Cristina Acuña

I am a qualitative researcher and PhD candidate in Business Economics at Universidad del Desarrollo (Chile). My academic and professional trajectory has been shaped by a deep commitment to understanding and strengthening community-based enterprises (CBEs) in Latin America, with a particular focus on how value systems influence their sustainability, identity, and internal governance.

Currently, I serve as a faculty member at Escuela Politécnica Nacional (EPN) in Quito, Ecuador, where I teach courses in entrepreneurship, microeconomics, and research methodology. My teaching philosophy integrates critical reflection with applied learning, encouraging students to explore how economic and organizational theories intersect with social realities and local contexts.

My doctoral research investigates the discursive construction and negotiation of values within CBEs, taking the case of Salinas de Guaranda in Ecuador as a central empirical setting. Through this work, I aim to contribute to broader debates on solidarity economy, collective entrepreneurship, and the organizational dynamics that sustain community-driven models of development. My research seeks to expand the understanding of entrepreneurship beyond market-centered paradigms, emphasizing cooperation, reciprocity, and collective well-being as alternative organizing principles.

In addition to my academic work, I am committed to promote women’s participation in science, technology, and higher education, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and public engagement. I also collaborate with regional networks such as REMCI (Red Ecuatoriana de Mujeres Científicas) and REOL (Red de Estudios Organizacionales de Latinoamérica), contributing to dialogues on gender equity, science policy, and inclusive innovation.

My work has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Small Business Economics, and I am currently preparing additional manuscripts for journals including Organization and Journal of Business Venturing Insights. Across my projects, I combine qualitative and interpretive methodologies—such as critical discourse analysis, process tracing, and bibliometric mapping—to bridge theory and practice in organizational research.

Beyond research and teaching, I am passionate about mentoring emerging scholars, building institutional partnerships, and advancing the visibility of Latin American contributions to organization studies and social entrepreneurship.

You can learn more about my field of work on ResearchGate (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cristina-Acuna-2?ev=hdr_xprf) and ORCID profile (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7286-6140.)