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Robin De Cock, PhD

Function Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Email robin.decock@ams.ac.be

Phone +32 472 83 00 95

Discover our publications

Expertise

Entrepreneurial pitching
Technology entrepreneurship and commercialization
Strategic challenges of entrepreneurs
Corporate entrepreneurship
Business model Innovation
Entrepreneurial team dynamics
Wellbeing of entrepreneurs
Sustainable entrepreneurship

References

References: PwC, KPMG, J&J, SAP, Grant Thornton, Silverfin, BESIX, Aquafin, City of Antwerp, Port of Antwerp, VVGS, Pidpa, AZ Sint-Blasius, Supernova, VOKA, Colruyt, Carglass, BMW.

Robin De Cock is an Associate Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Antwerp Management School (AMS) and a guest professor at ETH Zürich. He previously held a position at the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Group of Imperial College Business School in London. In addition to his academic appointments, Robin serves on the valorisation board of VITO, the Flemish technology and research institute, and frequently advises start-ups and scale-ups.

As Academic Director of the Master in Sustainable Innovation and Entrepreneurship at AMS, Robin leads a vibrant community of over 500 innovators, who have collectively launched 120+ start-ups and 75+ corporate innovation projects. At the full-time master’s level, he teaches courses in Entrepreneurial Strategy, Growth Strategy, and Business Model Innovation. He was honoured with the Best Teacher Award at AMS in 2021.

Robin is also a co-founder of the Antwerp Centre for Entrepreneurship Research. His research explores how technology entrepreneurs make critical strategic decisions, with broader interests in corporate entrepreneurship and sustainable entrepreneurship. He has presented his work at leading conferences worldwide and published in top-tier journals such as the Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of World Business, and Journal of Small Business Management. He is the author of a book on effective technology transfer, and his latest book, Mastering the Pitch: Science-Based Strategies for Success, offers evidence-based techniques for pitching ideas and driving impact.

Robin has been involved in several research and policy advisory projects for the Flemish Government (IWT, Steunpunt Ondernemen, VLAIO, FIT), the Belgian Federal Government (BELSPO, King Baudouin Foundation), and the European Commission (FP6, FP7, Horizon 2020, KIC, INTERREG), contributing expertise on topics related to innovation and entrepreneurship.

Beyond his research and teaching, Robin is active in executive education, where he designs and delivers programs for national and international organizations. He also teaches and coaches in the Executive MBA and serves as Academic Director of several innovation-focused executive programs, including Mastering Digital Disruption and Organizing for Innovation.

Programs

Master in Sustainable Innovation and Entrepreneurship

PhD Program for executives

Master Class Management in care

Master Class Digital Transformation: Strategy & Leadership

Discover our programs

Recent publications

Robin presentatie

Struggling with your pitch? Use the 4P's framework

In a world full of ideas but short on real action, the ability to persuade is more important than ever. Whether you're working within an established organization or trying to launch a new initiative, the way you present your idea often determines whether it stalls or gains momentum.

Robin De Cock, PhD

Strategy & Innovation

Corporate Venturing press release

9 in 10 Belgian companies want to innovate, but only half collaborate with start-ups

The Corporate Venturing Barometer by Antwerp Management School and PwC Belgium reveals that while 92% of Belgian companies aim to innovate through collaboration, only 47% actively involve start-ups. The report highlights that large enterprises often show low engagement in such partnerships, contributing to Belgium's 'innovation gap.'

Robin De Cock, PhD

Strategy & Innovation

AMS scaling with impact banner 1080x608

5 Crucial challenges that will make or break your start-up's scaling journey

Belgium’s tech startup ecosystem is booming, with over 300 tech start-ups spanning sectors like AI, health tech, and fintech. However, despite a strong foundation, scaling a startup in Belgium presents a unique set of challenges. Founders must navigate complex issues such as critical mass, investor relations, and board governance, each of which can determine whether a company scales successfully or stalls. We spoke with experts Robin De Cock, Karen Wouters, and Axel Funhoff to uncover the key factors that tech entrepreneurs must master to scale effectively.

Robin De Cock, PhD

Strategy & Innovation

AMS Corporate venturing stories blog

Corporate venturing stories: How media, internet, and shipping giants diversified through startups

Emerging technologies and economic shifts challenge corporates and SMEs, prompting them to partner with start-ups through corporate venturing. Successful examples, like Axel Springer's investment in Airbnb and IAC's backing of Tinder, highlight the effectiveness of these strategies.

Robin De Cock, PhD

Strategy & Innovation

Corporate venturing: challenges in measuring return on innovation

With the increase of technological, business and societal disruptions, innovation climbs even higher on corporate to-do lists. With it comes the increasing importance of corporate venturing, which provides as many opportunities as it does challenges. This article is the first in a series of three, and explores the challenges in measuring the return on innovation. Towards the end of the year, all the research will be compiled into a larger report.

Robin De Cock, PhD

Strategy & Innovation

5 key questions to build KPIs for innovation reporting

This second article in our series of three on corporate innovation focuses on the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) innovation leaders use to report and communicate their progress. These metrics assess the success and effectiveness of innovation efforts, provide information about achieving the desired goals, help detect problems and encourage behaviors consistent with the company’s drivers. Interviews with 15 innovation leaders from 5 different countries helped define 5 key questions to develop strong innovation KPIs.

Robin De Cock, PhD

Strategy & Innovation

Corporate Venturing blog 3

Managing relationships with C-level executives as an innovation leader

This third article in our series of three on corporate innovation focuses on the challenge of developing strong relationships with C-level executives, when measuring and reporting innovation progress. Interviews with 15 innovation leaders from 5 different countries helped define 5 key practices to engage CEOs, CMOs and CFOs in the innovation journey.

Robin De Cock, PhD

Strategy & Innovation

Robin De Cock Professor AMS Antwerp Management School presentation

Surviving the emotional rollercoaster called entrepreneurship

When you ask entrepreneurs how they experienced their entrepreneurial journey, many of them would describe it as a rollercoaster. A recently published study on the lead founders of 183 Flemish technology start-ups* by professors Robin De Cock (Antwerp Management School), Lien Denoo (Tilburg University) and Bart Clarysse (ETH Zürich) is one of the first studies to give insights into how entrepreneurs can deal with this emotional rollercoaster and increase their chances of surviving the difficult, bumpy road towards initial viability and subsequent growth.

Robin De Cock, PhD

Strategy & Innovation

Rsz robin de cock

3 basic rules to design a great entrepreneurial strategy

Entrepreneurs face many strategic dilemmas and challenges when they want to turn their idea into a business. An example: Should entrepreneurs storm the castle and just take action or should they first sit down and consciously plan their first strategic moves?

Robin De Cock, PhD

Strategy & Innovation