Guoli Chen

Professor of Strategy
Mubadala Chaired Professor in Corporate Governance and Strategy, INSEAD
PhD, Business Administration, Pennsylvania State University

Areas of Expertise

Strategic Leadership, Corporate Governance, CEO and Top Management Teams, Executive Compensation, Mergers and Acquisitions, Innovation, Corporate Transformation, Global Strategy, Chinese Companies Going Global

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BIO

E-mail: guoli.chen@insead.edu

Professor of Strategy and Mubadala Chaired Professor in Corporate Governance and Strategy, INSEAD

PhD, Business Administration, Pennsylvania State University

Biography

Dr. Guoli Chen is Professor of Strategy and Mubadala Chaired Professor in Corporate Governance and Strategy at INSEAD. He received his Ph.D. in Business Administration from Pennsylvania State University and has been a member of the INSEAD faculty since 2008, becoming a tenured associate professor in 2015 and full professor in 2020.

His research focuses on strategic leadership and corporate governance, examining how CEOs, top management teams, boards of directors, and ownership structures influence corporate decision-making and organizational outcomes. His work also explores mergers and acquisitions, innovation, executive succession, organizational transformation, corporate sustainability, and the globalization strategies of firms.

Professor Chen’s research has been published in leading academic journals including Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, Management Science, Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Management, and Journal of International Business Studies.

He is the co-author of Seeing the Unseen: Behind Chinese Tech Giants’ Global Venturing and a recognized expert on Chinese companies’ international expansion, digital transformation, innovation strategy, and corporate leadership.

Professor Chen currently serves as Senior Editor of Organization Science and Management and Organization Review, and has received numerous research and teaching awards, including the Strategic Management Society Emerging Scholar Award and multiple INSEAD Dean’s Recommendations for Excellence in MBA Teaching.

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ACHIEVEMENTS

Professor Chen has published extensively in premier academic journals including Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, Management Science, Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Management, Journal of International Business Studies, and Research Policy.

He received the Strategic Management Society Emerging Scholar Award, recognizing outstanding early-career contributions to the field of strategic management.

Professor Chen currently serves as Senior Editor of Organization Science and Management and Organization Review, and as Contributing Editor of Strategy Science.

He has received multiple INSEAD Dean’s Recommendations for Excellence in MBA Teaching, reflecting his commitment to educating the next generation of business leaders.

His co-authored book Seeing the Unseen: Behind Chinese Tech Giants’ Global Venturing (Wiley, 2022) has been widely recognized for its insights into Chinese companies’ international expansion strategies.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

1. Chen, G., Huang, R., Mei, S. & Tan, K. (2025). “CEO Initial Contract Duration and Corporate Acquisition.” Organization Science, 36(1), 65-87.

2. Mack, D., Chen, G., Hsu, P., Lee, Y., & George, G. (2025). “Interfaces, Social Information Processing, and Diversity Cascades: How Board Diversity Influences Invention Output.” Research Policy, 54(1).

3. Li, X., Chen, G., & Shen, R. (2024). “Steering the Intangible Wheel: Chief Executive Officer Effect on Corporate Cultural Change.” Organization Science, 35(5), 1770-1794.

4. Chen, G., Dong, J., Hu, J., & Zhang, F. (2024). “Regulatory Institutional Misalignment and Cross-Border Acquisitions: Evidence from an Emerging-Market Country.” Journal of International Business Studies, 55(2), 172-193.

5. Chen, G., Meyer-Doyle, P., & Shi, W. (2021). “Hedge Fund Activists and Human Capital Loss.” Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2328-2354.

6. Chen, G., Chittoor, R., & Vissa, B. (2021). “Does Nepotism Run in the Family? CEO Pay and Pay-Performance Sensitivity in Indian Family Firms.” Strategic Management Journal, 42(7), 1326-1343.

7. Chen, G., Crossland, C., & Huang, S. (2020). “That Could Have Been Me: Director Deaths, CEO Mortality Salience, and Corporate Prosocial Behavior.” Management Science, 66(7).

8. Zhu, D., & Chen, G. (2015). “CEO Narcissism and the Impact of Prior Board Experience on Corporate Strategy.” Administrative Science Quarterly, 60(1), 31-65.