Diana Jue-Rajasingh

Assistant Professor of Strategic Management

Faculty
McNair Hall 243
713-348-3145 diana.jue-rajasingh@rice.edu
Diana Jue-Rajasingh
Website
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Strategy and Environment

Diana Jue-Rajasingh is an assistant professor of strategic management. Her work bridges rigorous academic research with real-world implementation, drawing on her experience as a social entrepreneur and informing both scholarship and practice in emerging markets.

Diana studies how new ventures and emerging industries become understood by customers, investors, and other stakeholders, with a focus on social innovations in emerging markets. Her research examines how innovations like clean cookstoves, water treatment technologies, and biodegradable sanitary products are scaled in contexts like East Africa and India.

Diana’s work has been published in leading journals, including Organization Science and the Strategic Management Journal, and supported by the Kauffman Foundation, the Strategy Research Foundation, and Responsible Research for Business and Management. For her teaching, Diana has been recognized as a Poets&Quants Best 40 Under 40 Business Professor.

Prior to earning her Ph.D. in Strategy and Sociology from the University of Michigan, Diana co-founded Essmart, a social enterprise focused on promoting life-improving social innovations in rural India. She has been recognized as an Echoing Green Fellow and a Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur.

She received her bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Urban Studies and Planning and her master’s degree in City Planning (International Development) from MIT.
 

Learn More About Diana

Intellectual Contributions

Journal Article
Jue-Rajasingh, D. 2025. Second-order knowledge intermediaries and multi-country entrepreneurial entry into a nascent industry. Organization Science, 36(6): 2435–2458.
Journal Article
Jue-Rajasingh, D., & Koo, W. W. 2025. From margins to mainstream: The narrative dilemma in scaling social ventures. Strategic Management Journal, 46(11): 2690–2719.
Journal Article
Csaszar, F. A., Jue-Rajasingh, D., & Jensen, M. 2023. When less is more: How statistical discrimination can decrease predictive accuracy. Organization Science, 34(4): 1383–1399.
Journal Article
Jue-Rajasingh, D., & Siegel, J. 2022. Addressing the market failures of environmental health products. In G. George, M. R. Haas, H. Joshi, A. M. McGahan, & P. Tracey (Eds.), Handbook on the Business of Sustainability: The Organization, Implementation, and Practice of Sustainable Growth: 516–543. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Journal Article
Calmon, A. P., Jue-Rajasingh, D., Romero, G., & Stenson, J. 2022. Operational strategies for distributing durable goods in the base of the pyramid. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 24(4):1887-1905.

Selected Academic Recognitions

  • Rice Business Award for Excellence in Research (Untenured Faculty Research Award) (2026)
  • IIT Madras & Rice University Strategic Partnership Collaboration Award - $20,000 (2026)
  • Giarratani Rising Star Award Runner-Up, Industry Studies Association Conference (2024)
  • Young Scholar Best Paper Award, Indiana University Innovations to Tackle Global Sustainability Challenges Conference (2023)
  • Douglas Nigh Best Paper in Multidisciplinary Research Award, IM Division, AOM Annual Meeting (2022)
  • Responsible Research in Business & Management Dare to Care Dissertation Scholarship - $10,000 (2022)
  • Strategic Research Foundation Dissertation Scholar Grant - $10,000 (2020)
  • Fulbright-Nehru Research Fellowship to India (2012)
     

Academic Impact

Media Coverage
“Getting Innovative Products to Rural Communities,” MIT News Office (September 20, 2022)
Media Coverage
“Quality Distribution for Commercial Success,” Stanford Social Innovation Review (October 21, 2013)
Media Coverage
“When It Comes to Data, Sometimes Less is More,” Wall Street Journal (November 4, 2022)

Teaching and Student Impact

Teaching and Mentorship Recognitions

Courses Taught

  • MGMT 571: Strategy Formulation and Implementation (Full-Time MBA Core)
  • BUSI 431: Advanced Strategic Management (Undergraduate elective)

Professional Recognition

Recognition for founding and scaling a social enterprise in emerging markets.

  • Grinnell College Innovator for Social Justice Prize (2016)
  • Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur (2015)
  • Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards Laureate for Asia-Pacific Region (2014)
  • Echoing Green Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurs (2013)
  • Dell Social Innovation Challenge Grand Prize (2012)
     

Entrepreneurial Impact

Media Coverage
“Getting Innovative Products to Rural Communities,” MIT News Office (September 20, 2022)
Media Coverage
“Quality Distribution for Commercial Success,” Stanford Social Innovation Review (October 21, 2013)

Rice Business Wisdom

Window text says Thank you for supporting local
Social Ventures | Strategy

When Doing Good Comes With Stigma

For social ventures rooted in marginalized communities, sharing their origin story can deter mainstream customers due to fear of stigma transfer.
Two women cooking over a fire
Emerging Markets | Strategy

In Emerging Economies, Shared Knowledge Is Key

In nascent markets, breakthrough products like clean cookstoves can save lives. But lasting impact does not come from donations. It comes from the “knowledge intermediaries” that build a market infrastructure to get these products into homes.