Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MIE) Department
Our faculty enable students to navigate complex business environments, encourage positive leadership, and drive innovation and growth.
The NC State Poole College of Management Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MIE) Department includes faculty who combine cutting-edge research in strategy, people management, innovation and entrepreneurship with deep industry insight to prepare leaders who can navigate complexity, drive growth and build impactful organizations.
Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine rank our entrepreneurship programs No. 4 in the Southeast.
Our faculty enable students to navigate complex business environments, encourage positive leadership and drive innovation and growth. We make the world better by making better organizations and making organizations better.
MIE Department Leadership
Karen Jansen, Ph.D. serves as MIE Department Head. Her research broadly examines dynamic processes that evolve over time, including how person-environment fit evolves into misfit, and how to sustain engagement and energy over the course of strategic and transformational change. She is also interested in temporal dynamics, the impact of events, and social change.
Before joining NC State, Dr. Jansen held appointments at Henley Business School (University of Reading), Australian National University, University of Virginia, and Penn State University. Prior to her academic career, she spent nine years at IBM as a systems engineer. She earned her Ph.D. in Organizational Change and Strategic Human Resource Management from Texas A&M University.
She serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Management and the Academy of Management Review, where she is currently guest editing a special issue on time in organizations.
Faculty Excellence
MIE faculty conduct world-class research at the intersection of strategy, people management, innovation and entrepreneurship, paired with strong industry engagement to ensure real-world relevance. Our teaching and scholarship span leadership, organizational behavior and change, value creation, sustainability, technology and innovation management, and entrepreneurial growth.
This expertise equips students to navigate complex business environments, lead with purpose, and drive meaningful innovation — from early-stage ventures to global corporate strategy. We help students understand how to design, staff, resource, and scale enterprises that deliver long-term impact.
To strengthen the connection between classroom and practice, the People Management Advisory Board brings together leaders from industry and academia to share insights, inform curriculum, and amplify the relevance of MIE research for the leaders of today and tomorrow.
Named professorships recognize and support our leading scholars:
- Jon Carr – Jenkins Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship
- Brad Kirkman – General (Ret.) H. Hugh Shelton Distinguished Professor of Leadership
- Jeffrey Pollack – Lynn T. Clark II Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship
Academic Programs
Undergraduate Programs
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration: Entrepreneurship Concentration
This cross-disciplinary program focuses on identifying, exploring, and implementing opportunities for value creation. Students develop skills to build their own companies or act as “intrapreneurs” growing existing organizations. The curriculum provides a foundation in entrepreneurial thinking, business opportunity analysis, finance and accounting, and new venture planning.
Management First Year Experience: First-year students begin in our Management First Year program, providing time to explore different business areas before declaring their concentration.
Business Administration Minor: Available to non-business students.
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration: People Management Concentration
The people management concentration equips students with the knowledge, skills, and strategies necessary to manage, consult with, and lead individuals and teams in dynamic, diverse, and evolving workplaces. Grounded in organizational behavior, human resource management, and leadership theory, the concentration emphasizes interpersonal skills, consultative strategies, ethical decision-making, conflict management, and evidence-based practices for motivating, developing, and retaining key talent.
Management First Year Experience: First-year students begin in our Management First Year program, providing time to explore different business areas before declaring their concentration.
Business Administration Minor: Available to non-business students.
Graduate Programs
Master of Business Administration (MBA): Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Core and Elective Courses
Available in both full-time and online formats, the MBA program includes advanced coursework, specialization opportunities and high-impact experiences for students seeking leadership and entrepreneurship expertise.
Business Sustainability Certificate
Grow a career in which you drive innovation and global change with sustainable business practices.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Certificate (NEW!)
Learn to drive corporate innovation and create value within organizations through practical, hands-on experience.
Technology Entrepreneurship & Commercialization (TEC) Certificate
Bring breakthrough technologies to market with a proven approach to innovation and commercialization.
Centers and Initiatives
Business Sustainability Collaborative (BSC)
The BSC unites students, faculty and industry leaders with a shared vision: to use business as a driver for positive change.
Entrepreneurship Clinic
The Entrepreneurship Clinic helps founders turn their visions into reality while providing students with practical, real-world entrepreneurship experience.
Bridging Classroom Learning with Startup Reality
Thought Leadership and Impact
NC State Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship faculty are committed to publishing in top-tier journals and translating academic research into actionable insights that help business leaders, entrepreneurs, and organizations navigate complex business challenges.
Recent Research Impact
Leadership
- Brad Kirkman’s article “Why Do Bootlickers Get Empowered More Than Boat-Rockers?” published in the Journal of Applied Psychology explores how employees can encourage leaders to empower them. The research assessed leaders’ willingness to empower supportive versus challenging employees, finding that leaders typically favor supportive workers—but challengers close the gap when they engage in “leader-directed helping” by going above and beyond to help their leaders and organization.
Entrepreneurship
- Michael Stanko and Jeffrey Pollack’s Harvard Business Review case study “Should My Side Hustle Become My Main Gig?” explores the challenges entrepreneurs face when deciding whether to turn a side hustle into a full-time business. The case delves into key factors such as financial stability, market potential, personal fulfillment, and work-life balance, offering insights into the entrepreneurial decision-making process.
Faculty in the News (2025)
B Corp Certification
Jessica Yinka Thomas provided expert analysis on Dr. Bronner’s decision to drop its B Corp certification, sharing insights on what this means for the future of the B Corp movement and ethical business standards.
Contact Us
Contact Us
Department Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MIE)
NC State Poole College of Management
Nelson Hall, Room 1300
Raleigh, NC 27607
Karen Jansen, Department Head
Mailing Address
Campus Box 7229
NC State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7229