ROSALES SOTO, ALEJANDRA

Alejandra Rosales-Soto holds a Ph.D. in Management Sciences from the University of Guadalajara, a Master’s degree in Information Technology Management, and a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering. She is a full-time Professor-Researcher at the School of Business and Administration of CETYS Universidad, Tijuana Campus, Mexico, and a Level 1 member of Mexico’s National System of Researchers (SNII).

Her interdisciplinary research examines how organizations, industries, and regional ecosystems develop the capabilities required to navigate technological change. Her principal areas of interest include technological innovation, digital and sustainable transformation, business intelligence and data analytics, technological capabilities, circular economy, sustainability, digital well-being, and innovation ecosystems. Her work pays particular attention to small and medium-sized enterprises, agrifood systems, higher education, and organizations operating in emerging and border-region economies.

A central theme of her research is the relationship between digitalization and sustainability. She studies how firms move beyond the adoption of isolated technologies to build organizational capabilities, data-driven decision-making processes, sustainable business practices, and more resilient models of value creation. Her research on dual transformation explores the simultaneous development of digital and sustainable capabilities in companies, including the conditions under which regulation, certification, internationalization, and organizational readiness can act as catalysts for transformation.

Her research in agribusiness focuses on smart agriculture, business intelligence, technological capability accumulation, global competitiveness, and sustainable innovation in the Mexican agrifood sector. She has studied the development and internationalization of the Mexican berry industry and has collaborated on applied initiatives related to regenerative agriculture and circular production models. Her university–industry work includes CENGROW, a regenerative and sustainable agriculture initiative that received First Place at Mexico’s National Agro-Food Innovation Encounter. Through this collaboration, she connects organizational research, technological innovation, student learning, and knowledge transfer with the needs of producers and regional communities.

She also develops research on digital happiness and digital well-being in higher education and organizational environments. This line examines how digital technologies influence well-being, engagement, managerial capabilities, learning experiences, and responsible innovation. Her work seeks to identify how organizations and educational institutions can benefit from technological adoption while mitigating its human, ethical, and social risks.

Alejandra is a co-founder and board member of NACLICS, the North American and Caribbean chapter of GLOBELICS, and Coordinator of the Economics of Innovation Working Group at the Young Scholars Initiative of the Institute for New Economic Thinking. Through these networks, she contributes to international research collaboration, mentoring, academic event organization, and the development of opportunities for early-career researchers. She has participated in academic activities and research networks across Latin America, the Caribbean, North America, Europe, and Asia, including initiatives related to innovation, sustainability, agricultural development, and technological capability building.

Her academic practice integrates research, teaching, mentorship, and engagement with organizations. She designs applied learning experiences through which students work with companies, entrepreneurs, producers, and community partners to transform data into information, knowledge, and strategic proposals. Her teaching and mentoring activities cover business intelligence, technological innovation, strategic management, digital transformation, sustainability, data analysis, and emerging technologies.

She also contributes to the scientific community through peer review, editorial activities, research mentoring, conference organization, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Her work is guided by the conviction that research should not be limited to academic publication, but should also explain why its findings matter, whom they can benefit, and how they can be translated into improved organizational practices, public policies, educational experiences, and sustainable development strategies.

Her current research agenda connects digital and sustainable capability building, organizational readiness, agrifood innovation, digital well-being, and regional development. Across these areas, she seeks to generate academically rigorous and practically relevant knowledge that strengthens organizations, develops human capabilities, supports responsible innovation, and contributes to more sustainable and inclusive business ecosystems.