People
Dr Liang Zhao
Lecturer in Marketing Strategy
![Dr Liang Zhao](/-/media/uol/images/people/profiles/z/zhao-liang.jpg?cx=0&cy=0&cw=200&ch=200&hash=8F91D764A63E0AC03A245C6EB941B5D7)
Profile
Dr Zhao is a Lecturer of Marketing and Strategy at the University of Leicester School of Business. Prior to joining ULSB Dr Zhao was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the School of Business and Law at the University of Agder in Norway. He holds a PhD from Amsterdam Business School University of Amsterdam.
Dr Zhao is a distinguished research fellow of China’s Public Sector Economy Research Centre (CPSERC) and China-Israel Entrepreneurship and Innovation Centre (CIEIC) in China. In addition he is an affiliated senior researcher at the Crowdfunding Research Centre at the University of Agder. He is also a guest speaker for the European Crowdfunding Network (ECN) and a member of the European Centre for Alternative Finance (ECAF).
Research
Dr Zhao’s research interests are digital marketing consumer behaviour and entrepreneurship. Specifically Dr Zhao is an expert in crowdfunding research with a special emphasis on investigating the interactive mechanism of crowdfunding platforms backers and entrepreneurs; backer behaviour; crowdfunding community formation and success factors of crowdfunding campaigns.
Currently as a co-investigator Dr Zhao is working on two ongoing research projects. The first one is a four-year (2020-2024) project funded by the Research Council of Norway (RCN). This project focuses on investigating the application and impact of crowdfunding in the cultural sector (https://crowdcul.org/). The second project is a three-year (2021-2023) research project funded by the National Social Science Foundation (NSSF) of China. This project aims to investigate the innovation ambidexterity of Chinese SMEs.
Publications
- Sun, Z., Zhao, L., Wei, H., Wang, X., & Riemersma, R. R. (2022). Do guanxi and harmonious leadership matter in the sociocultural integration by Chinese multinational enterprises in The Netherlands? International Journal of Emerging Markets.
- Zhao, L., Shneor, R., & Sun, Z. (2022). Skin in the game: Self-funding and reward crowdfunding success. Business Horizons, 65(1), 89-100.
- Sun, Z., Zhao, L., Wang, S., Zhang, H., Wang, X. & Wan, Z. (2021). Targeted poverty alleviation and households' livelihood strategy in a relation-based society: Evidence from Northeast China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.18(4),1747.
- Shneor, R., Zhao, L. & Flaten, B.-T. (Eds.) (2020). Advances in Crowdfunding: Research and Practice. Palgrave MacMillan.
- Zhao, L. & Li, Y. (2020). Crowdfunding in China Turmoil of Global Leadership. Shneor, R., Zhao, L. & Flaten, B-T. (Eds.) Advances in Crowdfunding Research and Practice, 273-296.
- Zhao, L. & Ryu, S. (2020). Reward-based Crowdfunding Research and Practice. Shneor, R., Zhao, L., and Flaten, B-T. (Eds.) Advances in Crowdfunding Research and Practice, 119-143.
- Zhao, L. & Shneor, R. (2020). Donation Crowdfunding-Principles and Donor Behavior. Shneor, R., Zhao, L., and Flatten, B-T. (Eds.) Advances in Crowdfunding Research and Practice, 145-160.
- Shneor, R., Zhao, L. & Flaten, B-T. (2020). Introduction: From Fundamentals to Advances in Crowdfunding Research and Practice. Shneor, R., Zhao, L., and Flaten, B-T. (Eds.) Advances in Crowdfunding Research and Practice, 1-18.
- Shneor, R., Flaten, B-T. & Zhao, L. (2020). The Future of Crowdfunding Research and Practice. Shneor, R., Zhao, L., and Flaten, B-T. (Eds.) Advances in Crowdfunding Research and Practice, 499.
- Zhao, L & Vinig, T. (2019). Guanxi and reward-based crowdfunding success: a Chinese case. Chinese Management Studies,14(2), 455-472.
- Zhao, L & Sun, Z. (2019). Donation-based or reward-based: which crowdfunding model is better for financing social purposes? Baltic Journal of Management,15(2), 237-260.
- Sun, Z & Zhao, L. (2019). Chinese reverse M&As in the Netherlands: Chinese managers' trust-building practices. Chinese Management Studies,14(1), 69-91.
- Sun, Z., Jai, K. & Zhao, L. (2019). Corporate social responsibility and sustainability of local community: A case study of the transnational project in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Sustainability, 11(22), 6456.
- Zhao, L. & Vinig, T. (2017). Hedonic value and crowdfunding project performance: a propensity score matching-based analysis. Review of Behavioral Finance, 9(2), 169-186.
Supervision
I am willing to supervise PhD students who are interested in digital marketing, consumer behaviour and entrepreneurship with an emphasis on crowdfunding-related topics. Some sample topics are listed as follows:
- Consumer behaviour in the context of Crowdfunding/e-business
- Marketing strategies and components in the context of Crowdfunding
- Crowdfunding motives adoption and intentions
- Innovation Growth and Internationalization Strategies of crowdfunding platforms
- Comparative studies of Crowdfunding models
- Factors influencing crowdfunding campaign success and failure
- Social Media role in Crowdfunding
- Cross-cultural and cross-country studies of Crowdfunding practice and motives
- Network composition and relations in Crowdfunding
- Gender issues in crowdfunding
Teaching
MN7012 Research Methods for Marketing (Module Leader)
Press and media
- Crowdfunding
- Consumer Behaviour
- Digital Marketing