Education

  • PhD, Harvard University, Department of Sociology
  • University of Lancaster, The Management School, Lancaster, U. K.; Diploma in Business Analysis (Graduate level)
  • University of Barcelona, School of Economics and Business Administration, Barcelona, Spain. M.A. (Licenciatura); Honors in Economics; Concentration in Political Economy, Business Economics, and Sociology

Selected Publications

  • Aguilera, R.V., De Massis, A., Fini, R., and Vismara, S. 2023. “Organizational Goals, Outcomes, and the Assessment of Performance: Reconceptualizing Success in Management Studies. Journal of Management Studies.
  • Aguilera, R. V. 2023. “Corporate Purpose in Comparative Perspective: The Role of Governance,” Strategy Science.
  • Ellimäki, P., Aguilera, R. V., Hurtado-Torres, N., and Aragon-Correa, J. A. 2023. “The Link between Foreign Institutional Owners and Multinational Enterprises' Environment Outcomes,” Journal of International Business Studies.
  • Aguilera, R. V., Marano, V., & Aragon-Correa, J. A., 2022. “Rethinking Corporate Power to Tackle Grand Societal Challenges: Lessons from Political Philosophy,” Academy of Management Review.
  • Chhillar, D. and Aguilera, R.V. 2022. “An Eye for AI: Insights into the Governance of Artificial Intelligence and Vision for Future Research,” Business and Society.
  • Witt, M. A., Fainshmidt, S., and Aguilera, R. V. 2022. “Our Board, Our Rules: Nonconformity to Global Corporate Governance Norms,” Administrative Science Quarterly.
  • Fainshmidt, S., Smith, A., and Aguilera, R.V. 2022. “Where Do Born Global Firms Come From? A Neo-Configurational Institutional Theory,” Organization Science.
  • Shi, W, Wajda, D, and Aguilera, R.V. 2022. “Interorganizational Spillover: A Review and Proposal for Future,” Journal of Management, 48(1): 185-210.

Selected Presentations

  • “Mapping the Challenges and Opportunities in the Management in the Iberoamerican region through the Lens of Corporate Governance and Sustainability,” IberoAmerican Academy of Management, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, December 2023.
  • “Retos de la Empresa en la Compleja Sociedad Contemporánea,” ACEDE Business and Society, El Escorial, Spain, October 2023.
  • “Leading, Managing and Governing Corporate Purpose,” European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI), Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, September 2023.
  • “Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets. The case of Gender Quotas in India” Center for Emerging Markets, Cornell University, May 2023.
  • “Value Creation, Appropriation, and Distribution within Democratic Principles,” Spring Stakeholder Conference, Deer Valley, Utah, May 2023.

Research & Teaching Interests

Aguilera's research, teaching and advising interests lie at the intersection of strategic organization and global strategy, specializing in international corporate governance and corporate social responsibility/sustainability. She is an Associate Editor at Journal of International Business Studies, and a former Associate Editor at Academy of Management Review, International Corporate Governance Review, and Organization Science. She also serves in multiple journal editorial boards. Professor Aguilera is one of the few triple crown Fellows by being inducted as a Fellow in three academic societies: Academy of Management, Academy of International Business and the Strategic Management Society.

Professor Aguilera's work has significant impact in the field as she has been listed each year since 2020 in the Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher in the field of Economics and Business (Top 1%).

Professor Aguilera teaches global strategy, corporate governance, and sustainability across a variety of programs as well as at multiple levels: undergraduate, MBA, Masters in Human Resource Management, Law School, Doctoral programs, Executive MBA, and in in-company executive programs in different teaching venues at Northeastern and throughout the world. She has also been recognized for teaching excellence in multiple occasions.

Industry & Academic Experience

  • Visiting Full Professor, Department of Strategy and Policy, and Research Affiliate, Centre for Governance, Institutions & Organisations (CGIO), Business School, National University of Singapore (Fall 2014-Spring 2015).
  • Full Professor, International Business and Strategy Department, D'Amore-McKim School of Business (Fall 2014 onwards–currently on leave).
  • Associate Professor (with tenure) to Full Professor, Department of Business 
  • Administration, College of Business, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (August 2006- June 2014). 
  • Faculty Fellow, Center for Professional Responsibility in Business and Society, College of Business, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2007-June 2014) 
  • Associate Professor (with tenure), College of Law, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (August 2006-June 2014).
  • Associate Professor (courtesy appointment), School of Labor and Employment Relations and Department of Sociology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (August 2006-June 2014).
  • Visiting Professor, ESADE Business School (August 2011-August 2012), on sabbatical leave from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Business Administration, College of Business, and Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1999-2006).
  • Short Visiting Professor Positions: Instituto de Empresa, Madrid (2003-2009); Sogang University, Seoul (Oct. 2009).
  • Short Visiting Scholar positions: Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI), Tokyo, Japan (Spring 2003); IESE Business School, Spain (Summer 2000, 2001); Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB-Social Science Research Center Berlin), Berlin, Germany (Fall 1998, Summer 1999); Università Luigi Bocconi, Milan, Italy (Summer 1996); Juan March Institute, Center for Advanced Study in the Social Sciences, Madrid, Spain (Winter 1996).

Services to the Profession

  • Area Editor, Journal of International Business Studies (March 2023- December 2025)
  • Associate Editor, Academy of Management Review (August 2020-August 2023)
  • Consulting Editor, Global Strategy Journal (2019- ).
  • Consulting Editor, Journal of International Business Studies (April 2012- March 2023)
  • Senior Editor, Organization Science (August 2014-2021)
  • Associate Editor, Corporate Governance: An International Review (October 2009-2021).
  • Co-Editor, Special Issue, Corporate Governance in Family Business (2012-2015).
  • Co-Editor, Special Issue, Review of Corporate Governance (2014-2015)
  • Consulting Editor, Journal of International Business Studies (April 2012-).
  • Guest Editor for Special Issue on Latin America, Journal of World Business (May 2015-). With Ciravegna, Cuervo-Cazurra, Gonzalez-Perez.
  • Current Member of Editorial Review Board: Academy of Management Perspectives (2008-); Business Ethics: European Review (2014-); Global Strategy Journal (2009-); Journal of International Business Studies (2005-); Journal of Management and Governance (2011-); Management International Review (2010-); Organization Studies (2003-); Oxford Handbooks/Oxford Research Reviews (2013-); Strategic Management Journal (2008-).

Awards & Recognition

  • Top 1% Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher in the field of Economics and Business since 2020.
  • Listed in “The World's Most Influential Scientific Minds,” in Economics and Business, 2014, Thomson Reuters.
  • Arnold O. Beckman Research Award, Research Board Grant, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2014.
  • Lemann Institute for Brazilian Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2014.
  • CLADEA 2014 Best Paper in “Ethics, Social Responsibility and Sustainability,” (with Jain and Jamali).
  • Best paper Award, Academy of International Business, Latin American Chapter “Corporate Ownership in Latin American Firms: A Comparative Analysis of Dual-Class Shares,” (with Kabbach de Castro and Crespí-Cladera), April 2013.