Dr Li's primary research focus lies in the interdisciplinary and overlapped domain of strategic management and international business as well as entrepreneurship and innovation, around one central theme, i.e., building geocentric(East-meeting-West) theories by two approaches: (1) a balance between the historical trajectories of the West and the East with the former as the first-movers and the latter as the latecomers (especially the trajectory of emerging multinational firms to catch up and leapfrog by engaging in international strategic entrepreneurship), and (2) a balance between the cultural perspectives of the East and the West(especially the Chinese philosophy of wisdomconsisting of the ontology of ‘Tao” in terms of “Heaven (Objective)-Human (Subjective) Harmony” and “Being-Becoming Interface”; the epistemology of Yin-Yang Balancing in terms of holistic, dynamic, and duality-rooted interaction between opposite forces; the methodology of “Wu” in terms of intuitive imagination for insight by metaphor as the most valuable for creative cognition). The two indigenous approaches are represented by two core programs: (1) the modern practices of Chinese firms as the emerging players in both domestic and global contexts, and (2) the traditional perspectives of Chinese philosophy of wisdom with its unique geocentric (East-meeting-West) implications for both local and global management issues. In particular, an effective theory-practice balance is the ultimate goal.

Dr Li’s professional vision is to become a global thought leader in the above two programs.                 

Past: His previous focus was mostly on the traditional issues related to international business in general and emerging multinational firms in particular

Present & Future: His present and future focus is and will be mostly on the emerging issues of entrepreneurship and innovation in the special contexts of international business and digital transformation toward a new global ecosystem

As Li Dak Sum Chair Professor of International Business, Dr Peter Ping Li is also part-time Research Director for the Greater China Region of US-based Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), and part-time Professor of Chinese Business Studies at Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. Further, he is former Professor of International Business at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, China, and retired Professor of Management at California State University.

His primary research focus is on building geocentric (West-meeting-East) theories from the cultural and historical perspectives, especially applying the Chinese philosophy of wisdom to the development of holistic, dynamic and duality theories. He has been widely recognized as one of the global thought leaders in two fastest emerging research streams: (1) multinational firms from the emerging economies, and (2) indigenous research on the Chinese management. He has published over 76 articles in various academic journals (56 in English journals and 20 in Chinese journals), 18 book chapters in English, and 5 books (2 in English and 3 in Chinese). In addition, he has also published over 34 articles in practice-oriented Chinese journals. He has been serving on the editorial boards of several major English journals, i.e., Academy of Management Discovery, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of International Management, Global Strategy Journal, and Cross-Cultural & Strategic Management. He is also the founding Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Trust Research and the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Management and Organization Review as well as the former Senior Editor of Asia Pacific Journal of Management. Finally, he is on the extended senior team of Gao Feng Advisory in the Greater China region, on the advisory team of AMT Consultancy in China, and the senior academic advisor for Drucker Academy in Hong Kong.

Administrative Roles

Dr Li has some academic leadership experience, including being a group leader for the AACSB accreditation, being a group leader in academic committees, organizing academic conferences, chairing conference sessions, and serving as an editor for major academic journals.

In particular, in recent years Dr Li has been working hard to reach out to the business communities both in China and abroad (in the context of “Belt and Road Initiative”) to engage more in applied or practical research and consulting, especially in the areas of cross-border M&A and smart manufacturing.

Peter Ping Li has taught a wide range of degree programs, including undergraduate, master/MBA, EMBA/Executive Education, and doctoral programs at various universities in Asia (Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and China), Europe (Denmark and Germany) and the US. He has also served as supervisors for both master and Ph.D. students.

• Related teaching areas:
• Management and Organization Theories for PhD Students
• Research Methodology for PhD Students                  
• Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Multinational Firms
• Multinational/International Management
• Inter-cultural Trust
• Strategic Alliance Management
• Chinese Traditional Philosophies for Modern Management
• Strategic Management
• Business Leadership
• Doing Business in China