Rachida Justo
I teach social entrepreneurship & impact investing at several academic levels (Executive, Graduate, Undergraduate and PhD), to raise the new generation of future impact-leaders. I am giving students the tools to change the world for the better through business practices. More generally, I prompt business students to think more expansively about their role in society, and to develop an awareness of the power of entrepreneurship to create sustainable and social value.
As a researcher, I have published in top-level academic journals about women and social entrepreneurship, often challenging widely held assumptions about the role of gender and non-economic goals in business.
As a Social Entrepreneurship scholar, my approach to social impact is systemic so I tackle the entire SDG spectrum. However, I am passionate about gender equality.
It is this atypical profile that underlies Rachida’s interest in fields like women entrepreneurs or social enterprises. For Professor Justo, “human beings are very complex and I find it fascinating to analyze how one person can have different expectations.”
Rachida explores how entrepreneurs struggle to deal with important dilemmas, such as how to reconcile professional and family ambitions, how to create a business that successfully achieves the double bottom-line of economic performance and social value, or the implications of these aspirations in terms of firm performance and growth. These are some of the issues that Rachida addresses in her research, published in journals like Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, the International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business and the Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship.
She has received several awards, including the Best Women’s Entrepreneurship Paper Award from the Academy of Management Conference, and IE’s Best Teaching Case Award. Since 2002, Rachida has been a member of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the largest single study of entrepreneurial activity in the world.
From 2003 to 2007, she worked as the associate director for the associate dean’s office at IE Business School.
Her cross-cultural background also gives her a unique and valuable perspective. Profiles like Rachida’s are currently in high demand among leading international business schools. In addition to exceptional teaching skills, professors must have strong research skills, real-world experience and expert insights into the world of global business management.
Academic Background:
- Ph.D in economics and development (cum laude), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
- Entrepreneurship Teacher’s Program, Harvard Business School, U.S.
- Bachelor’s degree in business administration (with honors), IHEC University, Tunisia.
Teaching and professional experience:
- Professor of entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship, IE Business School, 2006-present
- Associate Director, Associate Dean Office, IE Business School, 2003-2007
- Research member of the GEM project Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2002-present