Liang Wang

Associate Professor Liang Wang brings a wealth of cross-cultural experience to USF. His esteemed research, published in leading academic journals, focuses on the interplay between strategy and geography, with an emphasis on local competitiveness within a global context.

Having worked and lived in China, Canada, and the US, Wang is particularly intrigued by how social, cultural and institutional forces shape, and are shaped by, varying business practices in different countries. Professor Wang’s research enriches his teaching curriculum, giving students a better understanding of how culture impacts strategic decision making in the global economy.

Business ethics of multinational corporations (MNC’s) are a reflection of both their home and host countries. Wang’s personal, professional and academic history – spanning eastern and western cultural settings – has given him unique insight into how deep-seated traditions cross-pollinate in an entrepreneurial environment. By introducing students to various methods of examining cultural influence on business organizations, Professor Wang hopes to guide a new generation of more effective, aware and ethically-driven MNC leaders into the global business space.

EDUCATION

• Ph.D., Policy/Strategic Management, Schulich School of Business, York University, Canada
• M.A., Economics, School of Economics, Peking University, China
• B.A., Economics, School of Economics, Peking University, China

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Zhang H, Wang L, Han R. 2018. The China-West divide on social capital: A meta-analysis. Asia Pacific Journal of Management early view
• Wang L, Tan J, Li W. 2018. The impacts of spatial positioning on regional new venture creation and firm mortality over the industry life cycle. Journal of Business Research 86:41-52.
• Wang L, Li EPH, Ding X. 2018. Does deliberate learning lead to dynamic capability? The role of organizational schema for Kodak, 1993− 2011. Journal of Strategy and Management 11(1):52-80.
• Massa F, Voronov M, Helms W, Wang L. 2017. Emotions uncorked: Inspiring evangelism for the emerging practice of cool-climate winemaking in Ontario. Academy of Management Journal 60(2):461-499.
• Deng P, Yang X, Wang L, Doyle B. 2017. Chinese investment in advanced economies: Opportunities and challenges. Thunderbird International Business Review 59(4):461–471.
• Wang L. 2017. Time and space in business: dynamic geographic concentration and localized industry life cycle. Journal of Strategy and Management 10(4):374-400.
• Tan J, Zhang H, Wang L. 2015. Network closure or structural hole? The conditioning effects of network-level social capital on innovation performance. Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice 39(5):1189-1212.
• Wang L, Madhok A, Li SX. 2014. Agglomeration and clustering over the industry life cycle: Toward a dynamic model of geographic concentration. Strategic Management Journal 35(7):995-1012.
• Tan J, Wang L. 2011. MNC Strategic Responses to Ethical Pressure: An Institutional Logic Perspective. Journal of Business Ethics 98(3):373-390.
• Tan J, Wang L. 2010. Flexibility-efficiency tradeoff and performance implications among Chinese SOEs. Journal of Business Research 63(4):356-362.

AWARDS & DISTINCTIONS

• Best Paper Award in the 9th Annual “China Goes Global” Conference, Atlanta, GA, for the paper “Zhang, H., Wang, L., & Han, R. (2015). Does social capital work the same way in China and the West?”
• Outstanding Research Award from the School of Management, University of San Francisco in 2015.