Kotlar Josip
Full Professor
Kotlar Josip
Full Professor
Josip Kotlar is a Full Professor of Strategy, Innovation and Family Business at Politecnico di Milano. He specializes in supporting leadership teams of ownership groups, particularly entrepreneurial families and family businesses, as well as senior executives at the top levels of organizations, guiding complex processes of strategic transformation and evolution.
His research explores how owners and business leaders balance financial and non-financial goals, driving innovation and strategic change. Author of over 50 scientific publications cited more than 9,000 times, his studies have appeared in leading international academic journals including the Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Family Business Review, and Journal of Family Business Strategy. He serves as Associate Editor of Family Business Review and is a member of the Editorial Review Boards for Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice and Journal of Family Business Strategy. He currently serves as President of the International Family Enterprise Research Academy (IFERA) and was recognized among the "Top 25 Most Influential Academics in Family Enterprise" by Family Capital.
Founder of the Family Office Observatory and Director of the Innovation and Strategy Research Group at Politecnico di Milano, Josip Kotlar also created and leads the Executive Program for Family Office Professionals. His work has been featured in Forbes, The Financial Times, and prominent Italian media outlets such as Il Sole 24 Ore, La Repubblica, and Corriere della Sera.
Career
Research
Josip Kotlar conducts interdisciplinary research at the intersection of strategy, innovation, family business and governance.
His main research contributions relate to understanding how family business owners and leaders balance financial and non-financial goals in strategic decision-making, and how family owners can drive business transformation and innovation to build long-term success.
Current projects address the development of ownership competencies in multi-generational enterprising families, the distinctive role of family legacy in value creation and capture processes, and emerging forms of family and family business business governance.
Selected Publications
Manelli L. Magrelli V. Kotlar J. Messeni Petruzzelli A. & Frattini F. , "Building an Outward-Oriented Social Family Legacy: Rhetorical History in Family Business Foundations. ", Family Business Review
Mazzelli A. Miller D. Breton-Miller L. De Massis A. & Kotlar J., "Outcome-based imitation in family firms’ international market entry decisions.", Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice
Ge B. De Massis A. & Kotlar J. , "Mining the past: History scripting strategies and competitive advantage in a family business.", Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 46, 223-251
Magrelli V. Rondi E. De Massis A. & Kotlar J. , "Generational brokerage: An intersubjective perspective on managing temporal orientations in family firm succession. ", Strategic Organization, 20, 164-199
De Massis A. Kotlar J. & Manelli L. , "Family firms, family boundary organizations, and the family-related organizational ecosystem. ", Family Business Review, 34, 350-364
Grants, awards and Honours
Community service
Research projects
Tradition-driven Innovation: Historical and cultural heritage as a source of innovation for Italian firms
Project details