Portrait of Professor Elena Novelli

Professor Elena Novelli

Professor of Strategy

Bayes Business School , Faculty of Management

Contact

About

Overview

Elena Novelli is Professor of Strategy at Bayes Business School. She holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. cum laude in Business Administration from Bocconi University, Milan.

Her research, based on natural, lab and field experiments, explores how firms and individuals create and capture value from knowledge and how the decision making approach used can support superior performance. Her most recent work has explored these issues in the context of entrepreneurial firms. Her work has been published in top academic journals including Academy of Management Review, Organization Science, Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Annals, Research Policy, and the Journal of Management, and in other outlets such as The Blackwell Handbook of Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management, Handbook of Innovation Management - Oxford University Press, The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management.

Her work has been recognized with multiple awards including the 2021 Strategic Management Society Best Paper Prize, the 2021 DRUID Best Paper Prize, the 2021 Academy of Management STR Distinguished Paper Award for Knowledge, Innovation, and Strategic Human Capital, the 2015 Strategic Management Society Best Paper IG Knowledge and Innovation Award, the 2013 SIIE.EBS/Mikroforum Best-Paper-Award Innovation Management, the 2013 Bayes Business School Research Publication Prize, the 2012 University of Bath Bright Idea Award. Her Ph.D. dissertation was selected as the Finalist for the Best Dissertation Awards from the Academy of Management (BPS Division) and the Danish Research Unit on Industrial Dynamics (DRUID). In 2012, the UK Economic and Social Research Council awarded the prestigious Future Research Leaders Grant to Dr. Novelli (GBP 212,240). In 2018, she has received as the Principal Investigator the UK Government BEIS Business Basics Grant (GBP 387,000) to fund Strategy Insight Lab (in collaboration with colleagues at Bocconi University and the University of Oxford), a programme to deliver free training for one year to hundreds of UK micro businesses, keeping them at the forefront of business knowledge and conducting research on what enables their growth and success. For her work on this project, Professor Novelli was shortlisted as one of the three finalists for the 2019 City Icon Partnership Award. In 2022, she launched Idea Booster Lab (in collaboration with Bocconi University), a free training programme to support the development of startups in the UK.

Professor Novelli is an Associate Editor of the Strategic Management Journal and Contributing Editor of Strategy Science. She also serves on the Editorial Review Boards of Organization Science and the Journal of Management Studies. She is a member of the Executive Board of the SEI Consortium. She is the Chair of the Technology and Innovation Management Division of the Academy of Management. She had already served the Division in the role of Treasurer previously. In 2020 she served as the Chair of the Knowledge and Innovation Interest Group of the Strategic Management Society and earlier, as a Representative-at-Large of the same interest group. In the period 2017-2019, she served in the Executive Committee of the Strategic Management Division of the Academy of Management. 

At Bayes Business School, Professor Novelli teaches “Strategic Leadership” in the Executive MBA programme and “Corporate Strategy” in the Modular Executive MBA programme. In 2017, she launched the successful elective “Capturing Value from Innovation”, currently taught to students across all MBA Programmes. In 2011, she was the recipient of the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence at the University of Bath; in 2016 she was nominated for a City University Learning Enhancement Award; in 2017 she was the Finalist for the Rector's Award for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, in 2019 she won the City Student Union Impact Award for Most Innovative Teaching. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Professor Novelli was a member of the Business School Board of Studies between 2013 and 2019 and she has been a member of the Business School Research Committee between 2016 and 2022. Between 2019 and 2022, she was an Elected Member of City University Senate.

Qualifications

  • Fellow, Academy of Higher Education
  • Laurea Degree (cum laude), Bocconi University, Italy
  • PhD in Business Administration and Management, Bocconi University, Italy

Memberships of professional organisations

  • Chair Elect, Technology and Innovation Management Division of the Academy of Management, August 2023 - present
  • Executive Committee Member, SEI Consortium, September 2021 - present
  • Chair, Knowledge and Innovation IG, Strategic Management Society, January 2018 - December 2020

Awards

  • 3rd Competitive Dynamics Conference 2023 (2023). Curtis M.Grimm Memorial Best Paper Award Finalist
  • Strategic Management Society Conference (2021). Best Paper Prize
  • Academy of Management Conference (2021). STR Distinguished Paper Award in Knowledge, Innovation and Strategic Human Capital
  • DRUID Conference (2021). Best Paper Prize
  • City Student Union, City, University of London, London, UK (2019). Impact Award, Most Innovative Teaching
  • City University (2019). City Icons, Partnership Award, Finalist
  • UK Government Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy - Innovate UK (2018). Business Basics Grant. “A scientific approach to SME productivity”. Principal investigator. GBP 378,000
  • City University of London (2018). The President’s Award for Teaching and Learning, Finalist
  • Bayes Business School (2017). Pump Priming Award
  • Strategic Management Society IG Knowledge and Innovation (2015). Best Paper Award
  • Cass Business School (2013). Research Publication Prize
  • SIIE-EBS (2013). Best Paper Award Innovation Management
  • Economic and Social Research Council (2012). Future Research Leaders Grant. “Understanding Firm Boundaries”. Principal Investigator. Total Value: GBP 212,240
  • Academy of Management (2011). BPS Division Best Dissertation Award Finalist
  • Academy of Management (2011). BPS Outstanding Reviewer Award
  • The DRUID Society (2011). Doctoral Dissertation Award Finalist
  • University of Bath (2010). Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence
  • University of Bath (2010). Bright Idea Award
  • Bocconi University, Milan (2004). Best Graduates Award
  • AOM MOC Division Kauffman Best Paper Awards in Entrepreneurial Cognition Finalist
  • Bocconi University Bocconi Assembly for Innovation and Cooperation Grant
  • City University of London City University Learning Enhancement Award, Nominee

Languages

Italian

Expertise

Primary topics

  • Strategic Management
  • Technology Management
  • Entrepreneurship

Industries

  • high technology
  • financial services

Publications

Chapters (5)

  1. Novelli, E. (2026). A Scientific Approach to Entrepreneurial Decision-Making as Bayesian Learning. In Agrawal, A., Camuffo, A., Gambardella, A., Gans, J., Scott, E.L. and Stern, S. (Eds.), Bayesian Entrepreneurship (pp. 161-174). Massachusetts, USA: The MIT Press. ISBN 9780262052160.
  2. Ahuja, G. and Novelli, E. (2018). Innovation Strategies. The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management (pp. 751-757). Palgrave Macmillan UK. ISBN 9780230537217.
  3. Novelli, E. and Ahuja, G. (2013). M&A and Innovation. In Dodgson, M., Gann, D. and Phillips, N. (Eds.), Handbook of Innovation Management Oxford University Press.
  4. Ahuja, G. and NOVELLI, E. (2011). Knowledge Structures And Innovation: Useful Abstractions, Lessons Learnt And Unanswered Questions. In Easterby-Smith, M. and Lyles, M.A. (Eds.), The Blackwell Handbook of Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 9781405133043.
  5. Ebrahim, M., Gaonkar, S., Kapoor, R., Lavie, D., Novelli, E. and Winston Smith, S. Trust and Distrust in Platform Ecosystems. In McEvily, B., Schilke, O., Soda, G. and Zaheer, A. (Eds.), Handbook of Trust and Social Networks Edward Elgar.

Conference paper and proceedings

  1. Novelli, E. and Spina, C. The value of Commitment for Strategic Decision-Making: Evidence from a Field Experiment. .doi:10.5465/ambpp.2021.236

Journal articles (22)

  1. Novelli, E. and Pignataro, A. (2026). Decision-Making in Private Equity and Private Credit: An Integrative Review. Academy of Management Annals. doi:10.5465/annals.2024.0292

    [publisher’s website]

  2. Tucci, C.L., Snihur, Y., Novelli, E. and Felin, T. (2025). A debate: does Lean Startup represent a giant leap? Industry and Innovation, 32(4), pp. 500-511. doi:10.1080/13662716.2025.2476431

    [publisher’s website]

  3. Gagliardi, L. and Novelli, E. (2025). Female Entrepreneurs Targeting Women: Strategic Redirection Under Scientific Decision-Making. Organization Science, 36(2), pp. 718-736. doi:10.1287/orsc.2022.17235

    [publisher’s website]

  4. Spina, C. and Novelli, E. (2025). Research: When Does Scientific Decision-Making Benefit Startups? Harvard Business Review

    [publisher’s website]

  5. Coali, A., Novelli, E., Sirigiri, A. and Spina, C. (2024). A Scientific Approach to Decision-making: Key Tools and Design Principles. Journal of Business Venturing Design, 3. doi:10.1016/j.jbvd.2024.100023

    [publisher’s website]

  6. Valentine, J., Novelli, E. and Agarwal, R. (2024). The Theory-Based View and Strategic Pivots: The Effects of Theorization and Experimentation on the Type and Nature of Pivots. Strategy Science, 9(4), pp. 433-460. doi:10.1287/stsc.2024.0183

    [publisher’s website]

  7. Novelli, E. and Spina, C. (2024). Making business model decisions like scientists: Strategic commitment, uncertainty, and economic performance. Strategic Management Journal, 45(13), pp. 2642-2695. doi:10.1002/smj.3636

    [publisher’s website]

  8. Felin, T., Gambardella, A., Novelli, E. and Zenger, T. (2024). A Scientific Method for Startups. Journal of Management, 50(8), pp. 3080-3104. doi:10.1177/01492063231226136

    [publisher’s website]

  9. Coali, A., Gambardella, A. and Novelli, E. (2024). Scientific decision-making, project selection and longer-term outcomes. Research Policy, 53(6), pp. 105022-105022. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2024.105022

    [publisher’s website]

  10. Camuffo, A., Gambardella, A., Messinese, D., Novelli, E., Paolucci, E. and Spina, C. (2024). A scientific approach to entrepreneurial decision‐making: Large‐scale replication and extension. Strategic Management Journal, 45(6), pp. 1209-1237. doi:10.1002/smj.3580

    [publisher’s website]

  11. Conti, R. and Novelli, E. (2022). Not all technologies are created equal for stakeholders: Constituency statutes, firm stakeholder orientation and investments in technology generality. Research Policy, 51(3), pp. 104470-104470. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2021.104470

    [publisher’s website]

  12. Gambardella, A., Heaton, S., Novelli, E. and Teece, D.J. (2021). Profiting from Enabling Technologies? Strategy Science, 6(1), pp. 75-90. doi:10.1287/stsc.2020.0119

    [publisher’s website]

  13. Conti, R., Gambardella, A. and Novelli, E. (2019). Specializing in general purpose technologies as a firm long-term strategy. Industrial and Corporate Change, 28(2), pp. 351-364. doi:10.1093/icc/dty069

    [publisher’s website]

  14. Conti, R., Gambardella, A. and Novelli, E. (2019). Specializing in Generality: Firm Strategies When Intermediate Markets Work. Organization Science, 30(1), pp. 126-150. doi:10.1287/orsc.2018.1243

    [publisher’s website]

  15. Ahuja, G. and Novelli, E. (2017). Activity Overinvestment: The Case of R&D. Journal of Management, 43(8), pp. 2456-2468. doi:10.1177/0149206317695770

    [publisher’s website]

  16. Ahuja, G. and Novelli, E. (2017). Redirecting Research Efforts on the Diversification–Performance Linkage: The Search for Synergy. Academy of Management Annals, 11(1), pp. 342-390. doi:10.5465/annals.2014.0079

    [publisher’s website]

  17. Ahuja, G. and Novelli, E. (2016). Incumbent Responses to an Entrant with a New Business Model: Resource Co-Deployment and Resource Re-Deployment Strategies. pp. 125-153. doi:10.1108/s0742-332220160000035006

    [publisher’s website]

  18. Padula, G., Novelli, E. and Conti, R. (2015). SMEs inventive performance and profitability in the markets for technology. Technovation, 41, pp. 38-50. doi:10.1016/j.technovation.2015.01.002
  19. Novelli, E. (2015). An examination of the antecedents and implications of patent scope. Research Policy, 44(2), pp. 493-507. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2014.09.005

    [publisher’s website]

  20. Padula, G., Novelli, E. and Conti, R. (2015). SMEs Inventive Performance and Profitability in the Markets for Technology. Technovation, 41-42(July–August 2015), pp. 38-50. doi:10.1016/j.technovation.2015.01.002

    [publisher’s website]

  21. Conti, R., Gambardella, A. and NOVELLI, E. (2013). Research on Markets for Inventions and Implications for R&D Allocation Strategies. The Academy of Management Annals, 7(1), pp. 717-774. doi:10.1080/19416520.2013.787709

    [publisher’s website]

  22. Ahuja, G., Lampert, C. and NOVELLI, E. (2012). The second face of appropriability: generative appropriability and its determinants. Academy of Management Review, 38(2), pp. 248-269. doi:10.5465/amr.2010.0290

    [publisher’s website]

Professional activities

Editorial activity (5)

  1. Organization Science, Member of Editorial Review Board, January 2017 - present.
  2. Journal of Management Studies, Member of Editorial Board, 2016 - present.
  3. Strategy Science, Member of Editorial Board, 2014 - present.
  4. Strategic Management Journal, Member of Editorial Board, 2013 - present.
  5. Strategic Management Journal, Associate Editor.