{"id":7698,"date":"2026-09-29T12:14:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T16:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/damore-mckim.northeastern.edu\/cem\/news\/ruth-aguilera-sees-business-through-a-global-lens-and-asks-what-comes-next\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T14:51:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T18:51:15","slug":"ruth-aguilera-sees-business-through-a-global-lens-and-asks-what-comes-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/damore-mckim.northeastern.edu\/cem\/news\/ruth-aguilera-sees-business-through-a-global-lens-and-asks-what-comes-next\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruth Aguilera sees business through a global lens \u2014 and asks what comes next"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Darla and Frederick Brodsky Trustee Professor in Global Business and Professor of <a href=\"https:\/\/damore-mckim.northeastern.edu\/international-business\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/damore-mckim.northeastern.edu\/international-business\/\">International Business &amp; Strategy<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/damore-mckim.northeastern.edu\/people\/ruth-v-aguilera\/\"><strong>Ruth V. Aguilera<\/strong><\/a>, the questions that shaped her career began with something she felt was missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Why do companies facing similar challenges organize themselves differently? Why does a governance model that works in one country look completely different somewhere else? And what happens when the institutions, values, and people surrounding a business change?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As an undergraduate studying economics and sociology at the Universitat de Barcelona in Spain, Aguilera grew increasingly frustrated with the discipline's reliance on assumptions and abstract models. \u201cI was bothered that economics was everything about assuming, making assumptions,\u201d she says. \u201cThey were really not taking the context into account.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She wanted to understand what happens outside the models \u2014 how companies actually operate, how people behave, and how the environment surrounding a business shapes its decisions. \u201cI wanted to study real things because it was all abstract. I wanted to study real firms, real people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That curiosity led her to pursue a PhD in sociology, specifically economic sociology, at Harvard University. It also became the foundation for a career focused on a question that continues to define her work: Why do companies facing similar challenges organize themselves so differently?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery alignwide has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"98570\" src=\"https:\/\/damore-mckim.northeastern.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/neu_4f18bx38g-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-98570\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"98571\" src=\"https:\/\/damore-mckim.northeastern.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/neu_4f18bx091-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-98571\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"98573\" src=\"https:\/\/damore-mckim.northeastern.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/neu_4f18bz674-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-98573\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:var(--s-large)\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">An unexpected path to research<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a young student, Aguilera took a research position, working alongside a professor and other researchers, which sparked an unexpected interest in academic research. She began publishing, received grants to study in Lancaster, England, and later spent time at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Michigan. By the time she was considering doctoral programs, research had become less of a job and more of a calling. At Harvard, Aguilera deepened her study of institutions, networks, and power structures. That foundation would eventually become central to her work in corporate governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her training in sociology brought questions of power, institutions, and context into conversations about business. Corporate governance, she realized, offered a way to bring those ideas together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHaving been an economist, there was&nbsp;little&nbsp;about power, authority, or context,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd corporate governance is very much about the distribution of&nbsp;power:&nbsp;who has the authority, who decides about the resources, when something goes wrong, who is accountable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Challenging the idea of one \u201cbest\u201d model<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aguilera's international background gave her another reason to question conventional assumptions about business. She grew up in Catalonia, studied in the United Kingdom and United States, and eventually built an academic career examining companies across countries and institutional systems. Her experience in Spain had exposed her to a different conception of ownership and corporate purpose. \u201cMy most-cited paper is about how there are different types of owners,&#8221; Aguilera says. &#8220;Take a grandmother who owns a vineyard \u2014 she just wants it to provide enough for the family. She has no interest in growing it. That kind of owner is very different from a private equity owner, a state owner, or a corporation with a million shareholders.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those differences became central to Aguilera's research on comparative corporate governance. Her foundational work with Gregory Jackson showed how governance systems vary across institutional domains, including capital, labor, and management\u2014and why those differences persist rather than simply converging toward one model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Aguilera, the lesson is straightforward. \u201cMy number one mantra is there is not one rule that fits all,\u201d she says. She offers another way to think about it: \u201cThere are different roads that lead to Rome.\u201d Successful companies can take different paths depending on their owners, employees, industry, country, and time horizon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is called configurational thinking,\u201d she says. \u201cThere are&nbsp;multiple paths.&nbsp;Some&nbsp;paths&nbsp;might take longer.\u201d That way of thinking also shapes how she teaches global strategy at D'Amore-McKim. \u201cThinking about the context is very important. What are the values of the society? And the norms, some informal norms and then the legal norms. You need to take the context into account. That's my number one thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery alignwide has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"74271\" src=\"https:\/\/damore-mckim.northeastern.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/ruth-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"Ruth V. Aguilera presenting\" class=\"wp-image-74271\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"98737\" src=\"https:\/\/damore-mckim.northeastern.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ACEDE-key-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-98737\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:var(--s-large)\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Governance is about more than creating value<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After decades of studying corporate governance, Aguilera's view of the field has broadened beyond questions about boards and shareholders. At its core, she says, governance is about understanding power and accountability \u2014 and what happens to the value a company creates. \u201cTo make strategic decisions, it is very important to understand the distribution of power and authority within the corporations,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd that&nbsp;it&nbsp;is well designed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That design requires checks and balances that can help companies produce long-term value. But creating value is only part of the equation. \u201cAnother&nbsp;critical&nbsp;dimension&nbsp;of corporate governance is once the value is created, how do&nbsp;organizations&nbsp;distribute&nbsp;that&nbsp;value?\u201d Aguilera says. \u201cDo&nbsp;they&nbsp;give it back to the employees? Do&nbsp;they distribute&nbsp;it to the shareholders?&nbsp;Or do they&nbsp;reinvest it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That same emphasis on accountability applies to organizations of every size. \u201cThe one thing that all business should have, as a necessary condition, is to&nbsp;equip themselves&nbsp;with a web of accountability,\u201d she says. For a large corporation, that might mean a board that supports, monitors, and advises the CEO. For a startup, it could be a small group of trusted&nbsp;professionals who periodically challenge the founder's decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAll leaders should build a web of accountability around themselves,\u201d she says. Without those checks and balances, she warns, \u201cthere is hubris, then there is greed, and then this is when things derail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The next board member could be AI<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, Aguilera is applying the same questions about power, accountability, and institutional context to one of the biggest changes facing organizations: artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her emerging research agenda focuses on AI governance and how organizations can use AI productively, including inside boardrooms and classrooms. One idea particularly fascinates her: the possibility of an AI director participating in board discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rather than AI simply providing data or analysis behind the scenes, Aguilera envisions it as another participant in the conversation. The question is not simply what AI can do, but how it could improve the quality of human decision-making. Aguilera believes AI could help boards overcome what she calls \u201cmyopic bias.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEverybody agrees with the loudest voice, and you don't get to hear all the opinions,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd then you lose the richness of&nbsp;board diversity.\u201d An AI director could listen across the conversation, identify perspectives that haven't been considered, and quickly run models or simulations to help directors explore different scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI do think that this AI could take a lot of the bias out and say, okay, I'm hearing this, I'm hearing&nbsp;that,&nbsp;but&nbsp;I'm not hearing this director,\u201d Aguilera says. She sees a similar possibility in the classroom, but the questions surrounding AI are just as important as the technology itself. If AI contributes materially to a board decision, who is accountable when something goes wrong? What kind of human oversight is necessary? How should organizations govern AI when rules and expectations differ across countries?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those questions are now part of Aguilera's research agenda. Her recent work frames AI governance as an institutional challenge involving accountability, fiduciary responsibility, human oversight, and divergent regulatory systems. It's a natural next chapter for a scholar whose career has focused on how institutions shape business.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The context has changed. The question remains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cTell me who you work with, and I'll tell you who you are\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the&nbsp;scholarly&nbsp;recognition Aguilera has received throughout her career, she points elsewhere when asked what has mattered most: people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She describes research as a profession where rejection is common, and the work can be isolating. That has made collaboration particularly important to her. Her advice to students and young professionals reflects that experience. \u201cIt's great to be a professor, it's great to be a researcher because you are always learning and being curious,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I think that's the obvious one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The less obvious lesson? \u201cSurround yourself with good people,\u201d Aguilera says. \u201cEthical people that you respect, that you trust, and that you enjoy working with.\u201d She says she has been fortunate to develop a good instinct for choosing collaborators and stepping away from relationships that were not productive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Spain, she says, there is a saying: \u201cTell me who you walk with and I'll tell you who you are.\u201d For Aguilera, the phrase captures something that's been true throughout her career. Ideas matter. Institutions matter. Research matters. But so do the people you choose to build with.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And perhaps that fits a scholar whose work has always asked us to look beyond the obvious\u2014to question assumptions, understand context, and recognize that there is rarely only one path forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What if a boardroom's most valuable voice wasn't in the room at all? For Ruth V. Aguilera, that question is the latest chapter in a career spent challenging one-size-fits-all thinking about how companies are run \u2014 from ownership and accountability to what an AI director might one day bring to the table.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":7699,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"post_unlisted":false,"post_preheader":"","post_footer":"","snapshot_data":"","footnotes":"","_dmsb_faq_schema_heading_id":"","_dmsb_faq_schema_additional_items":[{"id":"additional-faq-0","question":"","answer":""}],"dmsb_screen_reader_heading":"","hide_preheader":false,"hide_excerpt":false,"hide_date":false,"hide_taxonomies":false,"dmsb_featured_image_focal_point":{"x":0.5,"y":0.5},"dmsb_distribute_to":[]},"category":[67],"tags":[],"dmsb_audience":[66,65,64],"dmsb_group":[],"class_list":["post-7698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty","dmsb_audience-academics","dmsb_audience-practitioners","dmsb_audience-students"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ruth Aguilera sees business through a global lens \u2014 and asks what comes next - Center for Emerging Markets<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What if a boardroom&#039;s most valuable voice wasn&#039;t in the room at all? 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