Maria Chiara Di Guardo is Full Professor of Organization Studies at the University of Cagliari, where she heads the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CREA-UniCa) and is Academic Lead of the CLab-UniCa. She has also served as Vice Rector for Innovation and Engagement, with responsibility for strengthening collaboration between the university, business, and society.

Her academic career has a strong international profile. She is currently a Visiting Professor at the School of Management, University of Bath (UK), and has previously held visiting positions at Columbia Business School (Columbia University, New York), Bayes Business School (City, University of London), and IESE Business School (University of Navarra, Barcelona).

She plays an active role in professional and scholarly associations:

- Vice President of Netval, the Italian Network for Research Valorization and Technology Transfer;

- Vice President of ASSIOA, the Italian Association of Organization Studies;

- Board Member of EGOS European Group for Organizational Studies, where she co-organized the 2023 Colloquium.

Her research focuses on innovation processes, technology strategy, entrepreneurship, and technology transfer. Her work has appeared in leading international journals, including Journal of Management, Research Policy, Small Business Economics, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Technology Transfer, Long Range Planning, and Strategic Organization.