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Yanli Zhang

Professor, Management

Email:: zhangy@montclair.edu
Phone:: 973-655-7863
Degrees:: BA, Beijing University; PhD, Rutgers University
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Bio

Yanli Zhang is a professor in the Management Department at Montclair State University. Her areas of expertise are in business strategy, business model innovation, and platform strategy, and she has taught courses in business strategy, international management, and entrepreneurship. She has published extensively, both in academic and practitioner-oriented journals such as MIT Sloan Management Review. Her research has won multiple rewards such as the Douglas Nigh Most Innovative Paper Award and Best Paper Award at the Academy of Management Conference. Before academia, she spent several years working as a management consultant in Accenture Beijing office, helping both multinationals and domestic Chinese companies with market and growth strategies. Before that, she worked as strategy analyst at Lenovo Strategic Planning department and economic policy analyst at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, US Division.

Expertise

Strategy and Competitive Advantage
Business Model Innovation
Platform Strategy

Research

How Companies Can Discover Strengths from Their Weaknesses in Competition, Yanli Zhang, under review at Strategy & Leadership
Competing in a Platform Dominated World, Yanli Zhang, working paper
Four Platform Strategies Behind TikTok's Success, Yanli Zhang, Ying Hou, working paper

Professional Experience

Associate Professor, Montclair State University (2012 - Present)
Assistant Professor, Montclair State University (2007 - 2012)

Honors & Awards

Who's Who in America, Marquis ( 2010)
Who's Who in American Women, Marquis ( 2010)
Master Professor and Hall of Fame Member, Business Strategy Game ( 2009)
Best Paper Award, Academy of Management Annual Conference ( 2007)
Douglas Nigh Memorial Award for the Most Innovative Paper, Academy of Management ( 2007)
Dissertation Research Award, Rutgers Technology Management Research Center ( 2006)
Invited Visiting Research Professor, Soochow University ( 2015)
Invited Speaker at Innovation Forum, China Innovation Conference (June 2014)
Top 2 Most Downloaded Cases in 2017 from The Case Journal, The Case Journal (May 2017)
Finalist for Excellence in Case Study Writing Award, The CASE Association ( 2016)
Awards for Excellence, Emerald Literati Network (May 2017)
Multinational Business Review Outstanding Paper, Emerald Publishing (August 2019)

Refereed Published Articles

J. Cantwell, Y. Zhang (2006). Why is Japan’s R&D Internationalization so Low? A Path-Dependent Explanation. Asian Business and Management
J. Cantwell, Y. Zhang (2009). The Co-Evolution of International Business Connections and Domestic Technological Capabilities: Lessons from the Japanese Catch-up Experience. Transnational Corporations
Y. Wang, Y. Zhang, J. Xia, Z. Wang (2008). Segmenting the Mature Travel Market by Motivation. International Journal of Data Analysis Techniques and Strategies
Z. Wang, J. Hsu, J. Yao, Y. Zhang (2010). An E-Titan's Evolving Strategy and Business Model: Striving for Success in Challenging Times. Journal of Cases on Information Technology
Y. Zhang, R. Xing, X. Liu (2009). How to Mitigate Agency Behaviors in the Mutual Fund Industry. International Journal of Business Strategy
J. Dong, Y. Zhang (2016). When Customers Become Fans - Learning from Xiaomi's Innovation and Business Model. MIT Sloan Management Review
Y. Zhang, J. Hsu, R. Xing, W. Zhou (2015). Conflict of Interest: What It Is, Its Causes and Consequences. International Journal of Knowledge-Based Organizations
S. Sun, Y. Zhang (2015). Qihoo 360: Building a Free Business Model. The CASE Journal
Y. Zhang, Z. Yao (2015). Challenges in Organizational Control: The Economic and Management Perspectives. International Journal of Knowledge-Based Organizations
S. Sun, Y. Zhang (2013). Corporate Governance and Organizational Survival under Punctuational Change: The Case of China's Burgeoning Banking Industry, 1897-1927. Nankai Business Review International
S. Sun, Y. Zhang, Z. Chen (2013). The Challenges of Chinese Outward Investment in Developed Countries: The Case of CITIC Pacific's Sino Iron Project in Australia. Thunderbird International Business Review
Y. Zhang, Y. Wang, W. Colucci, Z. Wang (2011). The Paradigm Shift in Organizational Research. International Journal of Knowledge-Based Organizations
Y. Zhang, R. Xing, J. Wang (2011). A Broken Supply and Social Chain: Anatomy of the Downfall of an Industrial Icon. International Journal of Information Systems and Social Change
Y. Zhang, J. Cantwell (2011). Exploration and Exploitation: The Different Impacts of Two Types of Japanese Business Group Network on Firm Innovation and Global Learning. Asian Business & Management
J. Cantwell, Y. Zhang (2011). Innovation and Location in the Multinational Firm. International Journal of Technology Management
Y. Zhang (2016). Resource Based and Knowledge Based Views as Complementary Perspectives to Transaction Cost Theory. International Journal of Decision Sciences
Y. Zhang, E. Hamilton, W. Zhou, X. Liu (2016). Financial Myths Reexamined from Real Stock Price History. International Journal of Data Analysis and Information Systems
W. Zhou, Y. Zhang, Y. Shen (2017). How shared leadership and team personality composition interact to improve entrepreneurial team performance: Evidence from China. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development
S. Sun, J. Xiao, Y. Zhang, X. Zhao, (2018). Building Business Models through Simple Rules. Multinational Business Review
W. Zhou, X. Yang, Y. Li, Y. Zhang (2019). Pattern versus Level: a New Look at the Personality-Entrepreneurship Relationship. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research
S. Sun, Y. Zhang, Y. Cao, J. Dong, J. Cantwell, (2019). Enriching innovation ecosystems: The role of government in a university science park. Global Transitions
Y. Zhang, T. Wu (2021). Will AI Bring Baidu Back to the High-Speed Growth Train?. Journal of Applied Business and Economics
S. Sun, Y. Zhang, Z. Zhu (2021). Turning Disruption into Growth Opportunity: The Red Team Strategy. Journal of Business Strategy
Y. Zhang, L. Yao (2022). How the leading Chinese real estate brokerage transformed into a digital platform business. Strategy & Leadership
Y. Zhang, H. Nguyen, Y. Jung, I. Ren (2023). The social media industry: Where is it heading?. Journal of Business Strategy

Published Proceedings

Y. Zhang, J. Cantwell (5s). 2008. International Business Connections and Domestic Institutions: Lessons from the Japanese Catch-up Experience Association of Japanese Business Studies Annual Conference Proceedings
Y. Zhang (5s). 2007. Inter-Firm Networks and Innovation: the Difference between the Horizontal and Vertical Type Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings
Y. Zhang (5s). 2006. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Strong Networks: Examining the Innovation and International Knowledge Sourcing Activities of Japanese Firms Association of Japanese Business Studies Conference Proceedings
L. Sun, Y. Zhang (5s). 2010. Corporate Governance and Organizational Survival under Punctuational Environmental Change: the Case of China's Burgeoning Banking Industry, 1897-1927 International Association for Chinese Management Research Conference Proceedings
Y. Zhang, Y. Cao, J. Dong, J. Cantwell (5s). 2016. The Role of Government in Driving University-Industry R&D Connections: A Case Study on Suzhou Dushu Lake Science and Education District United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship 2016 Conference Proceedings
Y. Zhang, Y. Cao, J. Dong (5s). 2015. The Role of Government in Driving University-Industry R&D Connections: A Case Study on Suzhou Dushu Lake Science and Education District Triple Helix Conference 2015 Proceedings
Y. Zhang, R. Malaga, E. Nunez (5s). 2015. Daryl Bryant and his StartupValley - A Case on Crowd Equity Platforms United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference Proceedings
S. Sun, Y. Zhang (5s). 2013. Using Simple Rules to Build the Business Model Suzhou-Silicon Valley-Beijing International Innovation Conference
Y. Zhang, S. Sun (5s). 2012. Qihoo 360: A "Free" Business Model United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Annual Conference
Y. Zhang, S. Sun (5s). 2012. Technology Rules and Business Model: The Case of Qihoo 360 Innovative Methods for Innovation Management and Policy Conference Proceedings
Y. Zhang, E. Hamilton (5s). 2011. Long Term Stock Market Returns from Real Dow History Society for Global Business and Economic Development Conference Proceedings
Y. Zhang, R. Xing, J. Wang (5s). 2010. How and Why an Industrial Icon Come to Ruin Northeast Business & Economics Association Annual Conference Proceedings
Y. Zhang, R. Malaga, E. Nunez (5s). 2016. Racing to the Top - A Case on Competition and Strategy in Crowd Equity Platforms Proceedings of the 14th International Conference of the Society for Global Business & Economic Development
S. Sun, J. Xiao, Y. Zhang (5s). 2016. Building the Business Model through Simple Rules Academy of International Business 2016 Annual Conference Proceedings
Y. Zhang, Y. , J. , J. , (5s). 2017. The Double-Edged Sword of Government Role in Innovation Systems: A Case Study in the Development of Policy-led University Science Parks in China International Conference of IEEE Technology and Engineering Management Society
Y. Zhang (5s). 2021. An Investment Framework – Is Baidu a Buy or Sell? MIAA International Conference - Society for Case Research

Books & Chapters

J. Cantwell, Y. Zhang (2005). Japan’s R&D Internationalization and its Institutional Environment. Wiesbaden: Gabler (author names listed in alphabetical order)
Y. Zhang (1998). Microsoft's Secret. Translated: Chapter 8
J. Cantwell, Y. Zhang (2009). The Innovative Multinational Firm: The Dispersion of Creativity, and its Implications for the Firm and for World Development. Wiley Blackwell (author names listed in alphabetical order)