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Allen Li, UW

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Zhuoxin (Allen) Li


Michael and Mary Sue Shannon Professor

Associate Professor of Operations & Information Management (with tenure), 07/2022-

Wisconsin School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Affiliate: Data Science Institute @ UW

              Pan Asia Pacific Sustainability Initiative @ UW


Office: 4285 Grainger Hall

975 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706

Email: allen.li @ wisc.edu  Phone: (608) 263-4414

My research focuses on digital platforms, digital transformation, and AI strategy. Digitization has profoundly reshaped the economy—it has created new distribution channels, reorganized supply chains, and transformed how businesses reach and serve their customers. My research seeks to improve the value creation process through the design of digital strategy. 

My works have received several awards, including the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, the Sandra A. Slaughter Early Career Award, the Gordon B. Davis Young Scholar Award, the Nunamaker-Chen Dissertation Award, and several best paper awards from Conference on Information Systems and Technology (CIST) and Workshop on Information Technologies and Systems (WITS).

I earned my M.S. in Economics (2014) and Ph.D. in Information, Risk, and Operations Management (2015), both from the University of Texas at Austin. I also received a B.S. in Computer Science.

Honors & Awards

    • CAREER Award, National Science Foundation

      • 2022-2027: “Regulating On-Demand Delivery Platforms” (SES-2243736, $414,546)

    • Best Paper Award Runner-Up, Conference on Health IT and Analytics, 2025

    • Sandra A. Slaughter Early Career Award, INFORMS Information Systems Society, 2023

    • Cheryl Gaimon Best Innovation Paper Award, Production and Operations Management, 2023

    • Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professors of 2021, Poets & Quants, 2022

    • Summer Research Grants, NET Institute, 2014, 2015, 2021

    • Teaching Star, Carroll School of Management, Boston College, 2020

    • Gordon B. Davis Young Scholar Award, INFORMS Information Systems Society, 2020

    • Distinguished Service Award, Management Science, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023

    • Best Paper Award, Conference on Information Systems and Technology (CIST), 2018

    • Nunamaker-Chen Dissertation Award, INFORMS Information Systems Society, 2016 

    • Best Paper Award Runner-Up, Workshop on Information Technologies and Systems (WITS), 2014

    • Best Paper Award Nominee, Conference on Information Systems and Technology (CIST), 2012

Papers

    1. Cheng He and Zhuoxin Li. 2025. From Food Deserts to Fresh Food: The Role of Digital Accessibility in Nutrition Assistance Programs, Management Science, Forthcoming.

    2. Raveesh Mayya and Zhuoxin Li. 2025. Growing Platforms by Adding Complementors without a Contract, Information Systems Research, Forthcoming.

    3. Ningning Wang and Zhuoxin Li. 2025. Channel Structures for a Dual-Purpose Firm: Direct, Retail, or Hybrid? Production and Operations Management, 34(8), pp. 2288-2302.

    4. Zhuoxin Li and Gang Wang. 2025. On-Demand Delivery Platforms and Restaurant Sales, Management Science, 71(7), pp. 5419-6318.

    5. Zhuoxin Li and Gang Wang. 2025. Regulating Powerful Platforms: Evidence from Commission Fee Caps, Information Systems Research, 36(1), pp. 126-140.

    6. Yicheng Song,  Zhuoxin Li and Nachiketa Sahoo. 2022. Matching Returning Donors to Projects on Philanthropic Crowdfunding Platforms, Management Science, 68(1), pp. 355-375.

    7. Ningning Wang and Zhuoxin Li. 2021. Supplier Encroachment with a Dual-Purpose Retailer, Production and Operations Management, 30(8), pp. 2672-2688.

    8. Zhuoxin Li, Gang Wang and Harry J. Wang. 2021. Peer Effects in Competitive Environments: Field Experiments on Information Provision and Interventions, MIS Quarterly, 45(1), pp. 163-191.

    9. Zhuoxin Li, Jason A. Duan and Sam Ransbotham. 2020. Coordination and Dynamic Promotion Strategies in Crowdfunding with Network Externalities, Production and Operations Management, 29(4), pp. 1032-1049.

    10. Zhuoxin Li and Ashish Agarwal. 2017. Platform Integration and Demand Spillovers in Complementary Markets: Evidence from Facebook’s Integration of Instagram, Management Science, 63(10), pp. 3438–3458.

    11. Zhuoxin Li, Stephen M. Gilbert and Guoming Lai. 2015. Supplier Encroachment as an Enhancement or a Hindrance to Nonlinear Pricing, Production and Operations Management, 24(1), pp. 89-109.

    12. Zhuoxin Li, Stephen M. Gilbert and Guoming Lai. 2014. Supplier Encroachment under Asymmetric Information, Management Science, 60(2), pp. 449-462.

Panels & Media Coverage

  • “Digital competition and tech regulation” Harvard Business School, April 2025

  • “Food app fees and how to save” Wisconsin TV, May 2024

  • “Regulating powerful platforms: Unintended effects of imposing fee caps on US food-delivery platforms” Platform Papers, May 2024

  • “Regulating online food delivery platforms” The Regulatory Review, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, April 2024

  • “Building better platforms” Update Magazine, Wisconsin School of Business, Fall/Winter 2023

  • “Enhancing antitrust analysis of digital platforms” American Bar Association, Summer 2023

  • “Business Implications of Generative AI” GenAI Learning Day at Wisconsin School of Business, September 2023

  • “Digital platforms and the new economy” UW E-Business Consortium, May 2023

  • “New academic research suggests caps on food delivery fees harm consumers” Chamber of Progress, February 2023

  • “Emergence of digital platforms” Faculty Insights Panel with Dean’s External Advisory Board and Wisconsin Business Alumni Board, October 2022

  • “WSB’s Allen Li shares food delivery platform research” Faculty Insights at Wisconsin School of Business, October 2022

  • “Acquisitions, competition and innovation in digital markets” Digital Markets Competition Forum at Copenhagen Business School, July 2022

  • “Delivery fee caps aren't a life preserver for restaurants, they’re a deadweight” Medium, November 2021

  • “Delivery fee caps benefit major restaurant chains but leave independents to struggle” PYMNTS.com, September 2021

  • “How can we help eateries devastated by the pandemic” Boston College Magazine, Summer 2021

  • “The effect of platform integration on competition and innovation” Charles River Associates, June 2021

  • “DoorDash offers lower-fee service to restaurants” NPR Marketplace, April 2021

  • “Want to help a local restaurant? Do this” Carroll Capital, February 2021

  • “How to win at crowdfunding” Medium, June 2020

  • “How one app’s buyout can boost competitors” Medium, September 2018

Teaching

  • University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin School of Business                    

    • OTM 702 Digital Strategy

      • Full-Time MBA: Spring 2025 | Spring 2024 | Spring 2023

      • Professional MBA: Spring 2025 | Spring 2024

      • Executive MBA: Fall 2025 | Fall 2022

    • GENBUS 760 Data Technology

      • Full-Time MBA: Spring 2024 | Spring 2023

    • OTM 999 Topics in Digital Platforms and Innovation

      • PhD Seminar: Spring 2024

  • Boston College, Carroll School of Management                     

    • ISYS 1021 Digital Technologies: Strategy & Use

      • BBA Core: Fall 2021 | Fall 2020 | Fall 2019 | Spring 2019 | Spring 2018

      • Recognized as a Teaching Star for “earning the most favorable evaluations from their students while also challenging the students intellectually.”

    • ISYS 1021 Computers in Management

      • BBA Core: Spring 2016 | Spring 2017

  • University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business                                 

    • MIS 301 Introduction to IT Management

      • BBA Core: Fall 2012

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