Yanze Liang

Yanze Liang is an Assistant Professor in International Management at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. He received his PhD from Alliance Manchester Business School, the University of Manchester. Prior to this, he received his Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees from Cardiff University (UK) and Northeast Forestry University (China) respectively.

Yanze’s research investigates the intersection between international business and strategic management. Specifically, his research interests include firms’ internationalization strategy and post-entry performance, cross-border M&As, and innovation. For his PhD, he prominently focuses on the boundary conditions under which Chinese multinationals can improve their post-acquisition innovation performance of their strategic asset-seeking acquisitions. Among the four chapters of the thesis, he borrows from and combines different theoretical lenses and literature (e.g. technological acquisitions, corporate governance, and emerging MNEs’ internationalization) to address the research question. Beyond the PhD, he is extending his interests to the digitalization of multinationals and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) related factors in explaining the growth of MNEs. His research has been published and recognized in leading journals and conferences in international business, such as Journal of World Business, AIB, EIBA (Best paper nomination), AIB-UKI, and BAM.