performance implications of network structures in global markets
• Antecedents and consequences of trust in organizational contexts
• Cross-level temporal dynamics in networks and trust relationships
• Strategic decision-making in uncertain business environments

His work spans diverse contexts including healthcare, medical devices, and global electronic markets.

Analysis of Zaheer's recent publications reveals consistent focus on network theory evolution, with emerging emphasis on trust dynamics in cross-cultural contexts. His 2019 Harvard Business Review article bridges academic research with practical leadership applications, while technical contributions advance methodology in network morphology and stability analysis. The publications demonstrate progressive refinement of frameworks examining how structural relationships impact innovation and performance.

Zaheer has received significant recognition including:

• Outstanding Research Award (2014, 2021)
• Irwin Outstanding Educator Award for PhD mentoring (2023)
• Election as Strategic Management Society Fellow (2014)
• Multiple teaching excellence awards across MBA programs (1995-2023)
• Recognition among 'World's 50 Best B-School Professors' (2012)

He maintains editorial roles at leading journals including Strategic Management Journal and Academy of Management Review.