Daniel Robeson, PhD

Chair, Department of Management
Assistant Professor of Management

Professor Daniel Robeson Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institutes (RPI) Lally School of Management & Technology. He has had extensive business experience at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, American National Can, and Eastman Kodak. His research interests focus on radical innovation at the large established firm. Publications include the Journal of Engineering & Technology Management and Research Technology Management Journal. He holds an MBA in Innovation from RPI's Lally School and a BA in Economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Professor Robeson currently teaches Strategy, Entrepreneurship, International Business and New Product Development at The Sage Colleges. His teaching style is applied and each of his courses culminates in a project or study which requires students to do research outside of the classroom or beyond the textbook.

Curriculum VITA

Education

Ph.D. Management, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Lally School of Management & Technology, June 2008. Concentration: Strategy. Dissertation: Boards of Directors, Innovation, and Performance: A Multilevel Analysis
(Proposal successfully defended in February 2007). Advisors: Gina Colarelli OConnor and Albert S. Paulson.

MBA Innovation, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Lally School of Management & Technology, 2001.

BA Economics, University of Missouri -Columbia Missouri, 1985.

Refereed Publications

Kasthurirangan, G. K., Robeson, D. C. & OConnor, G. C. (2005). The Impact of Key Evaluator Characteristics in Evaluating Radical Innovation Opportunities. In
K. Sivakumar (Ed.), Product Development and Management Association 2005 Research Forum Proceedings (pp. 45-62).

Robeson, D. C., & OConnor, G. C.. The Governance of Innovation Centers in Large Firms. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management / Special Issue on Radical Innovation (JET-M). March 2007.

Paulson, A. S., OConnor, G. C. & Robeson, D. C.. The Valuation of Radical Innovation Portfolios within the Large Firm. Research-Technology Management. September/October 2007.

Manuscripts Under Review

OConnor, G. C., Ravichandran, T., Robeson, D.C.. Risk Management Through
Learning: Management Practices for Radical Innovation Success. (Under 2nd review) Journal of High Technology Management Research.

Conference Presentations

Leifer, R. L., Robeson, D. C. & Kasthurirangan, G. K., Mahsud, R.M. (2006). The
Contributions of Innovation Competencies and Innovation Capabilities to
Organizational Success. Paper presented at the Strategic Management Society
Conference (SMS) November 2006 Conference in Vienna, Austria.

OConnor, G. C., Ravichandran, T., Robeson, D.C. (2006). Risk Management Through Learning: Management Practices for Radical Innovation Success. Paper presented at the Academy of Management (AoM) August 2006 Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

Kasthurirangan, G. K., Robeson, D. C. & OConnor, G. C.(2005). The Impact of Key Evaluator Characteristics in Evaluating Radical Innovation Opportunities. Paper presented at the Product Development Management Association International Conference (PDMA) in San Diego, California.

Leifer, R. L., Robeson, D. C. & Kasthurirangan, G. K. (2005). Innovation as Dynamic Capabilities Viewed Through an Interpretation Systems Lens. Paper presented at the Strategic Management Society Conference (SMS) in Orlando, Florida.

Leifer, R. L., Robeson, D. C. & Kasthurirangan, G. K. (2005). Reconciling Different
Views of Dynamic Capabilities from an Interpretation Perspective. Paper presented at the Dynamic Capabilities Professional Development Workshop (AoM) in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Robeson, D. C., & OConnor, G. C. (2004). The Governance of Innovation Centers: Creating a Theoretical Framework to Defeat Agency Conflicts. Paper presented at Innovation Research Network Conference (IRN) in Boston, Massachusetts.

Working Papers

Leifer, R. L., Robeson, D. C. & Kasthurirangan, G. K., Mahsud, R.M. (2007). The
Contributions of Innovation Competencies and Innovation Capabilities to Organizational Success.

Robeson, D. C. & Simons, K. L. (2006). Technological Change in the Writing Pen
Industry: An Industry Analysis of US Firms During the 1900s.

Robeson, D. C. & Hasan, I. (2005). The Impact of Foreign Syndicate Partnerships on Global Initial Public Offerings: An Exploration of Management Theory to Describe Empirical Evidence.

Research Interests

Technology Innovation Management
Corporate Entrepreneurship
Radical or Discontinuous Innovation within the large firm
Radical or Discontinuous Innovation in the Financial Services Industry
Remote Satellite Sensing Industry
Packaging Industry

Reviewing Experience

Journal of Engineering & Technology Management Ad hoc reviewer.
AoM Business Policy & Strategy Division
AoM Technology & Innovation Management Division

Doctoral Consortia Attended

2003 Academy of Management, New Doctoral Student Consortium, Seattle, WA.
2005 Academy of Management, Technology Innovation Management (TIM), Division Doctoral Student Consortium, Honolulu, HI.

Professional Affiliations

Academy of Management (AOM), Technology Innovation Management Division
Academy of Management (AOM), Business Policy & Strategy Division
Academy of Management (AOM), Entrepreneurship Division
Strategic Management Society

Academic Workshops

Entrepreneurship Doctoral Seminar. One week seminar organized and taught by Scott Shane covering seminal research in the field of Entrepreneurship. The workshop was conducted at the University of Maryland in June of 2003.

Academic Work Experience

Chair, Department of Management
The Sage Colleges, Albany & Troy, New York
June 2008 - present

Assistant Professor of Management
The Sage Colleges, Albany & Troy, New York
2006 present

Courses taught:
BUS 211-10 International Business. Fall 2006. Full-time undergraduate.
BUS 311-20 Entrepreneurship. Spring 2006. Adult continuing education.
BUS 311-10 Entrepreneurship. Fall 2006. Full-time undergraduate.
BUS 424-10 Strategy II. Spring 2007. Adult continuing education capstone.
BUS 424-25 Strategy II. Spring 2007. Full-time undergraduate capstone.
MBA 571-20 Management of Change and Innovation. Fall 2007. Graduate level.
MBA 683-20 New Product Development. Spring 2008. Graduate level.
MBA 685-20 Quality Management. Spring 2007. Graduate level.
MBA 695-20 Strategy. Spring 2008. Graduate level strategy capstone.

Graduate Research Assistant to Radical Innovation Project (Ph.D.)
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, New York
September 2002 2007

Supported the work of Principal Investigator, Professor Gina OConnor, during Phase II of an ongoing multi-disciplinary longitudinal study of 12 large US based firms and their Radical Innovation efforts. The research emphasis was at the innovation center or hub level. This work was sponsored by the Industrial Research Institute and culminated in the book titled Grabbing Lightning by OConnor, Leifer, Paulson & Peters.

Responsibilities included:

• Coordination and coding of collected data.
• Organization and tracking of financial information on the firms under study.
• Support efforts relating to Research Update Conferences for participating firms in the Radical Innovation Study.
• Data collection efforts on other surveys stemming from the learnings generated by the Radical Innovation Project.

Sloan Foundation Graduate Research Assistant (MBA)
September 1999- May 2000

Supported Radical Innovation research project as a Sloan Foundation Graduate Research Assistant during phase I of a longitudinal study of the innovation efforts of large firms. The research emphasis was at the project level.

Industry Work Experience

Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York
System Concepts Center Consultant (2000 - 2002)

Worked within R&D to identify, develop and value early stage business opportunity spaces worthy of commercialization by Kodak. Presented intrapreneurial new offerings for funding to Upper Management and the Kodak Internal Venture Board Committee with frequency. The System Concepts Center is a high-performance cross-discipline innovation hub comprised of Chemists, Physicists, Product Development Engineers, Artists, Ethnographers, and MBA level business experts.

Co-inventor on one issued patent and primary inventor on a second published patent for the corporation.

American National Can Company, Chicago, Illinois
(now Rexam Beverage Can Corporation)

Manager Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement (1998 - 1999)
Responsible for working with Analysts and Engagement Managers from McKinsey & Company consulting firm on cost reduction and re-engineering projects for the Beverage Can Americas Division. The projects achieved cost savings of $30 million in 18 months and began the Personnel Topgrading process. Both of these actions contributed to the successful public offering of American National Can by owners Pechiney Group on the NYSE in August 1999.

Manager Manufacturing, Corporate Benchmarking Team (1997)
Transferred company-wide best practices and technology in the area of direct materials application for 17 ANC beverage can-making facilities in North America. Direct materials for a beverage can include ink, exterior varnish and inside coatings. ANC North America realized annual savings of $2.6 million from this effort.

Quality Advisor, Brazil Plant, Sao Paulo, Brazil (1996 1997)
Participated in the start-up of a beverage can manufacturing plant. Responsible for the establishment and training of the Quality department in a new facility in South America.

Quality Assurance Manager, Mexico Plant Queretaro, Mexico (1994 1996)
Key management responsibilities for an international joint venture start-up of 2 beverage can plants including workforce training on quality protocol with partner Vitro Corporation. Vitro is headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico.

Production Supervisor, Danbury Plant Danbury, Connecticut (1990 1994)
Coordinated the efforts of a 15-member crew to meet production, quality, spoilage and safety goals in a two-piece beverage can plant.

Landmark Bank - St. Louis, Missouri
(now Bank of America)
Investment Advisor, Landmark Financial Group (1988 1990)
Set-up initial brokerage services in three bank branch locations in the Saint Louis area, and thereafter advised bank clients in their personal investment decisions.

Dean Witter Reynolds- St. Louis, Missouri
(now Morgan Stanley Dean Witter)
Retail Stockbroker (1985 1988)
Acquired and developed 235 investment accounts with capital responsibility of $3.7 M.

Honors and Awards

• Awarded Institute Fellowship at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in order to pursue Ph.D. in Management.
• Elected Graduate Management Student Association Success Chairman for MBA class during the 1999-2000 academic year.
• Industry award for highest quality producer of Aluminum Cans in the country of Mexico for year 1995. Honor conferred by The Coca-Cola Company in the year following start-up of this manufacturing location.

Patents

Co-inventor US 6,676,292. Packaging Enclosure for Containing an Article of
Manufacture. Issued 1/13/04.

Robeson, et al., US 20040032973. Method for Using Remote Imaging to Predict Quality Parameters for Agricultural Commodities. Published 2/19/04.

Language Skills

• Strong in Spanish.
• Fair understanding of Portuguese.