Research
My research interests are at the nexus of entrepreneurship and organization theory, including:
Legitimacy perceptions in the grey areas between legitimacy-illegitimacy and complex institutional environments; legitimacy formation processes and legitimation strategies of controversial businesses (e.g., fracking, cannabis, foie gras) to better promote growth.
Minority Entrepreneurship and equality/inclusion: Decision-making, cognition, and the effect of stereotypes on entrepreneurial endeavors: exploring the mindset of various legitimating audiences (e.g., citizens, investors, managers, entrepreneurs). Recovery from failures.
Entrepreneurial language and the (mis)use of creation and discovery frames and their impact on new venture performance
Sustainable innovations in developed and emerging economies. Business model innovation.
Publications
Claes, Björn; Siraz, Sonia S., De Castro, Julio; Lapeyre Eléanor M. (2024). "What is the quack about? Legitimation strategies and their perceived appropriateness in the foie gras industry", European Management Review, available Open Access https://doi.org/10.1111/emre.12634
Siraz, Sonia S., Claes, Björn; De Castro, Julio; Vaara, Eero (2023). "Theorizing the grey area between legitimacy and illegitimacy", Journal of Management Studies, 60(4), pp. 924-962, available Open Access https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12901
Winner of the Best Paper Award at the Iberoamerican Academy of Management Conference, Santiago, Chile
Blog: Shades of Grey in Legitimacy Perceptions
https://managementstudiesinsights.com/shades-of-grey-in-legitimacy-perceptions/
Siraz, Sonia S.,(2020). Desenredando legitimidad: Tres ensayos sobre la percepción de legitimidad / Disentangling legitimacy: Three essays on legitimacy perceptions. IE Business School, Madrid, Spain, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3784566
Siraz, Sonia S., & De Castro, JO (2019). "Business legitimacy as an intangible. An analysis in the context of controversial industries". in Spanish, Special Issue dedicated to Intangible Assets, Industrial Economics, (414), pp. 41-54. ISSN 0422-2784
Siraz, Sonia S. (2019), “Of course, I am fair ... But it depends on your gender and your origin: Legitimacy perceptions of entrepreneurial failures, Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research BCERC Proceedings 2019 (Vol. 39) – Chapter XVII – Women in Entrepreneurship. ISBN 0-910897-45-7
Siraz, Sonia S., Preciado-Sanchez, Deycy; Claes, Björn; (2017). “Getting Up After Falling: A Tale Of Three Communities” In Guclu Atinc (Ed.), Best Paper Proceedings of the 77th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. ISSN: 21516561
Papers in revision process /in preparation for submission
Note: Titles are redacted to preserve the blind review process (further details available on request)
Paper on the funding worthiness of Latinx minority entrepreneurs in the United States” with Claes, Björn, Alvarez, Sharon A.— 3rd R&R in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal
Paper on the interplay of categorical fit and endorsement and authorization cues on legitimacy perceptions of public and private organizations with Thaler, Julia, Sievert, Martin — 2nd Revise and Resubmit FT 50 list journal, CABS 4*
Paper on the impact of status characteristics and beliefs in a just world on the legitimacy perceptions about minority entrepreneurs with Alvarez, Sharon A.; Claes, Björn — Revise and Resubmit FT 50 list journal, CABS 4*
Nominated for Best Paper Award for Entrepreneurship and Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the 2023 Academy of Management Annual Conference, Boston, US
Paper on the success factors in community-based enterprises with Claes, Björn; Preciado-Sanchez, Deycy; Theodorakopoulos, Nicholas— 2nd Revise and Resubmit CABS 3 journal
Best Paper Proceedings AOM 2017
Paper about the micro-level mechanisms of legitimacy judgment formation about innovations in the fracking industry with Claes, Björn; Haack, Patrick; — in preparation for submission to Academy of Management Discoveries
“Of course, I am fair ... but it depends on your gender and on your origin”: A cross country analysis of the attributes of entrepreneurial failure legitimacy perceptions” — target: FT 50 list journal, CABS 4* (Stage: Additional data collection and analysis from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the USA)
Frontiers of entrepreneurship research, Best paper proceedings BCERC 2019
Selected work in progress
Siraz, Sonia S.; De Castro, Julio; “Growing from legitimacy alignments in collective entrepreneurship”
Alvarez, Sharon, A.; Siraz, Sonia S.; “Market creation and entrepreneurial language”