Biography
Timothy B. Folta is a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for a Digital Society, part of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute. He is Professor and Thomas John and Bette Wolff Family Chair of Strategic Entrepreneurship at the University of Connecticut.
His research lies at the intersection of entrepreneurship and corporate strategy, with a particular focus on how organisations allocate resources under uncertainty. His work examines decisions surrounding market entry, exit, and diversification; the role of corporate headquarters in reallocating strategic resources across businesses; and the effectiveness of government programs designed to support innovation and technology-based entrepreneurship. He currently co-chairs a committee appointed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to evaluate the effectiveness of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Small Business Innovation Research program.
His research has appeared in leading journals, including Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Business Venturing, Management Science, Organization Science, Academy of Management Review, and Strategic Management Journal. His honours include the Academy of Management Entrepreneurship Division’s IDEA Foundational Paper Award, recognising research that has positively shaped scholarly conversation for at least a decade, and a Fulbright Special Senior Scholar Award marking the sixtieth anniversary of the Fulbright Program in Italy.
Folta served as Chair of the Academy of Management’s Strategic Management Division in 2020–21 and has held leadership roles in both its Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship divisions. He also co-founded and co-hosts the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Policy Research Seminar. He received his Ph.D. from Purdue University.