Dr. Marcela Ramírez Pasillas is the Academic Director and Associate Professor at the Institute of Enterprising Families for Mexico and Latin America (IFEM) of Tecnologico de Monterrey.
Dr. Ramírez-Pasillas is affiliated with the Centre of Family Entrepreneurship and Ownership (CeFEO) and the Media Management and Transformation Centre (MMTC) at the Triple Crown accredited Jönköping International Business School. She has been full time member of CeFEO since 2011 and thereby, as of now, one of CeFEO's serving members.
As recognition of her longstanding contribution to education and research, she was invited in 2022 to join Mistra Center for Sustainable Markets (MISUM), Stockholm School of Economics, the leading business school in Scandinavia and among the top ranked business schools in the world.
She is also an advisory board member of Re:Match a social family enterprise dedicated to promoting the circular economy in Jönköping, Sweden.
Examples of international managerial roles she has held are serving as Chairman of the STEP European Leadership Council, Member of the Global Board of the Global STEP Project for Family Enterprising founded by Babson College (USA), and Co-Chair of and Mentor at the Doctoral Colloquium of the European Academy of Management (EURAM) 2013-2016. An example of her engagements in local/regional contexts was being a Board Member of CSR Småland and Social Business in Jönköping, Sweden.
At JIBS, she worked as PRME Project Manager (United Nations Principles of Responsible Management Education) and as Director of the Bachelor’s Programme in Sustainable Enterprise Development. She launched this programme in 2016 and its graduates are now infusing change in local and international organisations.
For her efforts to embed sustainability at JIBS, Dr. Ramírez-Pasillas twice received international recognition: the 2015 CEEMAN Responsible Management Education Champion and the 2017 Excellence in Advanced Sharing Information Practices on Progress reporting by Global UN PRME.
Her research has been published in the “Journal of Management Studies”, “Entrepreneurship and Regional Development Journal”, “International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research”, “International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business”, “International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation”, “European Planning Studies Journal” and “Corporate Communications: An International Journal”. She has co-authored many book chapters and co-edited books with, among others, De Gruyter, Routledge, and Edward Elgar Publishing.
Dr. Marcela Ramírez-Pasillas works on research projects that examine how next generation members, business families, and migrants foster an entrepreneurial spirit to shape sustainable, regenerative, and inclusive societies. Her research investigates entrepreneurial phenomena that are socially, ecologically, and economically anchored to obtain insights into processes and practices. She relies on Entrepreneurship as Practice (EaP), Environmental Science, or Sociology to examine the connections between families, and organizations to (re)connect with nature and society. She utilizes qualitative research methods to conduct her research and to build theory. She considers education a pivotal arena for advancing research and practices of business families in collaboration with varied stakeholders. To fulfill these ideas, she has developed many courses, programmes, and educational offers to incorporate an advanced view of a long-term orientation.