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Mahla Zare Mehrjerdi

Mahla Zare Mehrjerdi Headshot

Title:

Assistant Professor - Entrepreneurship

Department:

Management

College/Division:

H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business & Entrepreneurship

Dr. Mahla Zare is an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship in the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business & Entrepreneurship at Nova Southeastern University. She holds dual doctorates—a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics (University of Kentucky) and a Ph.D. in Entrepreneurship–Business Creation (University of Tehran)—along with graduate training in economics and entrepreneurship. She joined NSU in 2025.

She has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in innovation and technology management, entrepreneurship, small business management, business planning, research methods, economics, marketing, agricultural policy, and food systems. Her student-centered approach emphasizes experiential learning and real-world application, and her mentoring includes leading multidisciplinary, practice-based projects.

Dr. Zare’s research focuses on entrepreneurial growth and measurement, consumer behavior, and agribusiness marketing, with publications in the Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing and the Journal of Food Distribution Research. She presents regularly at AAEA, SAEA, and FDRS and serves as a reviewer for journals and professional meetings. She is also the author of Introduction to Agricultural Microeconomics (Kendall Hunt).

Before academia, Dr. Zare co-founded and managed Abnoos Company, served as Director of Sales & Marketing for Gohar Toos Company, and was Vice-Chancellor of Education for the Iranian Elite Assembly, leading strategy, market research, and curriculum design. She mentors student founders and innovation teams, helping them launch and grow entrepreneurial businesses and develop innovative products from concept to market-ready pitches and pilots, with several projects earning recognition at national venues.

  • Ph.D. – University of Kentucky-Agricultural Economics
  • Ph.D. - University of Tehran-Entrepreneurship
  • M.S. - Drexel University-Economics
  • M.A. - University of Tehran-Entrepreneurship
  • B.S. - Payam Noor University-Agricultural Economics

  • ENT 3100 – Innovation and Technology Management
  • ENT 4400 - Franchise Management
  • ENT 4810 - Social Entrepreneurship Experience
  • ENT 3171 - Maturing Businesses

  • “Examining Racial Equity and Social Justice Curriculum Implementation,” SUNY DEISJ in the Curriculum Conference (Nov 2023).
  • “Farmers Markets – Essential Business Survival in Disrupting Times,” Food Distribution Research Society (Oct 2021).
  • “Consumers’ Purchase of Local Food in Alternative Restaurant Formats,” FDRS (Oct 2020, virtual).
  • RSAI Midwest Graduate Summit (2017): Determinants of informality in developing countries.
  • AAEA (2018): Local food system vitality by age group.
  • SAEA (2018–2020): Local food purchasing; wheat productivity; WTP for local food.
  • FDRS (2019–2021): Local food in restaurant formats; farmers markets in disrupting times.

  • Zare Mehrjerdi, M., & Woods, T. (2022). Consumer Willingness‑to‑Pay for Local Food in Alternative Restaurant Formats. Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing, 1–21.
  • Rossi, J., Zare, M., & Woods, T. (2022). US Farmers Markets—Essential Business Survival in Disrupting Times. Journal of Food Distribution Research, 53(1).
  • Mehrjerdi, M. Z., & Mark, T. (2018). Estimating the Productivity of Wheat Production: Stochastic Frontier Production Function.
  • Mehrjerdi, M. Z., & Talebi, K. (2018). Toward a New Growth Measurement Model for Entrepreneurial Firms. Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal, 24(2).
  • Mehrjerdi, M. Z., & Talebi, K. (2018). A Meta‑Analysis on the Entrepreneurial Behavior and Growth Measurements. Journal of Organizational Behavior Research, 3(S2).
  • Identifying the Process of Entrepreneurial Sense‑Making: A Grounded Theory Approach. International Journal of Management & Humanity Sciences.
  • Identifying Main Factors Transforming Entrepreneurial Perseverance into Escalation of Commitment. Journal of Science and Today’s World.
  • Talebi, K., Mehrjerdi, M. Z., & Akbari, S. M. R. (2016). Knowledge Processing Management in SME Development. China‑USA Business Review, 15(3), 130–136.