Minyuan Zhao

Minyuan Zhao

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Minyuan Zhao is an Associate Professor of Strategy at the Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis. Minyuan’s research examines the interactions between firm strategy and external environment in a global context. Her work on multinational innovation and intellectual property (IP) strategies has been published in top journals such as Management Science, Strategic Management Journal, and Journal of International Business Studies. She currently serves as Associate Editor of SMJ, Senior Editor of MOR, and on the editorial review boards of other top strategy journals. Prior to joining Olin, Minyuan was on the faculty of Carlson School of Management (Minnesota), Ross School of Business (Michigan), and the Wharton School (UPenn). She was the recipient of multiple teaching awards from the Michigan EMBA program, the NUS-UCLA EMBA program, the Wharton School FT MBA program, and WashU's EMBA programs in both St. Louis and Shanghai. Her pre-academia life includes work experiences in entrepreneurship, think tank, and the automotive industry.

Area of Expertise

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Business/Corporate Strategy, International Business, International Economics

Education

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• Ph D 2004, New York University
• M.Phil. 2001, New York University
• MS 1999, Fudan University
• B.E. 1996, Xi'an Jiaotong University

Awards/Honors

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• Executive MBA Reid Teaching Award - Fudan-Olin (Shanghai), 2025
• Executive MBA Reid Teaching Award - Fudan-Olin (Shanghai), 2024
• Executive MBA Reid Teaching Award - St. Louis, 2024
• Executive MBA Reid Teaching Award - St. Louis, 2022
• Award for Teaching Excellence, Wharton MBA, 2018
• Best Educator Award, UCLA-NUS Executive MBA, 2013
• EMBA Teaching Award, Michigan Ross, 2012
• The Glueck Best Paper Award, BPS Division of the Academy of Management, 2004
• First Place, INFORMS/OrgSci Dissertation Proposal Competition, 2003
• First Prize, Maximum Exposure Business Plan Competition, Stern, New York University, 2001

Selected Publications

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• "Location Choice in Global Patent Litigation: Does the Landscape Matter?", Strategic Management Journal, with Shixiang Wang, Charlie An
• "Light-touch integration: A study on cross-border acquisitions by emerging market multinationals", Strategic Management Journal, with L Tang, 2023
• "IP Litigation Is Local, But Those Who Litigate Are Global", Journal of International Business Policy, Issue 1-2, 53-70, with K. Beukel, 2018
• "Knowledge Sourcing by Multidivisional Firms", Strategic Management Journal, Issue 13, 3326-3354, with P. Garg, 2018
• "Reaching through the Fog: Institutional Environment and Cross-border Giving of Corportae Foundations", Strategic Management Journal, Issue 10, 2666-2690, with A. Hornstein, 2018
• "Location Choices under Strategic Interactions", Strategic Management Journal, Issue 2, 197-215, with J. Alcacer, C. Dezso, 2015
• "Firm Rivalry, Knowledge Accumulation, and MNE Location Choices", Journal of International Business Studies, Issue 5, 504-520, with J. Alcacer, C Dezso, 2013
• "Local R&D Strategies and Multi-location Firms: The Role of Internal Linkages", Management Science, Issue 4, 734-753, with J. Alcacer, 2012
• "Perspectives on China's Outward Foreign Direct Investment", Journal of International Business Studies, Issue 3, 337-350, with Bernard Yeung, Randall Morck, 2008
• "Conducting R&D in Countries with Weak Intellectual Property Rights Protection", Management Science, Issue 7, 1185–99, 2006