DrAlessio Cozzolino

Alessio Cozzolino is Assistant Professor of Strategy at University College Dublin (UCD) since 2015 and Academic Director of the MSc in Strategic Management at UCD Smurfit Business School. He holds a PhD in Business Administration & Management from Bocconi University and an MSc in Engineering Management from the University of Rome “La Sapienza.” He has been a visiting scholar at the Georgia Institute of Technology (U.S.), Boston University (U.S.), and the Polytechnic University of Bari (Italy).

His research has received several prestigious awards, including the INFORMS Best Dissertation Award (1st place worldwide, 2015), multiple Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings (2026, 2022, 2017), the Best Conference Paper Prize (Honorable Mention) from Strategic Management Society, 2013, and two EURAM Best Paper Award (2026, 2020). He has secured research funding from the European Union - NextGeneration EU, from UCD, from Bocconi U., and from Telecom Italia.

Alessio’s research examines how technological changes reshape competitive advantage between incumbents and new entrants, advancing and proposing new theories on technological discontinuities, disruption, business models, strategic alliances, ecosystems, regulation, and startup accelerators. His contributions include the first characterization and theorizing / testing of “complementary-asset discontinuities” (Strategic Management Journal, 2018), “business model disruptions” (Journal of Management Studies, 2018), and ecosystem disruption (Research Policy, 2024). His work has also empirically uncovered the role of managerial beliefs in firm adaptation (Organization Science, 2022), the dynamics of competition and cooperation between incumbents and digital platforms (JBR, 2021), how startup accelerators foster a paradox mindset (Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, 2025), and the business model pathways to navigate a digital transformation (Research Policy, 2026). These insights apply across industries such as news media, TV, advertising, education, music, healthcare, and entrepreneurship. His work has been published in prestigious international journals (FT50 & ABS4*/4) including SMJ, OrgSci, ResPol, JMS, ET&P, and JBR.

Alessio has been included in the Dean’s List of Outstanding Teachers 2024-25 and was awarded the UCD CoB Teaching Award 2019–20. He teaches "Technology & Innovation Strategy", "Disruption & Design", and "Global Strategy" in the EMBA, Executive Education, CEMS, and Postgraduate Programmes in Dublin, Singapore, and Hong Kong. His teaching impact extends to client organisations such as the Institute of Banking, Alltech, and Bord Bia. Prior to joining UCD, he also taught at Bocconi University and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Before entering academia, Alessio worked for five years in the Corporate Finance office of GEDI Gruppo Editoriale, a leading European media company, and collaborated for two years with Telecom Italia on a major industry–academic research project.