Brian Wu

Robert G. Rodkey Collegiate Professor of Business Administration
Professor of Strategy

Education
PHD University of Pennsylvania 2007
MS University of Pennsylvania 2005
MS National University of Singapore 2001
BA Tsinghua University 1998
Biography

Xun (Brian) Wu is Robert G. Rodkey Collegiate Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Strategy 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 Review, Academy of Management Annals, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, Journal of Economic Theory, Journal of Organization Design, Management Science, Organization Science, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, and Strategic Management Journal. He served as an Associate Editor for Strategic Management Journal (2015-20) and an Associate Editor for Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal (2020-22), as well as a Co-Editor for the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal Special Issue on “Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies” (2017-19) and the Journal of Organization Design Special Issues on “Organizing for Good” (2021-2024). He is currently serving as a Co-Editor-in-Chief for Journal of Organization Design and an Associate Editor for Management Science, as well as a Co-Editor for the Strategic Management Journal Special Issue on “Resource Allocation and Strategic Management” (2021-2024).

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 Tracks in 2019 and 2024, 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). He served as the Faculty Director for Ross China Initiatives (2015-23), and was elected to the Executive Committee of Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies at University of Michigan (2023-25). Most recently, he serve as Chair-Elect of the Strategic Management Division (STR Division) (~5,500 members worldwide) of Academy of Management, and as President-Elect and President, University of Michigan Association of Chinese Professors (~450 members), 2023-26.

He has consulted and conducted executive sessions for companies such as 3M, Amazon, American Industrial Partners, Bank Mandiri of Indonesia, Cargill, 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 as a strategic advisor for Didi Inc, and 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, SMJ Best Video Abstract Award, SMS CSIG Best Proposal Award for Rigor in Research, Neary PhD Teaching Excellence Award, 3M Nontenured Faculty Award, Michael R. and Mary Kay Hallman Fellow, 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
Resource Redeployment and the Pursuit of the New Best Use: Economic Logic and Organizational Challenges
Published Date
03/2025
Authors
Levinthal, D., and Wu, B.
Source
Strategy Science
Volume
10
Issue
1
Pages
32–47
Acquisitions and Entries in a Platform Market
Published Date
04/2024
Authors
Wang, Y., Rajagopalan, N., Yue, L., and Wu, B.
Source
Strategic Management Journal
Embracing Consumption: Reconstructing the Digital Economy in the Intelligent Era
Published Date
12/2024
Authors
Li, T., Wan, Z., Wu, B
Source
Quarterly Journal of Management
Learning from a Black Box
Published Date
10/2024
Authors
Ke, S., Wu, B., Zhao, C.
Source
Journal of Economic Theory
Volume
221
Resource Redeployment and the Pursuit of the New Best Use: Economic Logic and Organizational Challenges
Published Date
04/2024
Authors
Levinthal, D., and Wu, B.
Source
Strategy Science
The entry-deterring effects of synergies in complementor acquisitions: Evidence from Apple's digital platform market, the iOS app store
Published Date
12/2024
Authors
Wang, Y., Rajagopalan, N., Yue, L., and Wu, B
Source
Strategic Management Journal
Volume
45
Issue
13
Pages
2791-2817
The Many Dimensions of Research on Designing Flat Firms
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.
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
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
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.
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).
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
Published Date
2002
Authors
Zhu, W., Chen, H., and Wu, B.
Source
Journal of Economic Research
Volume
52
Issue
8
Pages
28-36