Jeffrey Robinson

Jeffrey A. Robinson, Ph.D. is an award-winning business school professor, international speaker and entrepreneur. Since 2008, he has been a leading faculty member at Rutgers Business School, where he is a professor of management and entrepreneurship and the Academic Director of The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development and research fellow of the Rutgers Advanced Institute for the Study of Entrepreneurship and Development.

Through his research, business leadership and community activities he makes direct impacts corporate workplaces, entrepreneurs and economic development policy in the state of New Jersey and beyond.

Emerging from his pioneering research, the New Jersey Social Entrepreneurship Institute and the CUEED Pipeline to Inclusive Innovation are national and international models for economic development and social problem solving using entrepreneurial approaches. He leads research on four National Science Foundation funded research projects related to inclusive innovation including the GEM Inclusion in Innovation Initiative (GEM i4).

Dr. Robinson is the author of many articles and books on the topics of management, entrepreneurship and workforce diversity. He is the co-author along with Dr. Randal Pinkett of Black Faces in White Places: 10 Game-Changing Strategies to Achieve Success and Find Greatness (published by Harper Collins Leadership). In 2022, he and Dr. Pinkett will release Black Faces in High Places: 10 Strategic Actions for Black Professionals to Reach the Top and Stay There (also to be published by Harper Collins Leadership). As a result of his work, Dr. Robinson is a sought-after speaker and trainer in many Fortune 1000 Corporations, foundations and leading social sector organizations including Comcast, KIPP Schools, Legrand North America, Novartis, The National Urban League and the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC). Dr. Robinson is a media commentator recently appearing on PBS, NJN News, National Public Radio, Marketplace on Public Radio International, NJ Biz, The Washington Post and The New York Times.

Dr. Robinson has completed five degrees in the areas of engineering, urban studies and business. At Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, he completed a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies at Rutgers College and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at Rutgers School of Engineering. He has a Master of Science in Civil Engineering Management from Georgia Institute of Technology as a GEM Fellow and an M. Phil. and a Ph.D. in Management and Organizations from Columbia University's Graduate School of Business.

Executive MBA Experience

Professor Jeffrey A. Robinson teaches Foundations of Entrepreneurship, where students learn how to skillfully combine capital, opportunities, innovation and networks to disrupt industries, create wealth, and use innovation to solve consumer and social problems. In addition to the traditional topics of opportunity recognition, business planning, and entrepreneurial finance, he also explores the topics of corporate venturing, social entrepreneurship and the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic development. This course will appeal to individuals who have a strong desire to become entrepreneurs, work in startups, or invest in early stage companies. This course will also be immensely valuable to those who will work in venture capital, where they are dealing with new or relatively new ventures.

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Academic degrees

Ph.D., Columbia University; Management
M.Phil., Columbia University; Management
M.S., Georgia Institute of Technology; Civil Engineering Management

Insights

Thought Leadership: Dr. Jeffrey Robinson Explores Credit Unions' Innovative Approaches to Pressing Challenges

Webinar: Developing an Agenda for Change in Corporate America

Black Faces in High Places: Why Black Leadership Matters

Making the innovation economy more inclusive

Related News

United States trade representative visits Rutgers Business School

Incoming B-STARs are encouraged to "shine brightly" in college

Rutgers University–Newark Provost Jeffrey Robinson begins role as interim chancellor

Rutgers-Newark Provost Jeffrey Robinson wins national award for book co-authored with business partner and Rutgers alumnus Randal Pinkett

Fintech Conference Focuses on the Next Generation of Industry Leaders

Media Mentions

Yahoo! Finance, Rutgers-Newark and Newark School of Fashion & Design Unveil New Line of Spirit Apparel Designed by High Schoolers and Featuring New Campus Mascot, Yla Eason, Jeffrey Robinson

Thursday, February 20, 2025

Rutgers Newark News, Federal Leader and Alumna Nancy La Vigne Named Dean of Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, Jeffrey Robinson

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Rutgers Newark News, School of Criminal Justice Professor Joel Caplan Named to Head Research Efforts at Rutgers-Newark, Jeffrey Robinson

Friday, January 17, 2025

ROI-NJ, Rutgers-Newark, Fiserv honor graduates of Entrepreneurship Pioneer Initiative, Jeffrey Robinson

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Rutgers Newark News, Event Celebrates Latinx Faculty, Staff and Students, Jeffrey Robinson

Tuesday, November 05, 2024

Publications

Articles

Evans, M.N. Robinson, J. A. and Williamson, I.O. 2022. “The Link between HRM Practices and Social Purpose Outcomes in Indigenous Enterprises.” In press, Journal of Social Entrepreneurship.

Vickerie-Dearman, L., McCullers, K, Robinson, J. 2021.“Poverty Alleviation Through Entrepreneurship In The United States: A Framework For Policy And Practice”. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship.

Inouye, T., Joshi, A., Hemmatian, I., Robinson, J. 2020. "Counteracting Globalization's Skeptics: How Diasporas Influence the Internationalization Preferences of Minority Entrepreneurs' Firms." Global Strategy Journal

Joshi, Amol, Inoyue, Todd, & Robinson, Jeffrey A. 2018. "How does agency workforce diversity influence Federal R&D funding of minority and women technology entrepreneurs? An analysis of the SBIR and STTR programs, 2001–2011." Small Business Economics,

Germak, A. and Robinson, J.A. 2014. “Exploring Motivation of Nascent Social Entrepreneurs to Engage in Social Innovation”, Journal of Social Entrepreneurship,

Hayes, R. N. and Robinson, J.A. 2012. "An Economic Sociology of African Entrepreneurial Activity". International Journal of Entrepreneurship

Robinson, J.A. and Hayes, R. N. 2012. “Opportunity Recognition in Inner City Markets: An Exploratory Study” Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship,

Hayes, R. N. and Robinson, J. A. 2011, “Institutional Logics and Entrepreneurial Action in the Black Church: A research note” Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship.

Fairchild, G. B. and Robinson, J.A. 2008. “Unlearned Lessons from Letter From a Birmingham Jail: The Work Begun, The Progress Made, and The Task Ahead.” Business and Society

Robinson, J.A., 2008. “Urban Entrepreneurship: Patterns and Policy” Western New England Law Review

Robinson, J.A., Robinson, S., and Blockson, L., 2007. “Exploring Stratification and Entrepreneurship: African American Women Entrepreneurs Redefine Success in Growth Ventures” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science

Ingram, P., Robinson, J., and Busch, M. 2005. “The Intergovernmental Network of World Trade: IGO Connectedness, Governance and Embeddedness in World Trade” American Journal of Sociology

Books and Selected Book Chapters

Pinkett, R. D. and Robinson, J. A. 2022. Black Faces in High Places: 10 Strategic Actions for Black Professionals to Reach the Top and Stay There.

Pinkett, R. D. and Robinson, J. A. 2010 Black Faces in White Places:10 Game-Changing Strategies to Achieve Success and Find Greatness.

Hockerts, K., Mair, J., Robinson, J., co-editors. 2010, Values and Opportunities in Social Entrepreneurship.

Robinson, J., Mair, J., Hockerts, K. co-editors. 2009, International Perspectives on Social Entrepreneurship.

Mair, J., Robinson, J., Hockerts, K. co-editors. 2006, Social Entrepreneurship

Robinson, J.A., Joshi, A., Vickerie-Dearman, L., and Inouye, T. (2019). “Urban innovation: at the nexus of urban policy and entrepreneurship” in Handbook of Inclusive Innovation: The Role of Organizations, Markets and Communities in Social Innovation, eds. George, G., Baker, T., Tracey, P, Joshi, H

Simms, S.V. and Robinson, J.A. (2009) “Activist or Entrepreneur: An Identity-based Theory of Social Entrepreneurship” in Robinson, J., Mair, J., Hockerts, K. co-editors., International Perspectives on Social Entrepreneurship.

Robinson, J.A. (2006) “Navigating Social and Institutional Barriers to Markets: How Social Entrepreneurs Identify and Evaluate Opportunities” in Mair, J., Robinson, J., Hockerts, K. eds., Social Entrepreneurship.

Dissertations Supervised

Name: Edouard, Linda
Graduation Date: 2023/January

Name: Crews, Marcus
Graduation Date: 2022/Jan

Name: Bass, Shoshana
Graduation Date: 2019/May

Name: Kong, Xiangyi
Graduation Date: 2019/Jan

Name: Chen, Huangen
Graduation Date: 2018/May
Thesis Title: Social Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation: Institutional Environment, Identity Configuration, and Resourcefulness

Name: Ma, Jiangshui
Graduation Date: 2018/May
Thesis Title: Why Silicon Valley? An “Entrepreneurial Ecosystem” Perspective on Regional Venture Creation and New Venture Fundraising, Evidence from China

Name: Vickerie, Lutisha
Graduation Date: 2018/May
Thesis Title: Immigrant Entrepreneurship, Institutional Logics, and Informality: A Study of Entrepreneurs and Urban Entrepreneurship Policy in Newark, New Jersey

Awards & Honors

Professor Robinson is a recipient of the Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship John Jack Award presented at the USASBE (United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship) Annual Conference as well as a sought after speaker and trainer in many Fortune 100 Corporations, foundations and leading social sector organizations including Wells Fargo, PSEG, KIPP Schools, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Comcast.

Dr. Robinson has appeared on PBS, Caucus: New Jersey, and NJTV. He is often quoted by journalists from the Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.