Business PhD Spotlight: Mehri Baloochi
PhD candidate Mehri Baloochi describes her academic path as less than direct — it has been full of detours and discoveries. Her winding journey helped her zoom in on a research agenda that is genuinely aligned with her passion.
While studying petroleum engineering at the Petroleum University of Technology in Iran, a predominantly male, state-affiliated institution, Baloochi faced the reality that this restrictive environment extended beyond campus into what a career in the industry would mean for her freedom and autonomy. So, despite the program’s promise of financial security, she shifted her education path toward an MBA.
It was here that people and the vast dimension of organizations fascinated Baloochi. Her work experiences continued in an HR setting for several years, focusing on designing and implementing new processes. That is when Baloochi discovered a passion for research; by researching best practices, experimenting with designs, and creating something both theoretical and practical from scratch.
This led her to a PhD program in Organizational Behavior at the University of Manitoba. During her studies however, her advisors left. Again, Baloochi embraced this obstacle by successfully transferring to the University of Alberta School of Business, where she now focuses her work on organizational and institutional theory.
“My research is driven by a deep fascination with the different ways that people navigate oppression,” says Baloochi. “Particularly, I ask how oppression becomes normalized as a background condition of life for some people, while for others, it incites ongoing resistance and struggle.”
Baloochi has built a research agenda based on two contexts. First, in a study of the Iranian film industry, her work illustrates how oppressive practices become institutionalized through subtle mechanisms such as trust relationships. This work reveals how systems of power translate state-level control into everyday work practices, sometimes with practitioners unintentionally reinforcing their own constraints.
Second, she examines the Iranian women’s rights movement. This is a context in which visible resistance persists despite severe repression, defying theoretical expectations that anticipate withdrawal, silence, or adaptation under such conditions. Rather than advancing through institutional openings or formal channels, this research shows that this movement endures through embodied acts of refusal, through bodies that disobey, that carry the memory of past defiance, and that become living archives of resistance.
Through these studies, Baloochi seeks to expose how systems of oppression operate across organizational and societal levels, while revealing the enduring capacity of marginalized groups to assert agency and forge pathways toward transformation.
When asked why she chose the Alberta School of Business’ PhD program, Baloochi reflects, “To be honest, at first, I had no clear sense of what I was stepping into; but soon after, I could not be happier with my decision. The environment strikes a rare balance between rigorous scholarship and genuine care. The professors are top scholars in their fields with impressive records of accomplishment, but they’re also deeply invested in PhD students, treating us as junior colleagues rather than simply students.”
According to Baloochi, the School of Business faculty bring passion to their work, and that enthusiasm is infectious. “It’s uncommon to find a place where faculty are both internationally recognized and genuinely committed to mentoring the next generation of scholars, says Baloochi. “That combination has made all the difference in my journey.”
Mehri Baloochi joined the Alberta School of Business in September 2021 as a PhD student in strategy, entrepreneurship and management and is supervised by associate professor Emily Block.