Nizar Becheikh received a Bachelor of Business Administration in International Business from Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Tunis (Tunisia). He earned an MBA in International Management and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Laval University (Canada). During his time in Canada, Dr. Becheikh worked closely, as part of R&D and consulting projects, with managers and policy makers from several Canadian SMEs, public organizations, and governmental agencies intended to foster innovation and regional economic development in Canada. He published his research in top-tier academic journals and prestigious conferences such as Technovation, the Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, the Academy of Management meeting, the International Association for management of Technology (IAMOT), and the Danish Research Unit for Industrial Dynamics (DRUID). Upon joining AUC in 2011, Dr. Becheikh served as advisor to the MBA programs’ Director. In 2012 he was appointed Associate Chair of the Department of Management, and since 2013 he has been acting as Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research. During his tenure as Associate Dean, Dr. Becheikh reshaped the research environment in the School of Business by adopting a proactive research strategy that led to a significant increase in both the volume and the quality of publications. The external research funding has also tremendously increased to cross in 2016, for the first time in the history of the School of Business, the level of USD 1 Million. Dr. Becheikh has also contributed to several major initiatives such as the AACSB, EQUIS, and AMBA accreditations and the development of the School of Business strategic plan 2015-19. Becheikh teaches Strategy, Innovation Management, and Entrepreneurship at the undergraduate and the (Executive) MBA programs. His current research interests focus on (open) innovation in manufacturing and service sectors, (open) innovation paths and best practices in LDCs, entrepreneurship in developing countries, and managing growth and innovation in SMEs.

Innovation in manufacturing and services, Innovation paths and practices in LDCs, Managing growth and innovation in SMEs, Entrepreneurship in developing countries, Strategic management in SMEs