Karan Girotra
- Charles H. Dyson Family Professor of Management
- Department Editor, Management Science
- Department Editor, Service Science
Faculty Area
Interdisciplinary Theme
Faculty Expertise
- Operations and Global Supply Chains
- Online Retail and Logistics
- Electric Vehicles
- Bike-share
- Digital Transformation
- Business Analytics
- Innovation
Contact
Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management
Website
Biography
Karan Girotra is Charles H Dyson Family Professor of Management and Professor of Operations, Technology and Innovation at Cornell-Tech and the Johnson College of Business at Cornell University. Karan’s recent research and teaching is focused on the promise and perils of technology— how technology can improve how we do things, enable new business models, favor new leadership styles, and at the same time led to several excesses, and unaccounted negative externalities. He has also studied new business models and economic institutions that help reduce carbon emissions, improve urban living, manage global supply chains, and make online-retail less loss-making.
Karan was one of the founding faculty of Cornell Tech and now leads Cornell Tech’s flagship studio-based education programs. He also leads the design and delivery of our executive education offerings and works closely with leaders in industry.
Karan’s and his research collaborators have been recognized with multiple best paper awards and his research contributions were recognized with prestigious Wickham Skinner Early Career Research Award. His research on new business models (at the time) was summarized in the best-selling book, “The Risk Driven Business Model”. He has also won over 25 teaching awards for his teaching on entrepreneurship and new business models and was featured in the Poets and Quant’s Best 40 under 40 business professors’ lists.
In addition to his academic work, Karan was one of the founders of TerraPass Inc., which the New York Times identified as one of the most noteworthy ideas of 2005. Since then, TerraPass has helped businesses and individuals reduce over hundred million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Prior to Cornell Tech, Karan held the Paul Dubrule Sustainability Chair at INSEAD, earned a doctorate at the Wharton School and a bachelor’s degree from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
Selected Publications
- Girotra, Karan; Netessine, Serguei. The Risk-Driven Business Model: Four Questions That Will Define Your Company. Harvard Business Review Press. (2014): 256pp
- Kabra, Ashish; Belavina, Elena; Girotra, Karan. "Bike-Share Systems: Accessibility and Availability"Management Science. 66.9 (2020)
- Momot, Ruslan; Belavina, Elena; Girotra, Karan. "The Use and Value of Social Information in Selective Selling of Exclusive Products"Management Science. 66.6 (2020)
- Kabra, Ashish; Belavina, Elena; Girotra, Karan. "Designing Promotions to Scale Marketplaces" (in preparation).
- Marinesi, Simone; Girotra, Karan; Netessine, Serguei. "The Operational Advantages of Threshold Discounting Offers"Management Science. 64.6 (2018): 2473-2972
- Avci, Buket; Girotra, Karan; Netessine, Serguei. "Electric Vehicles with a Battery Switching Station: Adoption and Environmental Impact"Management Science. 61.4 (2015): 772-794
- Jain, Nitish; Girotra, Karan; Netessine, Serguei. "Managing Global Sourcing: Inventory Performance"Management Science. 60.5 (2014): 1202 - 1222
- Girotra, Karan; Netessine, S. "Four Paths to Business Model Innovation"Harvard Business Review. (2014)
- Girotra, Karan; Netessine, Serguei. "OM Forum—Business Model Innovation for Sustainability"Manufacturing and Service Operations Management. 15.4 (2013): 537-544
Recent Courses
- NBAB 6750 - Digital Technology, AI and Innovation
- NMI 5000 - Directed Reading & Research
- NBAE 6750 - Leading Digital Transformation and Innovation
- NCCY 5080 - Operations Management
- HADM 9980 - Operations of Digital Business Models and Marketplaces
- NRE 5410 - PhD Seminar: Empirical Research in Operations Management
Academic Degrees
- PhD The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 2007
- MA The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 2007
- Btech Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, 2002