Dr Ye Li

Biography

Ye Li has earned his PhD in Management from Guanghua School of Management, Peking University, in China, during which, he was a Chazen Institute visiting scholar at Columbia Business School at Columbia University in the City of New York for one year. After graduation, he was appointed as an assistant professor (research) in the Department of Business Administration, Business School, Nanjing University, in China. He has worked at Nanjing University for over five years, winning several national grants and teaching awards. He joined the Department of Business Management, University of Aberdeen Business School, in February 2025. Trained in Social Psychology and Organizational Behavior, his research mainly adopts quantitative research methods, including first-hand surveys, lab experiments, field experiments, experience sampling methods, scale developments, second-hand data analysis combined with qualitative research methods, including qualitative interviews, focus group discussion, and case studies, to explore the multilevel antecedents and paradoxical influences of leadership, entrepreneurship, ethics, career management, creativity, and team dynamics across the micro level and macro level in regular and crisis organizational contexts. Interested in interdisciplinary studies, Ye Li is exceptionally proficient in research idea generation and polishment, strives hard, and accumulates abundant experience in Introduction and Discussion writing and storytelling design. He maintains an open mind and welcomes potential collaborators and PhD students from different countries interested in relevant topics in funding application and paper composition.

Prizes and Awards

Peking University Excellent Graduate

Chazen Institute visiting scholar in Columbia Business School, Columbia University.

DuXia Teaching Excellence Award in Nanjing University

Excellent Class Mentorship in Nanjing University

The Introduction Plan of High-level Innovative and Entrepreneurial Talents Award in Jiangsu Province

Research Overview

In terms of academic research, my research interests span four main streams with an integrative approach.

The first line of research focuses on the antecedents and outcomes of multilevel and multiple-position leadership in organizations. This part of the research aims to clarify the antecedents that determine specific leadership styles, as well as the influences and underlying mechanisms of different leadership styles on leaders, subordinates, teams, and organizations in regular and crisis organizational contexts. Specifically, at the level of corporate CEOs and executive team leaders, I focus on the CEO's personality traits, such as narcissism, humility, grit, and perspective taking, as well as growth backgrounds, such as military experience, life-family situation, and upbringing experiences, on CEO-TMT interpersonal interactions and strategic decisions, and then on corporate financial performance, corporate alliances, mergers and acquisitions, corporate innovation, corporate social responsibility, and corporate entrepreneurship.

At the level of middle-level and grass-roots leadership, I focus on the influences of perfectionism, empathy, perspective taking, servant leadership, and leadership ethics on leaders' own work-family behaviors, team performance, team innovation, team turnover, employee performance, employee creativity, and employee work deviance.

My second line of research focuses on the antecedents and outcomes of entrepreneurship. These research projects take a whole-life approach to discussing the life events and upbringing factors that influence potential, nascent, and experienced entrepreneurs' entrepreneurial mindset, intentions, and behaviors. For example, some of my research focuses on the linkages between gender experiences, social media usage, family structure, close relationship fluctuations, and entrepreneurial outcomes, differentiating commercial entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship.

My third line of research focuses on the complexity and dynamics of organizational ethics. I mainly explore the drives and barriers in leaders' and employees' ethical decision-making and various forms of unethical behaviors, work deviant behaviors, and counterproductive behaviors. For example, some of my research projects concentrate on the positive and negative ethical effects of employees' personality, political skill, political will, power, and status on their work attitudes and behaviors in organizational and entrepreneurial contexts.

My fourth line of research focuses on the life-span career development of professionals in different industry contexts. I have a long-lasting interest in individuals' coping, thriving, and growing experiences in career transitions, career shocks, and career events. For example, some of my research projects reveal the influences of gender experiences, personalities, organizational components, and massive social media on personal and collective career crafting, career advancement, and career sustainability.

Funding and Grants

• Principle Investigator.Do good people benefit or do good people suffer? Exploring the positive and negative outcomes of employee perspective taking. National Natural Science Foundation of China Youth Fund (72102104). 2022-2024. RMB300,000 (USD$41,337).

• Principle Investigator.The antecedents, positive and negative influences of servant leadership.  Humanities and Social Sciences of Ministry of Education Youth Fund in China (20YJC630071). 2020-2024. RMB 80,000 (USD$11,023).

• The first co-investigator. The paradoxical influences of workaholic colleagues on the focal employees’ work and interpersonal behaviors. Humanities and Social Sciences of Ministry of Education General Fund in China (23YJA630042). 2023-2026.RMB100,000(USD$ 13,779).

• The first co-investigator. The antecedent configurations and effects of employee ethical voice in Chinese organizational context. Humanities and Social Sciences of Ministry of Education Youth Fund in China (23XJC630013). 2023-2026..RMB 80,000(USD$ 11,023).

• The first co-investigator. The nature and multilevel functioning mechanisms of idiosyncratic deals in Chinese enterprises. National Social Science FoundationFund (17BGL109). 2017-2022. RMB200,000 (USD$ 27,558).

• The first co-investigator. The multilevel influences of entrepreneurial leadership on organizational innovation, team innovation and employee creativity. Humanities and Social Sciences of Ministry of Education Planning Fundin China(17XJA630007). 2017-2024. RMB100,000(USD$13,779).

• Principal investigator. The positive and negative influences of perspective taking in organizational context. Guanghua School of Management Dean Research Fund.2016-2018. RMB30,000 (USD$ 4,133).

• Main investigator. The nature and structure of total reward and its influences on employees’ performance and work well-being. Humanities and Social Sciences of Ministry of Education Planning Fund in China(16YJA630051). 2016-2019. RMB100,000 (USD$13,779).

Non-course Teaching Responsibilities

International Context for Business (English teaching, in Aberdeen SCNU JI Program)

International Leadership Theories (English teaching, in Nanjing University)

Organizational Behavior (English teaching, in Beijing Foreign Studies University)

Principles of Management (English teaching, in Beijing Foreign Studies University)

Management (Bilingual teaching in English and Chinese, in Beijing Foreign Studies University)