Boya Xu

Welcome! 

I am a Ph.D. candidate at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. I will join Virginia Tech as an Assistant Professor in Marketing. 

I couple machine learning with online experimentation and causal inference to study innovation, social media, and digital platforms. My research explores the influential factors shaping the new content generation on social media, examines the causal effects of social media publicity on local entrepreneurs' adoption of new technology, and develops recommendation algorithms to distribute new products at scale in a two-sided market. In summary, my research aims to inform and optimize platform stakeholders’ marketing strategies by considering the innovation dynamics including generation, adoption, and distribution. 

Prior to joining the doctoral program, I received my BS in Statistics from Zhejiang University and my MA in Economics from Duke University. 

Outside of work, I enjoy hiking, playing table tennis and squash, and exploring architecture.