Rodney Shrader, PhD
Professor and Interim Department Head
Department of Managerial Studies
Contact
- Building & Room:
- UH 2212
- Address:
- 601 S. Morgan St., Chicago, IL 60607a
- Office Phone:
- (312) 996-8732
Email:
CV Link:
Related Sites:
About
Dr. Rod Shrader is a Professor of Management and holds the Denton Thorne Chair in Entrepreneurship at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) College of Business Administration. A long-standing leader within the Department of Managerial Studies, Dr. Shrader serves as the Director for both the Graduate Certificate in Technology Entrepreneurship and the Graduate Certificate in Applied Startup Knowledge (ASK). Over his distinguished tenure at UIC, he has also completed long-term appointments as the Director of the Undergraduate Program in Entrepreneurship and Faculty Director of the UIC Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.
Dr. Shrader’s academic macro-infrastructure evaluates strategic decision-making, early-stage firm growth, and economic policy within new ventures. His research specializes in international entrepreneurship, evaluating how high-technology startups navigate foreign market risk, manage upper-echelon human capital, and utilize collaborative partnerships for accelerated growth. Additionally, his work explores financial forecasting biases, CEO and entrepreneurial activism, and sustainable commercialization models at the base of the pyramid. His extensive scholarship includes foundational articles published in elite peer-reviewed journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice, and Group & Organization Management.
As an administrator and engaged researcher, Dr. Shrader has secured over $6.5 million in career grants and funding to develop university startup initiatives. Under his executive leadership, the Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies managed complex multi-million dollar budgets supporting the Illinois Small Business Development Center (SBDC), the Family Business Council, and the TechVentures Program, which successfully cross-pollinated university technology transfer pipelines to launch ten high-technology startups. He has coordinated complex external partnerships with entities such as the Coleman Foundation, the Pritzker Group, Illinois DCEO, and the 1871 technology incubator. Dr. Shrader received his Ph.D. in Strategic Management with a minor in International Management from Georgia State University, where his dissertation on new venture internationalization won the prestigious 1997 Heizer Award for Outstanding Research in New Enterprise Development.
Selected Publications
- Simon M. & Shrader, R.C. (forthcoming) Entrepreneurial Actions and Optimistic Overconfidence: The Role of Motivated Reasoning in New Product Introductions. Journal of Business Venturing
- Renko, M., Shrader, R.C., & Simon, M. (forthcoming) Perception of entrepreneurial opportunity: A general framework, Management Decision
- McWilliams, A & Shrader, R.C. (forthcoming) Toward measuring the social impact of entrepreneurial firms, Journal of Ethics and Entrepreneurship.
- Hansen, D.J., Shrader, R.C., & Monllor, J.A., (2011) Defragmenting definitions of entrepreneurial opportunity. Journal of Small Business Management 49(2): 283-304.
- Renko, M., Carsrud, A., Kundu, S., Shrader, R.C., and A. Parhankangas. “Liabilities, advantages and buffers of newness: How young age makes internationalization possible.” Group & Organization Management, vol. 41, no. 6, 2016, pp. 786-822.
- Simon, M., and R.C. Shrader. “Entrepreneurial actions and optimistic overconfidence: The role of motivated reasoning in new product introductions.” Journal of Business Venturing, vol. 27, no. 3, 2012, pp. 291-309.
Notable Honors
2010, Excellence in Teaching Award, UIC
2010, Teaching Recognition Program Award, UIC
2001, Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence, NASDAQ
1997, Dissertation Award for Excellent Research in New Enterprise Development, Heizer
Education
PhD in Strategic Management- Georgia State University
BA- Ambassador University,