About

Research

My research circles around two key themes.

Diffusion

I study the diffusion of ideas and institutions, and how these processes shape and are shaped by local contexts.

• How do global cultural and institutional norms shape local practices? (World Polity Theory)
• What dynamics of global power relations drive cultural diffusion? (Global Field Theory)
• What mechanisms facilitate or hinder the diffusion of ideas and innovations across regions, and what does the diffusion literature offer?

Organizations

I treat organizations not as neutral arenas but as valuation systems that sort, elevate or terminate ideas through behavioral and institutional mechanisms. The work is anchored in New Institutionalism and Institutional Logics, and asks how external pressures become internal decisions and routines.

• How do institutional logics and organizational fields shape the adoption of new practices? (drawing on the foundational work of Paul DiMaggio)
• How do organizational gatekeepers forecast the value of ideas? (micro-foundations of organizational behavior)

I bridge macro-level global diffusion patterns with micro-level behavioral decision-making, to specify when reliance on symbolic cues becomes distortionary and how organizations can design selection processes that improve the trajectory of worthy ideas.

Scholified

I am a social entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Scholified, an AI-powered education technology platform that helps students find scholarships.