José Lejarraga received his Ph.D. in Business Economics and Quantitative Methods from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. His research is driven by the idea that entrepreneurial action and innovation can be better grasped by understanding the intricacies of how people make decisions under uncertainty. He examines learning and decision-making processes of individuals, groups, and organizations and their effects on entrepreneurs’ behaviors, expectations, and outcomes.
Prior to joining IE University in 2011, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the economics department in Universitat Pompeu Fabra. His work has been published in scientific outlets such as Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Academy of Management Learning & Education, Memory and Cognition, Small Business Economics, or Small Business Management among others. He regularly presents his research in international conferences such as the Academy of Management Annual Meeting, or the EGOS Conference. His research has been distinguished with the Sumantra Ghoshal Research and Practice award by the Academy of Management.
Prof. Lejarraga has taught entrepreneurship across different levels, from bachelors to PhDs, where he brings insights from his research into the classroom. He conceives of teaching as taking students through a journey, with the goals of them acquiring new tools and transforming the way they think. He is also a firm believer in building up an inclusive environment in which students feel sufficiently comfortable to share their thoughts and ideas.
• Sales analyst for Latin America, Dixon Group, Chestertown (MD) USA, 2002 – 2003
• Tennis professor, Nike Tennis Camps, Amherst (MA), USA, 1999 – 2002
• Head of the Entrepreneurship Department, IE University, 2022 – Present
• Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, IE University, Madrid, Spain, 2011 – Present
• Post-doctoral fellow and lecturer, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
• Visiting researcher, University of Michigan (Ross School of Business), Michigan, USA
• Ph.D student and teaching assistant, Universidad Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
• Ph.D. in Business Economics and Quantitative Methods, Universidad Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
• MSc in Business Economics and Quantitative Methods, Universidad Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
• MA in Applied Economics, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
• BA in Economics, Washington College, Maryland, USA
• Tietz, M. A., Lejarraga, J., Pindard-Lejarraga, M. (2021). “Getting Your Hopes Up but Not Seeing Them Through? Experiences as Determinants of Income Expectations and Persistence during the Venturing Process”. Journal of Small Business Management
• Lejarraga, J., Lejarraga, T. (2020). “Confidence and the Description–Experience Distinction”. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Vol. 161 (Nov): 201 – 2012
• Lejarraga, J., Pindard-Lejarraga, M. (2020). “Bounded rationality: Cognitive limitations or adaptation to the environment? The implications of ecological rationality for management learning”. Academy of Management Learning and Education, Vol. 19 (3)
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