Professor Clark serves as the Michael J. Farrell Professor of Entrepreneurship and Director of the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Smeal College of Business, The Pennsylvania State University. In this role, he leads initiatives that connect academic research, student learning, startups, and industry partnerships to foster innovation-driven growth and economic development.
The lecture will be held in English.
About the lecture
This presentation introduces a simple but powerful idea: innovation does not begin with products, technologies, or business models—it begins with how we think. Drawing on an information-processing perspective, it argues that entrepreneurial action is shaped by a sequence of cognitive activities—context (antecedents), scanning, interpretation, action, and performance. By changing how we process information at each stage—who we interact with, what we pay attention to, how we interpret reality, and how we act—we can fundamentally alter innovation outcomes. In this sense, “mental innovation precedes physical innovation,” and new thinking becomes the true engine of entrepreneurship.
The presentation provides a practical framework for generating “new thinking,” including reengineering social networks (“social engines”), surfacing hidden assumptions, asking bold questions, shifting perspectives, and reframing problems as opportunities. It emphasizes that many innovation failures can be traced to upstream cognitive constraints—such as biases, routines, and outdated assumptions—rather than downstream execution. Ultimately, the message is both empowering and actionable: by deliberately changing how we think—our information diet, mental models, and decision premises—we can unlock new possibilities, drive innovation, and shape entirely new realities.
Biography 
Dr. Shawn M. Clark is an internationally recognized expert in innovation, entrepreneurship, and organizational transformation. He serves as the Michael J. Farrell Professor of Entrepreneurship and Director of the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship at The Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business. In this role, he leads initiatives that connect academic research, student learning, startups, and industry partnerships to drive innovation-led growth and economic development.
Over the course of his career at Penn State, Dr. Clark has held numerous leadership and faculty positions, including Clinical Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Associate Director of Research for the Center for Enterprise Architecture, and Co-Director of the Solutions Institute. He has also directed multiple academic and experiential learning programs, integrating real-world consulting projects into the classroom to prepare students to lead complex business transformations.
Dr. Clark’s teaching, research, and consulting focus on business transformation, enterprise architecture, innovation strategy, and the application of structured thinking to entrepreneurship. He is particularly known for bridging theory and practice—helping organizations design better business models, align strategy with execution, and navigate the challenges of digital and organizational change.
Prior to his academic career, Dr. Clark worked as a Business Transformation Consultant with IBM, where he advised global organizations on large-scale technology and process initiatives. He has also founded and co-founded multiple ventures, spanning enterprise software, consulting services, and entrepreneurial ecosystem platforms.
Dr. Clark holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration from The Pennsylvania State University, along with a Master’s degree in Organizational Behavior and a Bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University. He continues to advise organizations and emerging ventures on innovation strategy, entrepreneurship, and the effective use of technology to create value.
