Diana Jue-Rajasingh

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.

Jue-Rajasingh 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. Jue-Rajasingh’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.

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.

Selected Academic Recognitions

• 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)
   

Teaching and Student Impact

Teaching and Mentorship Recognitions

• Rice Career Champion (2025)
• Rice Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award (2025)
• One of “5 Most Impactful Business Classes I’ve Taken,” Poets&Quants (2021)

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)