Yang Xu, Ph.D.
Management, Associate Professor
Department of Management

Education
- Online Teaching Certificate, Penn State World Campus, April 2016
- Doctorate of Philosophy in Business, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S., July 2006
- Master of Business Administration, China Europe International Business School, Shanghai, China, 2000
- Bachelor of Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China, 1995
Courses Taught
- Strategic Management
- Contemporary Skills for Business Professionals
- Leadership, Organizational Development and Change
- International Business Operations
Selected Publications and Presentations
- Xu, Y. and Hickey, A. W. In-Press. Cadet Mentoring Program: Best Practices for Success, Military Psychology
- Xu, Y. In-Press. Multicultural Experiences and Creative Team Performance: An Empirical Study of Global Virtual Teams. Proceedings of the Academy of International Business U.S. Northeast Chapter 2021 Annual Conference
- Xu, Y. In-Press. The Effect of Fringe Benefit Offerings on Early-Stage External Financing. Proceedings of the Southern Management Association 2021 Conference
- Xu, Y. and Flambard, V. 2021. Introducing Multicultural Experiences through Virtual Partnerships, Journal of Education for Business
- Xu, Y. and Flambard, V. 2021. Developing Cultural Intelligence through Experiential Digital Global Engagement (EDGE) Exercises, Journal of International Business Education 16.
- Xu, Y. 2021. Harnessing Curriculum Mapping to Inspire Learning: A Step-by-Step Guide, Management and Organizational Behavior Teaching Society 2021 Conference Proceedings
- Xu, Y. 2020. An Experiential Digital Global Engagement (EDGE) Exercise, Management and Organizational Behavior Teaching Society 2020 Conference Proceedings
- Xu, Y. 2019. The Moderating Effect of Founding Assets on the Founders’ Human Capital – New Venture Growth Relationship. New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, Volume 22(2), 126-142.
- Yi, X. and Xu, Y. 2019. Founding Conditions and Benefit Offerings: Evidence from US Startups, Personnel Review, Volume 48 (1), 141-162
- Xu, Y. 2018. Entrepreneurial Human Capital, Benefit Offerings and Early-Stage External Financing. Proceedings of the 2018 International Council for Small Business World Congress, Taipei, Taiwan (received the best paper award)
- Xu, Y. 2018. The Mediating Role of HR Practices in the Relationship between Founders’ Human Capital and a Startup’s Early-stage External Financing. Proceedings of the 2018 International Council for Small Business World Congress, Taipei, Taiwan
- Xu, Y. 2018. Entrepreneurial Cognitive Structure, Social Capital and New Venture Innovation: A Study of Chinese Entrepreneurs. Proceedings of the 2018 International Council for Small Business World Congress, Taipei, Taiwan
- Xu, Y. 2017. The Role of Founding Conditions in New Firm Growth: An Empirical Study of U.S. Startups. Proceedings of the 2017 Eastern Academy of Management Conference, Eastern Academy of Management, Baltimore, MD
- Xu, Y. 2016. Gender Differences in Founders’ Social Network Development. International Journal of Management Theory and Practices, Volume 17 (1), 56 – 72.
- Xu, Y. 2016. Entrepreneurial social capital, cognitive orientation and new venture innovation. Management Research Review, Volume 39 (5), 498 – 520.
- Xu, Y. 2016. Do female entrepreneurs network and think differently? Proceedings of the 2016 Eastern Academy of Management Annual Conference, Eastern Academy of Management, New Haven, CT. (nominated for the Outstanding Paper Award)
- Xu, Y. 2015. Gender Differences in Entrepreneurial Social Network Development and Cognitive Orientation. Proceedings of the 2015 Academy of Management Annual Conference, Academy of Management, Vancouver, Canada.
- Xu, Y. 2014. The Role of the Founder’s Social Ties and Knowledge Structure in SMEs’ Radical Product Innovation. Proceedings of the 2014 Academy of Management Annual Conference, Academy of Management, Philadelphia, PA.
- Xu, Y. 2011. Gender Influences on Mental Models of Firm Strategies. Gender in Management: An International Journal, Volume 26 (7), 513-528.
- Xu, Y. 2011. Entrepreneurial Social Capital and Cognitive Model of Innovation. Management Research Review, Volume 34 (8), 910-926.
- Xu, Y. & Yang, Y. 2010. Student learning in business simulation: an empirical investigation. Journal of Education for Business, 85 (4), 223-228.
- Xu, Y. 2008. How Important are Entrepreneurial Social Capital and Knowledge Structure in New Venture Innovation? Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research 2008, Babson College, MA.
Sponsored Research and Research Grants
- U.S. Coast Guard Academy Loy Institute for Leadership Faculty Fellow (2019 – 2021)
- Sponsored Research, Kauffman Foundation, $5,200 each year (October 2010 – September 2020)
- Research Development Grant, Penn State (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
Honors and Awards
- U.S. Coast Guard Academy Center for Advanced Studies (CAS) 2020 Research Fellowship
- Winner of the best paper award at 2018 International Council for Small Business World Congress
- Winner of the 2009 Campus Award for Excellence in Teaching, Penn State University (New Kensington Campus)
Professional Affiliations
- Academy of Management (AOM)
- Academy of International Business (AIB)
- American Economic Association (AEA)
- Eastern Academy of Management (EAM)
- Southern Management Association (SMA)
- Management & Organizational Behavior Teaching Society (MOBTS)