Dr. Séverine Le Loarne-Lemaire, Senior Professor, Head of the Women and Economic Renewal Research Chair

“Working with DBA students is one of my favorite tasks as a professor. They bring brilliant empirical questions, and my job is to help them translate those into research questions, opening up little-explored research topics.

Stacy came to me with her impressive life experience. In just three months, we developed two meaningful questions: What is the work-life balance of entrepreneurs in practice, and what is the real schedule of entrepreneurs, especially women entrepreneurs? Through many meetings, Stacy wrote a thesis that she defended successfully, winning the Best Dissertation Award in 2024. We not only met her planned deadlines, but we also developed a real friendship. Together, we co-authored two book chapters and an article published in the prestigious Journal of Business Research. Is this the end? No! A collaboration was born!”

Dr. Stacy Brecht, DBA 2023 Graduate

“The triple accreditation and international recognition of Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM) offer significant opportunities to work with leading academics who have in-depth knowledge of social science research communities. This is invaluable, especially if your goals are to transition into academia and publish high-quality, high-impact research. During my Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) journey at GEM, I was fortunate to have Dr. Séverine Le Loarne-Lemaire as my thesis supervisor. Professor Le Loarne-Lemaire selected me to be part of an international research team focused on supporting women entrepreneurs around the world, which enriched my learning and research initiatives.

My dissertation, titled The time management of women entrepreneurs in practice: Challenging gendered assumptions and perceived work-life practices, consists of four separate research articles linked by one main research question: how do women entrepreneurs manage their time in practice? To explore this overall question and the four sub-questions, Dr. Séverine Le Loarne-Lemaire and I developed and implemented a new research methodology that involved collecting pre-study digital calendars and conducting two separate in-depth interviews. Our research was published in the Journal of Business Research and in two book chapters, and was also presented at six international academic conferences.

In addition, the DBA at GEM helped prepare me for a full-time transition into academia as an assistant professor, teaching graduate and postgraduate courses while I was still completing my degree. Alongside my role as assistant professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at Azusa Pacific University (APU), earning my doctorate with an entrepreneurship focus helped prepare me to lead APU’s campus-wide entrepreneurial pitch competition, Zuventurez, and the entrepreneurial honor society Sigma Nu Tau as academic advisor.

I am grateful for this journey and for all the expertise, mentorship, and guidance I received from the accomplished faculty and staff of GEM’s doctoral school, especially my thesis supervisor. Pursuing this DBA helped me grow professionally and personally, and now I see the world differently, through a more analytical and critical lens. Currently, Dr. Séverine Le Loarne-Lemaire and I are working on additional research projects, and I recently taught an undergraduate module at GEM with the Women and Economic Renewal Research Chair on intersectionality and its implications for managers.

I look forward to continuing to conduct impactful research that contributes to academic literature and shows how to apply theory to practice!”

_{Brecht, S., Le Loarne-Lemaire, S., Kraus, S., & Maalaoui, A. (2023). The role of time management of female tech entrepreneurs in practice: Diary and interview results from an innovative cluster. Journal of Business Research, 163, 113914.}

_{Brecht, S. & Le Loarne – Lemaire, S. (2023). Women entrepreneurs: Time management, life – work continuum and wellbeing. In Human Centered Management and Crisis: Workplace Disruption, Wellbeing, and Organizational Sustainability. Routledge.}

_{Brecht, S. & Le Loarne – Lemaire, S. (2023). Reconsidering the practices of home-based entrepreneurs: How mum and dad entrepreneurs manage work time. In Women and Family (Businesses) Across Entrepreneurial Contexts. Edward Elgar Publishing.}

_{Brecht, S. & Le Loarne – Lemaire, S. (2023). Gender, Work, and Organization Conference; Emancipation of women entrepreneurs in practice: What time management is saying. Stellenbosch University, South Africa.}

_{Brecht, S. & Le Loarne – Lemaire, S. (2023). Diana International Research Conference; Emancipation of women entrepreneurs in practice: What time management is saying. Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts.} 

_{Brecht, S. & Le Loarne – Lemaire, S. (2022). Diana International Research Conference; High-growth women entrepreneurs and work-life balance: Challenging gendered assumptions and perceived work/life practices. Digital Collections at Babson College: Conference Proceedings 2022. Dublin City University, Ireland.}

_{Brecht, S. & Le Loarne – Lemaire, S. (2022). Engaged Management Scholarship Conference; High-growth women entrepreneurs and work-life balance: Challenging gendered assumptions and perceived work/life practices. Universidad Panamericana, Guadalajara, Mexico.}

_{Brecht, S. & Le Loarne – Lemaire, S. (2021). Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference; Home-based entrepreneurs, work-life balance and time management.}

_{Brecht, S. & Le Loarne – Lemaire, S. (2021). Diana International Research Conference; Reconsidering the practices of home-based entrepreneurs: How mum and dad entrepreneurs manage work time.}