Professor Boris Urban

Boris is a Professor at the WBS and was the inaugural Chair in Entrepreneurship at University of Witwatersrand. He has more than 40 years of academic and professional experience where he has practiced, taught, and researched organizational behavior, strategy, and entrepreneurship.

Apart from his academic background, Boris has wide-ranging business experience in creating new ventures, acting as both franchisor and as franchisee, and worked for MNCs, with broad exposure to strategic management. Through training and consulting, he has delivered solutions to local and international clients in the private and NPO sectors.

His multi-faceted research agenda spans across the individual, organizational and societal levels to deepen understanding of corporate, social, and technology entrepreneurship within an emerging market context. His research has yielded insights into the role of institutional effects on entrepreneurial behavior, and the impact of social enterprises in African contexts.

A prolific researcher with over 250 journal articles, case studies, and book chapters, he has contributed to the advancement of the field – refer Orcid.

Boris is NRF rated (2009- 2027) whose work is regularly cited. He is the editor of five books published by Oxford University Press, Pearson, and Springer. He has contributed to the Oxford Handbook of the South African Economy, presented at the Academy of Management conference, and most articles appear in a wide range of high-impact peer-reviewed journals - refer Google Scholar (h-index = 45).

His dedication to knowledge advancement has been recognised with several awards which include the Juta and Sasol prize for academic honors; MANEX award for Best Researcher; Top Researcher at Wits CLM Faculty; Emerald Literati Award; Research and Knowledge Exchange award from the UK based Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Boris has also presented papers at national and international conferences, including the ICSB, ISBE and AOM, where he has won best paper awards. He has published award-winning case studies (Emerald Case Writing Competition) used in classrooms globally.

Demonstrating a comprehensive approach to academia, his academic citizenship credentials have been earned in various capacities, such as Acting WBS Director, Research Director, Masters Programme Director, Discipline Lead in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Strategy, Senate member, and NRF Specialist Committee member. Boris serves on boards such as the Africa Business and Entrepreneurship Research Society, Inc, as well as on several editorial boards, including the Journal of Social Entrepreneurship (Oxford, UK), JEEE, JoE and SAJEMS. He is the recipient of research grant funding from the Economic and Social Research Council/NRF/Newton Fund.

As a dedicated teacher Boris has developed innovative curricula and is credited with designing the pioneering WBS academic programme - Master of Management in Entrepreneurship. He has also designed university-wide courses for MBAs and Executive Education in academic entrepreneurship, corporate entrepreneurship, new venture creation, technopreneurship and social entrepreneurship. He has supervised over 100 students and facilitated as a lecturer and moderator at various local and international institutions, hosting international postdoctoral fellowship researchers.

Focused on the advancement and impact of entrepreneurship, Boris has by means of advocacy contributed as subject expert to several initiatives such as G20, WEF, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Reports, and MIT Global Start-ups panels. Boris is involved with various collaborative projects focusing on research and entrepreneurial capacity development locally and globally. Collaborations include the Global Entrepreneurship Education Project and the Networks for Inclusive Growth through Social Entrepreneurship Initiative.

In terms of fostering entrepreneurial development Boris has been involved with Students in Free Enterprise, WBS Centre for Entrepreneurship, Wits Entrepreneurship Clinic, and Tshimologong. He also has had the opportunity to present his research findings locally (Office of the SA President) and globally (ICSB, ISBE). He is often invited as a subject expert on TV and radio shows and occasionally writes for newspapers and has featured as keynote speaker at seminars such as the SA Innovation Summit, Sunday Times Directors Event, SME Summit, LeaderEx, AACSB, and the Africa Conference Association of African Business Schools.