Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to footer content

Craig School of Business

Vartuhi Tonoyan

Associate Professor

Management | Office: PB202

vtonoyan@mail.fresnostate.edu

Education

2009 Ph.D. in Management (Summa cum Laude)
Title: Corruption, entrepreneurship, and institutional environments: A cross-national comparison of emerging and mature market economies
School of Business
University of Mannheim, Germany

1999 Diploma in Economics (with Distinction), Faculty of General Economics
Yerevan State University of National Economy, Armenia

1993 Gymnasium Diploma (with Distinction)
Russian Secondary School
Ninotsminda, Georgia

Courses Taught

ENTR 151E. Opportunity Assessment
MGT 110. Administration and Organizational Behavior
MGT 187. Seminar in Strategic Management
MGT 190. Independent Study
MBA 279. Business Policy and Strategy

Dr. Vartuhi Tonoyan is an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Management in the Department of Management at the Craig School of Business, California State University, Fresno. She explores research questions at the intersection of gender, entrepreneurship, and innovation, as well as entrepreneurship and innovation in emerging markets. Dr. Tonoyan has received multiple research awards, both as a researcher (e.g., Academy of Management Meeting's Best Paper Award, Responsible Research in Business and Management Honor Roll, Kauffman Foundation Best Paper Award, and the DIANA International Research Conference) and as a reviewer (e.g., Academy of Management Meeting's Best Reviewer Award and Journal of Business Venturing's Best Reviewer Award). In 2024, she received the Craig School of Business Faculty Award for Research. She serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Business Venturing and the International Small Business Journal. She has published in Administrative Science Quarterly, Group and Organization Management, Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Entrepreneurship Research Journal, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, and Research Policy. Dr. Tonoyan earned a Diploma in Economics (with distinction) from Yerevan State University of National Economy, Armenia, and a Ph.D. in Management (with distinction) from the University of Mannheim, Germany. She has held a one-year visiting postdoctoral position at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, served on the faculty of the School of Business at Stevens Institute of Technology, and held visiting scholar positions at the Alberta School of Business at the University of Alberta, Canada. Vartuhi is fluent in Armenian, Russian, German, and English.

Gender, entrepreneurship, and innovation; entrepreneurship and innovation in emerging economies.

Intellectual Contributions (Last 5 Years)

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=Li4Wh78AAAAJ

Citations Summary Statistics (As Of 9/5/2024)

Google scholar total citations = 1,149

Google Scholar h-index = 12    i10-index = 14

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

2023-2024

Tonoyan, V., Strohmeyer, R., & Jennings, J. (forthcoming). Working for Jessica or Michael? How gender stereotypes affect job application intentions at technology startups. Accepted for publication at Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal (A on the 2022 ABDC Journal Quality List and on the FT 50 Journal) on July 25, 2024. (Applied)
 
Tonoyan, V. & Boudreaux, C. (2023). Gender diversity in firm ownership: Direct and indirect effects on firm-level innovation across 29 emerging economies. Research Policy, 52(4), 104716. (A* on the 2022 ABDC Journal Quality List; FT 50 Journal) (Google Scholar Citations as of 08/12/2024: 17). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2022.104716. (Applied)

Tonoyan, V. & Olson-Buchanan, J. (2023). Toward a multidimensional and multilevel approach to studying gender diversity in upper echelons and firm innovation. Group & Organization Management, 48(2), 705–752. (A on the 2022 ABDC Journal Quality List) (Google Scholar Citations as of 08/12/2024: 6). https://doi.org/10.1177/10596011231162491 (Applied)

2020-2021

Tonoyan, V. & Strohmeyer, R. (2021). Gender role (in-) congruity and resource-provider gender biases: A conceptual model. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 13, 225-242. (C on the 2022 ABDC Journal Quality List) (Google Scholar Citations as of 08/12/2024: 14)
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJGE-12-2020-0201 (Applied)

Tonoyan, V., Strohmeyer R., & Jennings, J. (2020). Gender gaps in perceived start-up ease: Implications of sex-based labor market segregation for entrepreneurship across 22 European countries. Administrative Science Quarterly, 65, 181-225. (A* on the 2022 ABDC Journal Quality List; FT 50 Journal) (Google Scholar Citations as of 08/12/2024: 92) https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839219835867 (Applied)

2017-2018

Strohmeyer, R., V. Tonoyan, & Jennings, J. E. (2017). Jacks-(and jills)-of-all-trades: Linking an entrepreneur’s gender to firm innovativeness. Journal of Business Venturing, 32, 498-518. (FT 50; ABDC Journal Quality List: A* Impact Factor: 4.204) (Google Scholar Citations as of 3/25/2022: 52)

Strohmeyer, R., Tonoyan, V., & Jennings, J. E. (2017). Jacks-(and jills)-of-all-trades: Linking an entrepreneur’s gender to firm innovativeness. Journal of Business Venturing, 32, 498-518. (A* on the 2022 ABDC Journal Quality List; FT 50) (Google Scholar Citations as of 08/12/2024: 113) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2017.07.001 (Applied)

Revise & Resubmit

Strohmeyer, R. & Tonoyan, V. Is entrepreneurship the great equalizer? On the role of social class origin on entrepreneurship. Received 1st revise and resubmit at a sociology journal.

Work In Progress (Selected)

  • Kowalzick, M., Strohmeyer, R., & Tonoyan, V. Gender diversity in Top Management Teams. Implications for organizational culture and strategy.
  • Tonoyan, V. & Milevoj, E. Mixed-gender owner teams: Implications for firm internationalization.
  • Nguyen, J. & Tonoyan, V. Consumer preferences for underdog-owned versus top-dog-owned ethnic cuisine restaurants.
  • Strohmeyer, R. & Tonoyan, V. The dark side of entrepreneurship. A framework for studying and mitigating adverse consequences.
  • Tonoyan, V. Does corruption sand or lubricate the wheels of innovation? A cross-national comparison of emerging market economies.

Presentations at Peer-Reviewed International Research Conferences

2024

Obstfeld, D., Tasseli, S., Johnson, T., Methot, J., & Tonoyan, V. Leveraging Social Capital for Equity: The Role of the Social Capital Academy (SCA) in Reducing Social Inequality. Academy of Management Meeting, Chicago, IL, United States.  

Obstfeld, D., Tasseli, S., Johnson, T., Methot, J., & Tonoyan, V. A social capital theory of social change: How the Social Capital Academy (SCA) ameliorates social inequality. UCL Social Network Society Conference, London, England.  

Obstfeld, D., Tasseli, S., Johnson, T., Methot, J., & Tonoyan, V. Leveraging social capital theory for social change. Convening a community of social capital oriented social entrepreneurs. Royal Society of the Arts. 

Tonoyan, V., & Milevoj, E. Mixed-gender owner teams: Implications for firm internationalization. Paper presented at the 10th California Entrepreneurship Educators Conference, San Diego, CA, United States.

2023

Strohmeyer, R., & Tonoyan, V. The dark side of entrepreneurship. A framework for studying and mitigating adverse consequences. Paper presented at the Academy of Management Perspective’s Paper Development Workshop, New York, NY, United states

2021

Tonoyan, V., & Strohmeyer, R. Gender biases and discrimination in entrepreneurial resource provision: A conceptual model. Paper presented at the Academy of Management, Virtual Meeting.

Tonoyan, V., Strohmeyer, R., & Jennings, J.E. Human capital provision to innovative start-up ventures in a male-typed industry. Paper presented at the Academy of Management, Virtual Meeting.

Tonoyan, V., & Milevoj, E. Gender diversity in firm ownership: Implications for firm internationalization in 29 emerging markets. Paper presented at Babson Conference on Entrepreneurship Research, Virtual Meeting (co-presented with E. Milevoj)

Tonoyan, V., Strohmeyer, R., & Jennings, J.E. Innovative women-led ventures and resource-provider gender bias: The contingent role of high- vs. low-resource commitment. Presentation in a Poster Session at Babson Conference on Entrepreneurship Research, Virtual Meeting.

2019

Tonoyan, V. Does corruption sand or lubricate the wheels of innovation? A cross-national comparison of emerging market economies. Paper presented at the Academy of Management Meeting, Boston, MA, United States.   

Tonoyan, V., & Strohmeyer, R. Entrepreneurs’ skill diversity and firm-level innovation: Implications for high growth. Paper presented at the Academy of Management Meeting, Boston, MA, United States. 

Tonoyan, V., Strohmeyer, R., & Jennings, J.E. Career opportunities and female entrepreneurship. Paper presented in a Research Symposium at the Academy of Management Meeting, Boston, MA, United States.

Invited Presentations at Research Seminars

2022

Tonoyan, V. Working for Jessica or Michael? How Gender Stereotyping Affects Job Application Intentions at Technology Startups. Presented at the Research Seminar Series of the Department of Management of Complex Systems, University of California, Merced.

2021

Strohmeyer, R., & Tonoyan, V. Sociological and psychological approaches to entrepreneurship. Presented at the Ph.D. Seminar of the Department of SME Research and Entrepreneurship, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany (presented by R. Strohmeyer).

Outreach Presentations

2023

Nguyen, J., & V. Tonoyan. Consumer Purchase Intentions for Top Dog vs. Underdog Ethnic Cuisines: Exploring Type Authenticity as a Moderator. Poster presented by Julie Nguyen at the Central California Research Symposium (CCRS).

Tonoyan, V. Forging the future: Empowering Fresno innovators to launch and scale high-potential start-ups. Presentation held at the Faculty Lightning Round, CSU Fresno Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit. 

Research Conference Organization Activities

August 2022
Tonoyan, V. (Organizer), & Kacperczyk, O. (Co-Organizer). Gender stereotypes about leadership and entrepreneurship: Taking stock and looking ahead. Panel symposium organized for Academy of Management, Seattle, WA, United States.  

August 2020
Tonoyan, V. (Organizer), & Boudreaux, C. (Co-organizer). New advancements in quantitative institutional-theory testing research. Presenter symposium organized for Academy of Management, ENT-OT Divisions, Virtual Meeting, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Editorial Board Review

Since 2023: The Responsible Research in Business and Management (RRBM) Honor Roll Editorial Board

Since 2020: Journal of Business Venturing

Since 2009: International Small Business Journal

Ad Hoc Reviewer

Administrative Science Quarterly 
Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice 
Journal of Financial Stability 
Journal of International Business Studies
International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship
Organization Studies 
Diana International Research Conference

Membership of Professional Bodies

Since 2019: American Economic Association (AEA)

Since 2006: Academy of Management Meeting (AoM)