Rachida Justo

Born of a Tunisian mother and a Dominican father and married to a French citizen, Rachida likes to describe herself as a product of globalization. “I am very versatile and in that respect the cultural diversity and openness to change of IE Business School provides me with an ideal environment where I can develop my potential to its fullest extent” says Rachida.

It is this atypical profile that underlies Rachida’s interest in fields like women entrepreneurs or social enterprises, considered until recently marginal issues in the field of entrepreneurship but which have now become extremely popular. “Human beings are very complex and I find it fascinating to analyze how one person can have different expectations”, she adds. Specifically, she 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, the Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, as well as in several book chapters. 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 is a member of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the largest single study of entrepreneurial activity in the world. From 2003 until 2007 she also worked as the associate director for the Associate Dean’s Office at IE Business School, and is currently focusing on research and teaching.

Rachida’s cross-cultural background also gives her the kind of profile that the media refers to as being multifaceted. Such profiles are characteristic of leading international business schools, who now demand that professors are not only good teachers but also good researchers, capable of generating relevant knowledge for business organizations or for society, and which require experience in business management.

Academic Backgound

Ph.D. in Economics and Development, Cum Laude, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)

Entrepreneurship Teacher’s Program, Harvard Business School (USA)

BA in Business Administration, with honors, IHEC University (Tunisia)

Teaching and Professional Experience

Head of the Entrepreneurship Department, IE Business School, 2018 – present

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

Latest Publications

• Cruz, C., Justo, R., Larraza-Kintana, M., & Garcés-Galdeano, L. (2019). “When Do Women Make a Better Table? Examining the Influence of Women Directors on Family Firm’s Corporate Social Performance”. Forthcoming in Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice.
• Cruz, C. & Justo, R.(2017). “Portfolio Entrepreneurship as a Mixed Gamble: A Winning Bet for Family Entrepreneurs in SMEs”. Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 55(4): 571-593
• Justo, R., DeTienne, D. and Sieger, P. (2015). “Failure or Voluntary Exit? Re-assessing the Female Underperformance Hypothesis”. Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 30(6): 775-792
• Milanov, H.,Justo, R. & Bradley, S. (2015). “Making the most of group relationships: the role of gender and boundary effects in microfinance groups”. Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 30(6): 822-838