Research Themes

     I work at the intersection of entrepreneurship, strategy, and innovation, studying how firms make investment decisions under uncertainty and how they create and capture value from those decisions, across venture capital, technological innovation, and international investment. Three connected themes organize this work: keeping options open, getting institutions right, and creating value in the age of AI. A common thread runs through my research: how firms invest in, and profit from, innovation under uncertainty.

     Keeping options open. Beyond the classic view that venture capital creates value by closing the information asymmetry between investors and entrepreneurs, my work identifies a distinct mechanism: acting flexibly as uncertainty unfolds, e.g., staging, deferring, scaling up, or withdrawing, to capture the upside of innovative and entrepreneurial opportunities while limiting the downside (e.g., Li, 2008; Li & Li, 2010; Li and Mahoney, 2011; Tong and Li, 2011; Li and Chi, 2013; Zahra et al., 2024;  Li et al., 2025).

     Getting institutions right. Institutions, the formal rules and informal norms that structure economic and social life, exist largely to reduce the uncertainty in exchange. My work shows how informal institutions embedded in human networks (e.g., Iriyama, Li and Madhavan, 2010) interact with formal institutions (i.e., laws and regulations) to shape venture capital and international investment under uncertainty, and affect venture innovation (e.g., Li and Zahra, 2012; Li, Vertinsky, and Li, 2014; Li, Hernandez, and Gwon, 2019; Li, et al., 2023).

     Creating value in the age of AI. My current work extends the same question to artificial intelligence, asking how AI reshapes investment decisions and the way firms create and capture value under uncertainty: how AI agents generate value beyond data network effects, when AI outperforms human experts in evaluating new ventures, and how corporate venture capital builds AI capabilities (work under review at the Strategic Management Journal, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, and Organization Science).

Research Honors

SMS Paper Prize Finalist, 2023

IACMR Best Macro Paper, 2021

Finalist, GSJ Best Paper Prize, 2021

New State of the Art Research, Strategic Management Society, 2020

Lee Professor of Entrepreneurship, 2019-

Dean's Faculty Fellow, 2016-2018

Finalist, Carolyn Dexter Award, Academy of Management, 2010

Finalist, 3rd Israel Strategy Conference Best Paper Award, 2010

Research Grants

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, 2023-2026

Business and International Education grant, UNLV, 2022

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, 2019-2022

Rocky Mountain CIBER Grant, 2021

Summer research grant, SUNY Buffalo, 2007-2018

Scholars in Creativity, Innovation and Research Fund, University of Illinois, 2008-2009

Invited Talks

2024-2025:

Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

University of Michigan

University of Oxford

Bocconi 

Imperial College

University of Pittsburgh

Nanyang Technological University

University of Palermo

Rice University 

2025-2026:

Stanford

University of Colorado Boulder

TCU

University of Hawaii

CEIBS

Kobe University

Kyoto University

2026-2027 (scheduled):

Johns Hopkins University

Journal Publications

• • Dutta, S., Li, Y. & Courtney, C. 2026. Cross-Border Crowdfunding: An Attention-Based View. Journal of International Business Studies.

  • *Nutta, M. M., Rom, P., Bellaviti, C., L, Y. & Perrone, G. 2026. How do within-industry CVC investments shape industry concentration? Research Policy.

  • Li, Y., T. Chi, S. Lan, Q. Wang. 2025. Venture capital exit after venture IPO. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 19(1): 111-144.

  • Qi, J., L. Li, L. Li, & Y. Li. 2025. Management Research on Artificial Intelligence: A Comparative Analysis. Advanced Management Studies. 10(4).

  • *Kim, J., E. Grijalva, D. Newman, and Y. Li. Entrepreneur Weirdness as a Double-Edged Sword. 2024. Personnel Psychology. 77: 53-80.

  • Zahra, S. A., Y. Li, R. Agarwal, J. B. Barney, G. Dushnitsky, M. E. Graebner, P. G. Klein, & S. Sarasvathy, 2024. Developing theoretical insights in entrepreneurship research. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 18(1): 3-20.

  • Li, Y., Li, J., Zhang, P., & Gwon, S. 2023. Stronger together. Strategic Management Journal, 44(4): 1053-1083.

o   IACMR Best Macro Paper, 2021.

• • Li, Y., E. Hernandez and *S. Gwon. 2019. When do ethnic communities affect foreign location choice? Academy of Management Journal. 62 (1), 172-195.

o   New State of the Art Research, Strategic Management Society, 2020.

• • *Liu, Y., Y. Li, X. Hao, and Y. Zhang. 2019. Narcissism and entrepreneurial learning from Failure. Journal of Business Venturing. 34 (3), 496-512.

  • Liu, Z., *Z. Xu, Z. Zhou, and Y. Li. 2019. Buddhist entrepreneurs and new venture performance. Small Business Economics. 52 (3), 713–727.

  • *Courtney, C., Dutta, S., and Li, Y. 2017. Resolving information asymmetry: Signaling and crowdfunding success. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 41(2): 265-290.

o   Highlighted as contributing significantly to the journal’s impact, 2019

• • Li, Y., Vertinsky, I., and Li, J. 2014. National distances, international experience, and VC investment performance. Journal of Business Venturing 29(4): 471-489.

o   Finalist, Carolyn Dexter Award, Academy of Management, 2010

o   Finalist, 3rd Israel Strategy Conference Best Paper Award, 2010

• • Zahra, S., L. R. Newey, and Y. Li. 2014. Implications of Social Entrepreneurship for International Entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. 38(1): 137-158.

  • Li, Y., and T. Chi. 2013. Venture capitalists’ decision to withdraw. Strategic Management Journal 34: 1351-1366.

  • Li, J., Y. Li, and D. Shapiro. 2012. Knowledge seeking and outward FDI of emerging market firms. Global Strategy Journal. 2(4): 277-295. Lead article

  • Li, Y. and S. Zahra. 2012. Formal Institutions, Culture, and Venture Capital Activity. Journal of Business Venturing. 27(1): 95-111.

  • Tong, T. & Y. Li. 2011. Real Options and Investment Mode Decision. Organization Science. 22(3): 659-674.

  • Li, Y. & J. Mahoney. 2011. When Are Venture Capital Projects Initiated? Journal of Business Venturing. 26(2): 239-254.

o   “JBV Field Editors Highlighted High Quality Paper” in Management and Entrepreneurship, 2016

• • Li, J. & Y. Li. 2010. Flexibility versus Commitment in MNEs' Ownership Strategy. Journal of International Business Studies. 41(9): 1550-1571.

  • Iriyama, A., Y. Li, and R. Madhavan. 2010. Spiky Globalization of Venture Capital Investments. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. 4(2): 106-127.

  • Li, Y. 2008. Duration Analysis of Venture Capital Staged Financing. Journal of Business Venturing. 23: 497-512.  

  • Li, Y. and R. Aguilera. 2008. Director Turnover in Acquired Firms: A Multi-Theoretical Approach. Corporate Governance: An International Review. 16(6): 492-503.

  • Li, Y., B. James, R. Madhavan, & J. Mahoney. 2007. Real Options: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead. Advances in Strategic Management, 24: 31-66.

         * former PhD students                            

Other Publications      

• • Qi, J., L. Li, L. Li, & Y. Li. 2025. Management Research on Artificial Intelligence: A Comparative Analysis. Advanced Management Studies. 10(4).

  • Li, Y., and E. Yao. 2019. All ties are not created equal: Institutional equity ties, IPO performance, and market growth of new ventures. In D. Cumming & S. Johan (ed.). Oxford Handbook of IPO. 460-484.

  • Zhao, E. and Y. Li. 2019. Institutions and Entrepreneurship. Quarterly Journal of Management 4 (2), 15-25.

  • Li, Y., S. Zahra and S. Lan. 2017. Heterogeneity in New Venture Formation Rates across Nations.  Entrepreneurial Finance: Managerial and Policy Implications. 1-35.

  • Li, J., Y. Li and A. Rugman. 2012. Real options theory and international investment strategy. In A. Verbeke & H. Merchant (eds.). Edward Elgar Handbook of Research on International Strategic Management. 342-359.

  • Li, Y. 2012. Venture capital staging. In D. Cumming (ed.). Oxford Handbook of Venture Capital. Oxford University Press: 354-372.

Conference Proceedings and Misc.                                

• • Li, Y., Lee, H., Mahoney, J. T., & Trigeorgis, L. (2025). Entrepreneurial Experimentation, Strategic Choices, and Value Creation: A Theoretical Foundation. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2025, No. 1, p. 11753). Valhalla, NY 10595: Academy of Management.

  • Rajshree Agarwal, Jay B. Barney, James Fiet, William B. Gartner, Yong Li, Saras Sarasvathy, Andrew H. Van de Ven and Shaker A. Zahra. 2019. Advancing Theory Development in Entrepreneurship. Academy of Management Proceedings.

  • Gwon, S., Y. Li, J. Li and P. Zhang. 2019. Conational Agglomeration and Location Choice of MNEs. Academy of Management Proceedings.

  • Li, Y. & J. Zhu. 2018. College Dropout Entrepreneurs and New Venture Milestones. Academy of Management Proceedings.

  • Courtney, C., S. Dutta & Y. Li. 2016. Resolving Information Asymmetries: Influence of Media and Crowd Sentiment on Crowdfunding Success. Academy of Management Proceedings.

  • Gary Dushnitsky, Yong Li, Gautam Ahuja, Ashish Arora, Sharon Belenzon and Dean A. Shepherd. 2016. The Pursuit of Innovation. Academy of Management Proceedings.

  • Li, Y., E. Hernandez and S. Gwon. 2015. When do ethnic communities affect foreign location choice? Academy of Management Proceedings.

  • Li, J., Y. Li and D. Shapiro. 2012. Knowledge Seeking and Outward FDI of Chinese MNEs: The Moderating Effect of Inward FDI. Academy of Management Proceedings.

  • Li, Y., J. Li, & I. Vertinsky. 2010. National Institutional Differences and Performance of International Venture Capital Syndicates. Academy of Management Proceedings.

  • Iriyama, A., Y. Li, & R. Madhavan. 2009. Spiky Globalization of Venture Capital Investments. Academy of Management Proceedings