Ipek Koparan

Ipek Koparan is an Assistant Professor of Management at Bentley University, where she has been teaching since 2020. Her research focuses on how entrepreneurs and firms navigate strategic decision-making under uncertainty, with interests spanning dynamic capabilities, strategic factor markets, and entrepreneurial cognition. She uses experimental, conceptual, and case-based approaches to examine how individuals identify opportunities, evaluate resources, and build ventures in fast-changing environments.

Her work has been published in leading journals, including the Academy of Management Review, Journal of International Business Studies, European Management Review, Multinational Business Review, Strategic Change, Organizational Management Journal, and The Case Journal. She is the recipient of the 2021 STR Division Distinguished Paper Award and was a finalist for the 2024 Kauffman Best Paper in Entrepreneurial Cognition.

At Bentley, Ipek teaches Global Strategy at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and also teaches Entrepreneurial Thinking. Before entering academia, she spent more than a decade with the Turkish government, where she shaped bilateral trade policy and led international negotiations. She earned her Ph.D. from Kent State University and a Master’s in International Business from The Fletcher School at Tufts University.