Associate ProfessorKrithika Randhawa

Krithika Randhawa is Associate Professor of Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship and ARC Research Fellow at the University of Sydney Business School, Australia. Her research focuses on strategic decisions in adopting, commercializing, and scaling innovation and emergent technologies. She specialises in open innovation, a novel way to innovate by collaborating with external stakeholders. Krithika's work examines contemporary forms of open innovation such as digital platforms, ecosystems, crowdsourcing and collaborative business models, revealing how such organizational structures can enhance innovation outcomes and drive industry transformation and sustainability transitions.

Research

Situated at the nexus of open innovation, digital ecosystems and managerial decision-making, Krithika's research investigates how corporates and start-ups can strategically adopt open innovation and digital technologies to revitalise their offerings and business models, particularly in the manufacturing, healthcare and public policy contexts. Her impactful solutions address industry and policy challenges across various sectors, including corporates (e.g., Stryker), SMEs and start-ups (e.g., Bang the Table), industry consortia (e.g., IoT Alliance Australia), and government departments (e.g., the Australian Department of Industry and Science, the New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development, New South Wales Health, Queensland Health, and Australian & Austrian local governments).

Krithika is honoured to receive the prestigious Australian Research Council Early Career Researcher Award (2024-2027) for her research on "Governing Industrial Data Ecosystems: Open Innovation in a Digital Economy". With nearly 3000 citations on Google Scholar (h-index of 19 and i10-index of 21), her research appears in leading journals (e.g., the Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Journal of Business Research, Technovation, Industrial Marketing Management, International Journal of Production Economics, Industrial and Corporate Change and California Management Review). Her work also extends to book chapters, industry reports and media outlets (e.g., 2SER, CEO Magazine, R&D Today, The Mandarin and Government News), translating her research into practical insights for business and public sector leaders.

Krithika has secured over $850,000 in competitive grants including the Australian Research Council Fellowship, DVCR Strategic Research Impact Grant and Innovative Manufacturing CRC funding. She has received numerous accolades such as the 2020 Research Impact Award from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and Best Paper Awards at the 2022 European Academy of Management, 2016 & 2017 World Open Innovation Conference, 2015 Australia and New Zealand Academy of Management. She was also a finalist for the 2022 Best Paper Award in California Management Review.

Krithika is Associate Editor of the Journal of Business Research and R&D Management journal, holds leadership roles at the World Open Innovation Conference, Innovation and Product Development Management Conference, and European Academy of Management, and is an Editorial Review Board Member of the Journal of Product Innovation Management. She is a regular presenter, panellist, and chair at international conferences such as the Academy of Management, DRUID Society, European Group for Organizational Studies and Strategic Management Society.

In her capacity as the Management Committee member for the John Grill Institute for Project Leadership and a core member of the Net Zero Institute, Krithika engages in interdisciplinary research partnerships, notably with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (ranked No. 1 in India), where she holds a visiting faculty fellowship.

Teaching

Krithika is an award-winning educator and mentor, recognised with the 2023 SUPRA Supervisor of the Year Award, a nomination for the 2024 Wayne Lonergan Award for Outstanding Teaching at the University of Sydney and the 2021 Innovation Award from UTS for integrating research-led teaching with real-world practice. She brings her research focus to the classroom, exposing students to contemporary topics. Krithika's teaching is also practice-oriented, guiding students through authentic learning experiences designed to cultivate innovative thinkers and problem-solvers.

Firmly believing that students are equal partners in education, Krithika emphasizes active participation and hands-on experiences. Her approach transcends traditional classroom learning, providing meaningful, personalized learning opportunities aligned with students' career aspirations. This has motivated many to pursue careers in innovation and entrepreneurship, inspiring some to launch their own start-ups based on the ideas developed and pitched in her courses.

Krithika's teaching philosophy is reflected in all the courses she designs and delivers across undergraduate, postgraduate, MBA and executive education programs in the areas of innovation, entrepreneurship, design thinking and strategy. As the Program Convenor for the University of Sydney's flagship Major in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, she oversees a multidisciplinary curriculum that fosters these values.

Her innovative, research-inspired teaching has led to invitations for expert lectures, including for Henry Stewart Talks, a globally recognized provider of digital educational content, and contributions to the award-winning "Leading in a Post-Crisis World" program. She has published on pedagogical tools such as using pitch as an authentic assessment-a top resource in the UTS LX Lab's Open Educational Resource Collection-and on scaffolded assessment structures, which were highlighted in a Teaching@Sydney article on the 2023 Education Innovation Awards.

Background

A recipient of the UTS Business School Scholarship, Krithika completed her PhD at the University of Technology Sydney and holds an MBA from Macquarie University. With eight years of management experience in the global hotel industry, including launching two luxury hotels and driving several award-winning strategic innovation projects, she brings a wealth of practical insights to her academic pursuits.