We use cookies on this site to enhance your experience.
By selecting “Accept” and continuing to use this website, you consent to the use of cookies.
Episode 16: Building human-centric innovation: How place and tradition create resilient entrepreneurs
Episode 16 features Tina Dacin, Professor of Strategic Management and Lazaridis Chair in Strategy and Entrepreneurship.
In a world of rapid technological development, social divide and rapid changes, the discussion around innovation tends to solely focus on the future.
However, new Lazaridis Research Chair in Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Tina Dacin, researches how tradition, place, and community influences some of the world’s most successful and resilient entrepreneurs. Though she used to think academic research was “boring,” she has now become one of the world’s most cited business researchers.
In this episode, Kyle and Tina dive into the entrepreneurship rabbit hole exploring what Tina describes as her “weird” research into longstanding innovators like maple syrup producers, Indigenous business leaders, and even Lady Gaga who act as custodians (those who preserve tradition while innovating).
This discussion explores the importance of community and human bonds in a world of AI and disruption.
There’s lots of finely grinded insights for entrepreneurs, students, or those who might also think research is boring. Or those needing an extra shot of hope.
Pour into these fresh takes on innovation from a leading scholar in the space.
Watch episode on YouTube:
About Tina Dacin
Professor Tina Dacin joined the Lazaridis School in February 2026 as a tenured professor and Lazaridis Research Chair in Strategy and Entrepreneurship after more than two decades at Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business. At Queen’s she held the Stephen J.R. Smith Chair of Strategy and Organizational Behaviour and led the Centre for Social Impact, among other roles.
Academic and Career Background
Dacin received her doctorate from the University of Toronto and has been recognized with awards including the Academy of Management Perspectives Decade Award, the Responsible Research in Management Award, and since 2021 has been included annually in Stanford’s list of the top two per cent most-cited scholars worldwide.
She is a Fellow in the Centre for Social Innovation at the University of Cambridge and she advises and speaks to major corporations in the airline, biotech, defense, energy, financial services, healthcare, and telecom sectors.