Margarita Cruz , PhD

Short Bio

Margarita Cruz, PhD in Economics, is an Assistant Professor of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship at EHL. Margarita’s research lay at the intersection between organizational theory and entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on the role of authenticity on entrepreneurial outcomes such founding of new organizations and introduction of new products.

During her doctoral studies, Margarita has also been a visiting PhD student at Robert H. Smith Business School, University of Maryland (2015-2016), thanks to the competitive Fellowship for most promising candidates granted by the Swiss National Science Foundation. In her research, Margarita is passionate about breweries, restaurants, and luxury hotels.

In the classroom, Dr Cruz likes to bring state-of-the-art trends and practices about the entrepreneurial and strategic scene in the hospitality and F&B industries. Before joining academia, she gained experience as business engineer in the banking and chemical industries.

Publications in Peer-Reviewed Journals

Raub, S., Cruz, M., Gorka, J., Hodari, D., & Saul, L. (Forthcoming). The cruise industry workforce crunch – generational changes in work values of job seekers. Tourism Review.

Cruz, M., & Beck, N. (2022). All we want is authentic beer: the role of geographic communities and authenticity on breweries’ reactions to competition. British Food Journal.

Bivona, E., & Cruz, M. (2021). Can business model innovation help SMEs in the food and beverage industry to respond to crises? Findings from a Swiss brewery during COVID-19. British Food Journal. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-07-2020-0643

Cruz M., & Schmitt, A. (2019). Strategy and Knowledge Management in Humanitarian Organizations. In Villa S., Urrea G., Castañeda J., Larsen, E. (Eds.), Decision-making in Humanitarian Operations (pp. 55-75). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91509-8_3

Cruz, M., Beck, N., & Wezel, F.C. (2018). Grown Local: Community Attachment and Market Entries in the Franconian Beer Industry. Organization Studies, 39(1), 47-72. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840617695357

Funded Research Projects

Cruz, M. Project: How audience heterogeneity impacts the fate of organizations: the case of the beer boom and the development of the beer industry in Switzerland, Date: 01.11.2022 to 01.11.2026, External fundraising: SNF
Cruz, M. Project: Business Model Innovation as a tool for SMEs in the Food and Beverage Industry to successfully navigate crises such as COVID-19, Date: 15.06.2021 to 15.12.2021, External fundraising: HES-SO.
Cruz, M., Project: Authenticity as a resource for entrepreneurship and tourism: the case of the beer boom in Switzerland, Date: 01.09.2018 to 31.05.2020, External Fundraising: HES-SO.

Awards

Best Paper Award (with applications in the social sciences) : Barry Richmond Award. International Conference of the System Dynamics Society, Boston (2007)