Biography

Xun (Brian) Wu is a Professor of Strategy, Michael R. and Mary Kay Hallman Fellow, and faculty director of China Initiatives at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. He received his B.S. from Tsinghua University in China, M.Sc. from National University of Singapore, and Ph.D. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

His research examines the dynamics of corporate scope and the evolution of industries. His research has been published or is forthcoming in top scholarly journals including Academy of Management AnnalsAcademy of Management Review, IEEE Transactions on Industrial InformaticsManagement Science, Organization Science, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, and Strategic Management Journal. He served as an Associate Editor for Strategic Management Journal (2015-20) and for Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal (2021-2023), and is currently serving as a Co-Editor-in-Chief for Journal of Organization Design. He served as a Co-Editor for the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal Special Issue on “Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies” (2017-19), and is currently serving as a Co-Editor for the Strategic Management Journal Special Issue on “Resource Allocation and Strategic Management,” and the Journal of Organization Design Special Issue on “Organizing for Good”.

An avid contributor to the community, he has served in a variety of professional association roles. He was appointed to the Research Committee (2010-12) and elected to the Executive Committee (2013-15) of the Business Policy and Strategy (BPS) Division of the Academy of Management (AOM). He was also elected as a Representative-at-Large for the Behavioral Strategy Interest Group and the Corporate Strategy Interest Group (2014-16) of the Strategic Management Society (SMS) and the Technology and Innovation Management (TIM) Division Executive Committee (2015-17) of AOM. He co-organized the Doctoral Consortium of the BPS Division of AOM (2014-16), chaired SMS Conference Theme Track A in 2019, and co-organized SMS Special Conference (Hangzhou, China) in 2020. In addition, he worked as a co-organizer, chair, panelist, or discussant for numerous AOM and SMS events. He served as one of the three Management Committee members (2016-18) for Chinese Management Scholars Community (CMSC) (~600 members), and is currently serving on the board of directors (non-voting) of Organizational Design Community (ODC) (~500 members). Most recently, he was elected to a five-year leadership role, from Assistant Program Chair to Division Chair, at the Strategic Management Division (~5,500 members worldwide) of Academy of Management, 2022-26.

He has consulted and conducted executive sessions for companies such as 3M, Amazon, American Industrial Partners, Bank Mandiri of Indonesia, China Development Bank, China Telecom Americas, Denso, Didi, Ford, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Masco, Microsoft, Medtronic, Nexteer, Munich Re, People’s Insurance Company of China, and Saudi Telecom Company. He served on the Academic Committee of Alibaba Group Research Institute.

He has been recognized with the US Small Business Administration Best Student Paper Award, AOM Technology and Innovation Management Division Stephan Schrader Best Conference Paper Award, Academy of Management BPS Division Distinguished Paper Award, Neary PhD Teaching Excellence Award, 3M Nontenured Faculty Award, Sanford R. Robertson Professorship (school-wide junior faculty award that recognizes career achievement and outstanding performance in research and teaching). His course, Mergers, Acquisitions and Corporate Development, was one of the Top 10 Most Popular Courses of Full-Time MBA Students at Michigan Ross. He was recognized as one of Poets & Quants' best 40 business school professors under 40 in the world in 2016 and as Ross Researcher of the Year in 2021. 

Latest Faculty News & Research
The Many Dimensions of Research on Designing Flat Firms
Authors
Baumann, O., and Wu, B.
Published Date
2022
Authors
Baumann, O., and Wu, B.
Source
Journal of Organization Design
Volume
11
Issue
2
Pages
1-3
Distributed Electric Vehicles Charging Management Considering Time Anxiety and Customer Behaviors.
Authors
Alsabbagh, A., Ma, C., and Wu, B.
Published Date
2021
Authors
Alsabbagh, A., Ma, C., and Wu, B.
Source
IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics
Volume
17
Issue
4
Pages
2422-2431
Capability Interactions and Adaptation on Demand-Side Change
Authors
Wang, T., Aggarwal, V., Wu, B.
Published Date
09/2020
Authors
Wang, T., Aggarwal, V., Wu, B.
Source
Strategic Management Journal
Volume
41
Issue
9
Pages
1595-1627
Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies
Authors
Foo, M.-D., Vissa, B., and Wu, B.
Published Date
2020
Authors
Foo, M.-D., Vissa, B., and Wu, B.
Source
Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal
Volume
14
Issue
3
Pages
289-301
Organizational Constraints to Adaptation: Intra-Firm Asymmetry in the Locus of Coordination.
Authors
Aggarwal, V. and Wu, B.
Published Date
2015
Authors
Aggarwal, V. and Wu, B.
Source
Organization Science
Volume
26
Issue
1
Pages
218-238
Book review for “Build, Borrow, or Buy: Solving the Growth Dilemma” (by Laurence Capron and Will Mitchell).
Authors
Wu, B.
Published Date
2014
Authors
Wu, B.
Source
Academy of Management Learning and Education
Volume
13
Issue
1
Pages
141-143
Complementary Assets as Pipes and Prisms: Innovation Incentives and Trajectory Choices.
Authors
Wu, B., Wan, W. and Levinthal, D.
Published Date
2014
Authors
Wu, B., Wan, W. and Levinthal, D.
Source
Strategic Management Journal
Volume
35
Issue
9
Pages
1257–1278
Institutional Barriers and Industry Dynamics
Authors
Chang, S. and Wu, B.
Published Date
2014
Authors
Chang, S. and Wu, B.
Source
Strategic Management Journal
Volume
35
Issue
8
Pages
1103-1123
Opportunity Cost, Industry Dynamics, and Corporate Diversification: Evidence from the Cardiovascular Medical Device Industry, 1976-2004.
Authors
Wu, B.
Published Date
2013
Authors
Wu, B.
Source
Strategic Management Journal
Volume
34
Issue
11
Pages
1265-1287
Innovation and Entry into New Technical Subfields: Evidence from the Cardiovascular Medical Device Industry
Authors
Kruse, G. and Wu, B.
Published Date
2006
Authors
Kruse, G. and Wu, B.
Source
Academy of Management Journal
Volume
1
Issue
1
Pages
1
Lessons from Alibaba.com: Government’s Role in Electronic Contracting.
Authors
Hu, Q., Wu, B., and Wang, C.
Published Date
2003
Authors
Hu, Q., Wu, B., and Wang, C.
Source
INFO–The Journal of Policy, Regulation and Strategy for Telecommunications, Information and Media
Volume
6
Issue
5
Pages
298-307
Product Market Competition and Financial Conservatism: A Theoretical Model and the Case of Yanjing Brewery Corporation
Authors
Zhu, W., Chen, H., and Wu, B.
Published Date
2002
Authors
Zhu, W., Chen, H., and Wu, B.
Source
Journal of Economic Research
Volume
52
Issue
8
Pages
28-36