Profile - Professor Erkko Autio

Finnish-born Professor Erkko Autio is QinetiQ-EPSRC Chair in Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship at Imperial College London as well as Director at the Institut Stratège of HEC Lausanne (HEC IS). At HEC IS, he directs the Institute’s research, teaching, and applied activities. HEC Institut Stratège specialises in research and teaching in the areas of technology-based venturing, corporate and technology strategy, and international business.

His research interests include

• Technological innovation, growth and internationalisation strategy in small and large firm contexts alike
• Technology transfer from research to industry
• Creation, growth and international growth of technology-based new firms
• Corporate venturing
• High-growth entrepreneurship
• Regional and national innovation systems
• Innovation policy effectiveness.

Professor Autio has held academic research and teaching positions at London Business School, CERN, Helsinki University of Technology, University of Sussex, and the Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand). He has served in the Boards of Directors in several companies, notably in ICT sectors. He has advised and consulted widely in the areas of venturing, innovation, mobile ecommerce, and technology and innovation policy, for private and public organisations alike, including the Innopoli complex, McKinsey & Company, Durlacher Investment Bank, Eqvitec Partners, Governments of Thailand and Finland, Finnish National Technology Agency Tekes, European Commission, and numerous high-technology com¬pa¬nies. Since 1980’s, he has gathered hands-on research experience from dynamic high-tech start-ups in Silicon Valley, Cambridge (UK), several European countries, and in South-East Asia.

His research focuses on the growth, alliance strategies, and rapid international growth of technology-based new firms. In particular, he is interested in understanding how such processes can be managed effectively, and what factors influence the choice of optimal entry strategies in high-technology sectors. A notable issue of interest in this context is the management of a rapid sequence of country roll-out processes and the factors determining the success of such processes. The research effort aims at generating tangible advice for the design and implementation of ‘Born Global’ strategies. He has published research on these issues in, e.g., Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Research Policy, Journal of Business Venturing, Venture Capital Journal, and a number of other journals. In all, he has published some 150 scientific and practitioner articles (of which 35 in double-blind review journals), international conference papers, research reports, and tex¬tbooks. His SSCI citation count is approximately 200.

In addition to his research, he has been involved in launching several initiatives aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and the creation and growth of new firms, including the Otaniemi – Innopoli Science Park in the Helsinki region, the Venture Cup Finland, and the Spinno Program. He also serves and has served in the advisory boards of several such initiatives, including the National High-Technology Mentor Program, the Spinno Program, and the Wireless Spin Program. He has also served as Affiliate Faculty at Jönköping International Business School. During his tenure at London Business School, he helped launch the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) initiative. He still has an active coordination role in this high-profile initiative that currently spans 35 countries.