Atul Nerkar research focuses on how technology, innovation and entrepreneurship affect business and corporate strategy. He studies research productivity in organizations and the evolution of technological capabilities in the context of the pharmaceutical, chemical and optical disc industries.

His current research examines the drivers of R&D success in the pharmaceutical, chemical and optical disc industries. In particular, he focuses on firms’ patent portfolios and the evolutionary process underlying their development.

Dr. Nerkar is the former associate dean of the Executive MBA Evening and Weekend Programs at UNC Kenan-Flagler. Before he joined the School, he served on the faculty of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business and as a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

He worked with the Unilever Group of Companies in India before he studied at Wharton.

He received his PhD in strategic management from Wharton, where he also received an MA in managerial science and applied economics. He has a bachelor of production engineering from the University of Bombay and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.