IMD is pleased to announce that Sophie Bacq has joined IMD as Professor of Social Entrepreneurship. Bacq is a globally recognized thought leader in social entrepreneurship, focusing on entrepreneurial action that aims to solve intractable social and environmental problems.
“Sophie’s arrival further strengthens our in-demand entrepreneurship capabilities,” said Seán Meehan, Professor of Marketing and Management and Dean of Faculty at IMD. “Her studies of social entrepreneurship are ground-breaking and of great relevance to a wide variety of stakeholders today. At IMD she will have a great base from which she can continue this important work.”
“I have been conducting research on social entrepreneurship and how entrepreneurship can serve as a force for good since 2006,” said Bacq. “I am thrilled to bring my expertise to IMD and find complementarities with the vibrant work already being done in areas of social innovation, change, and sustainability. As my research shows, positive societal change happens when multiple actors with different logics come together and coalesce around a shared goal. I cannot wait to share what I have learned with my colleagues and the business leaders of tomorrow.”
“Sophie’s arrival further strengthens our in-demand entrepreneurship capabilities.”
– Seán Meehan, Professor of Marketing and Management and Dean of Faculty at IMD.
Her research reveals that social enterprises continue to demonstrate ways in which to balance financial viability with positive societal impact and, as such, offer invaluable lessons for other businesses seeking to address their own impact on society.
She is currently focusing on understanding the ways that struggling communities can be strengthened by creating civic wealth through collective action and entrepreneurship.
Her forthcoming book on creating civic wealth (co-authored with Tom Lumpkin) illustrates what has been done around the world to revive, build, and strengthen struggling communities. It shows how diverse coalitions of citizens – community members, local leaders and institutions, financial supporters, and enterprise builders – are joining forces to create new capabilities and capacities.
She is also researching the topics of impact investing, the role of local startups in addressing global societal challenges, and the “dark side” of social change efforts and is leading a track on this theme at the European Group for Organizational Studies conference in July.
Bacq has taught and conducted empirical research on social entrepreneurship in Europe, the United States, and South Africa, and she has been invited as a keynote speaker at conferences around the world. Her scholarship has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Academy of Management Perspectives 2020 Best Article Award for her paper on civic wealth creation and stakeholder engagement.
“I have been conducting research on social entrepreneurship and how entrepreneurship can serve as a force for good since 2006.”
-Sophie Bacq, Professor of Social Entrepreneurship at IMD
She joins IMD from Indiana University Kelley School of Business, where she served as the Larry and Barbara Sharpf Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship. She was previously Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Northeastern University D’Amore-McKim School of Business in Boston and a Visiting Scholar at New York University Stern School of Business.
Her research has been published in top-tier management and entrepreneurship journals, including Academy of Management Annals, Academy of Management Discoveries, Academy of Management Perspectives, Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Learning & Education, California Management Review, Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice, Journal of Business Venturing, and Journal of Management Studies.
Bacq serves as a Field Editor for the Journal of Business Venturing, is a member of the editorial review boards of the Academy of Management Journal, Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice, and Journal of Management, and has guest edited several special issues for the Journal of Management Studies and the International Journal of Management Reviews.
She is also Co-Director of The Annual Social Entrepreneurship Conference, one of the most prestigious academic gatherings on the topic, Lead Faculty of the award-winning Social Entrepreneurship Doctoral Seminar, and a representative-at-large for the Academy of Management’s Entrepreneurship Division.
