Jie Wu · Chair Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship
University of Aberdeen Business School
What happens to competitive advantage when strategy is delegated to learning machines?
A published exchange "Algorithmic Status Inequality," a Point article in the Journal of Management Studies (2026), answered by Counterpoints from David J. Teece and from María del Carmen Triana and Arun Upadhyay. All three are open access. Read the exchange
Professor Jie Wu's research examines how artificial intelligence is reshaping the foundations of competitive advantage in digital business, and what happens inside organisations when algorithms begin to evaluate people as well as decisions. It asks when the capabilities a firm spent decades building turn into liabilities, and who is left able to judge.
He has published more than eighty articles in leading academic journals, including the Strategic Management Journal, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management Studies, and Research Policy among the Financial Times Top 50 and UTD Top 24. His work has been featured in Harvard Business Review and Forbes.
- AI, work and organisation How algorithmic systems evaluate people and distribute standing at work; human and machine collaboration in managerial judgement; the governance, transparency and accountability of systems that firms do not own.
- Strategy and capabilities under AI Dynamic capabilities when the inferential step is delegated to machines; how capabilities built over decades become liabilities once machine performance overtakes deep human expertise; the microfoundations of capability evaluation and exit.
- Technology entrepreneurship and digital business Platforms, ecosystems and data network effects; born-digital firms and the economics of digital scale; entrepreneurship and innovation in technology-intensive industries.
Selected work appears in the Journal of Management Studies (FT50, ABS 4*), Strategic Management Journal (FT50, ABS 4*, UTD24) and the Journal of International Business Studies (FT50, ABS 4*, UTD24). Named on Stanford University's list of the world's top 2% most-cited scientists for six consecutive years. Editorial Review Boards: Journal of International Business Studies, Organization Studies, and Business & Society. Area Editor, Technovation (Impact Factor 12.0; CiteScore 23.4).
Wu, J. (2026). Algorithmic status inequality: An integrative perspective on AI-driven social stratification. Journal of Management Studies. solo-authored · doi.org/10.1111/joms.70134
A Point in a three-article exchange with Counterpoints by David J. Teece and by María del Carmen Triana and Arun Upadhyay. Read the exchange.
Wu, J., Richard, O. C., Triana, M. d. C., & Yu, L. (2025). The impact of CEO successions involving a change of gender on strategic change: The moderating role of environmental factors. Journal of Management Studies, 62(1), 173–213. doi.org/10.1111/joms.13042
Shenkar, O., Tallman, S. B., Wang, H., & Wu, J. (2022). National culture and international business: A path forward. Journal of International Business Studies, 53(3), 516–533. doi.org/10.1057/s41267-020-00365-3
Wu, J., Richard, O. C., Triana, M. d. C., & Zhang, X. (2022). The performance impact of gender diversity in the top management team and board of directors: A multiteam systems approach. Human Resource Management, 61(2), 157–180. doi.org/10.1002/hrm.22086
Kim, H., Wu, J., Schuler, D. A., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2020). Chinese multinationals’ fast internationalization: Financial performance advantage in one region, disadvantage in another. Journal of International Business Studies, 51(7), 1076–1106.
Richard, O. C., Wu, J., Markoczy, L. A., & Chung, Y. (2019). Top management team demographic-faultline strength and strategic change: What role does environmental dynamism play? Strategic Management Journal, 40(6), 987–1009.
Wu, J., Si, S., & Wu, X. (2016). Entrepreneurial finance and innovation: Informal debt as an empirical case. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 10(3), 257–273.
Wu, J. (2012). Technological collaboration in product innovation: The role of market competition and sectoral technological intensity. Research Policy, 41(2), 489–496. solo-authored · doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2011.09.001
- Area Editor, Technovation
- Associate Editor, Asian Business & Management
- Editorial Review Boards: Journal of International Business Studies, Organization Studies, and Business & Society
- Guest editor of special issues for Management International Review, Transportation Research Part E, and European Management Journal
- Open call: The International Journal of Human Resource Management, special issue "Addressing Ultra-Low Fertility and Workforce Shrinkage: A Human-Centered HRM Response to the Demographic Crisis." Manuscript deadline 30 November 2026. Editors: Ingyu Oh, Jie Wu, Ho-Kwong Kwan, and Hyun-Jeong Kim. Call for papers
- Fellow, British Academy of Management Peer Review College
- Current roles. Director of Postgraduate Research at the University of Aberdeen Business School, leading a doctoral programme of around sixty candidates; Co-Director, Africa-Asia Centre for Sustainability.
- Visiting positions. Stanford University (visiting scholar under the guidance of Professor James G. March); Columbia University Business School; Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
- Teaching across institutions. University of Leeds, National University of Singapore, University of Auckland, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, and University of Macau, among others.
- Education and career. PhD, National University of Singapore. His academic career spans Singapore, New Zealand, Macau, and the United Kingdom.
I collaborate with externally funded postdocs, PhD students, early-career scholars, visiting scholars, and entrepreneurs to produce rigorous publications and high-value proposals. Visits are flexible: short (2–8 weeks), medium (3–12 months), or long (1–3 years). No internal funding is available; this invitation is for candidates who bring their own funding or projects.
What I provide: publication strategy and hands-on paper development; research design, methods, and compliance support (ethics, data, visa); introductions to UK research and innovation networks; and local guidance on Scotland and university navigation.
As PGR Director, I lead the School's doctoral programme and welcome enquiries from prospective PhD candidates in strategy, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
To start Email jie.wu@abdn.ac.uk with a 1–2 page CV, a short summary of your research or venture idea, your funding status, and your preferred timeline.
- Strategic Research Frontiers Workshop series, Aberdeen: founder, organiser, and chair, with keynotes by Jay Barney (2024), Dovev Lavie (2024), and Richard Whittington (2025), and paper-development sessions with leading journal editors.
- Academy of Management 2026, Philadelphia: discussant, Professional Development Workshop on leadership development in African contexts.
- Scottish Ethnic Minority Talent Summit & Festival: Academic Host and Chair, 2026 Aberdeen Edition; Judge, 2025 Edinburgh Edition.
- Society for the Advancement of Management Studies (SAMS): keynote speaker, knowledge-exchange seminar "Crafting Interesting Papers for Technovation" (2024).
jie.wu@abdn.ac.uk
MacRobert 802, King's College, University of Aberdeen
Aberdeen AB24 5UA, United Kingdom