Scott Shane

A. Malachi Mixon, III Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies
Weatherhead School of Management
Professor
Department of Economics
Weatherhead School of Management

Scott Shane, PhD, is the A. Malachi Mixon III Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies and a professor of economics at the Weatherhead School of Management. He has written or edited 16 books that include Illusions of Entrepreneurship: The Costly Myths that Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live By; Finding Fertile Ground: Identifying Extraordinary Opportunities for New Ventures; From Ice Cream to the Internet: Using Franchising to Unlock the Potential of Your Business; Academic Entrepreneurship: University Spinoffs and Wealth Creation, among five others. Several of his books have won the Best Business Book Award, Best Small Business Book Award, and the Golden Book Award, Taiwan.

The author of over 94 scholarly articles on entrepreneurship and innovation management, Shane's work has appeared in Management Science, Organization Science, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization and International Journal of Industrial Organization, among others.His current research examines: (1) how entrepreneurs discover and evaluate opportunities, assemble resources, and design organizations; (2) university spin-offs and technology transfer; (3) business format franchising; (4) angel investing; and (5) genetic factors in entrepreneurship.

Shane has been a consultant to numerous large and small organizations and has taught in executive education programs around the world. Since his appointment at Weatherhead School of Management in 2003, Shane has taught courses in the areas of technology strategy and entrepreneurship. He is also the Managing Director of the Comeback Capital Fund, a venture capital fund investing in early stage companies in the Heartland.

Shane has been nominated for both the Weatherhead Teaching Excellence Award, and Carl F. Wittke Award for Best Undergraduate Teacher Nominee, Case Western Reserve University.

He is the Weatherhead School’s most highly cited faculty member. In 2009, he won the Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research, in 2015 he received the Weatherhead Enduring Impact Award, and in 2017 he received the Case Western Reserve University Faculty Distinguished Research Award. He received his PhD from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

His previous faculty appointments include the University of Maryland, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Georgia Institute of Technology

Initially Appointed: 2003

Education

PhD
University of Pennsylvania
1992
Master of Science
University of Pennsylvania
1991
Master of Science
Georgetown University
1988
AB
Brown University
1986

Teaching Information

Teaching Interests

  • Entrepreneurship
  • Technology Strategy

Course evaluation ratings (login required)

Courses Taught

  • Entrepreneurial Finance
  • Entrepreneurship and Wealth Creation

Office Hours

By Appointment Only

Research Information

Research Projects

  • Technology entrepreneurship
  • New firm formation
  • Economic development
  • New venture finance

Awards and Honors

  • Best Paper Award 2020
    2021
    Academy of Management Neuroscience Interest Group
  • Library Journal Best Business Books of 2008
    2009
    Library Journal
  • Global Entrepreneurship Research Reward
    2009
    Swedish Foundation for Small Business Research
  • Top 5 Books for Your Business
    2009
    MSNBC
  • Best Business Books of 2008
    Inc Magazine
  • Best Business Books of 2008
    Toronto Globe and Mail
  • Best Small Business Books of 2008
    Small Business Trends
  • Greif Research Impact Award, Greif Center for Entrepreneurship
    2008
    USC
  • WSOM Teaching Excellence Award Nominee
    2007
    Weatherhead School of Management
  • Golden Book Award
    2006
    Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan
  • Wittke Award for Best Undergraduate Teacher Nominee
    2006
    Case Western Reserve University

External Appointments

  • Board Member, JumpStart Inc, Cleveland, OH, 2008 - 2009
  • Member, NorthCoast Angel Fund, Cleveland, OH, 2006 - 2018

Publications

  • Clingingsmith, D. , Helper, S. , Shane, S. A. (2020).
    Principles for Economic Policy in the COVID-19 Recession    Economic Policy Ideas for COVID-19
  • Clingingsmith, D. , Helper, S. , Shane, S. A. (2020).
    Washington Must Add Medical Capacity    Economic Policy Ideas for COVID-19
  • Shane, S. A., Goldberg, M. (2018).
    Technology will transform university entrepreneurship programs    University Industry Innovation Network
  • Shane, S. A. (2009).
    Fool's Gold: The truth behind angel investing in America    New York: Oxford University Press
  • Shane, S. A. (2008).
    Technology Strategy for Managers and Entrepreneurs    Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall
  • Shane, S. A. (2008).
    Illusions of Entrepreneurship: The costly myths that entrepreneurs, investors, and policy makers live by    New Haven, CT: Yale University Press
  • Nicolau, N. , Shane, S. A., Hunkin, J. , Cherkas, L. , Spector, T. (2008).
    Is the tendency to engage in entrepreneurship genetic?  (vol. 54, issue 1, pp. 167-179) Hanover, MD: Management Science