Wen Helena Li

Dr. Helena Li is a Senior Lecturer at UTS Business School at the University of Technology Sydney. She received her Ph.D. in 2018 from Zhejiang University, China, and was a visiting scholar at The University of Sydney and The University of Melbourne for one year during her PhD candidature. She has been the subject coordinator for three undergraduate subjects: Introduction to International Business, Transnational Management, and IB Capstone and one MBA class: Global Strategic Management.

Helena Li’s research examines how organizations and leaders navigate an increasingly complex world shaped by (de)globalization, technological disruption, and societal challenges. Her overarching goal is to generate insights that help organizations create both economic and societal value through effective strategy, innovation, and responsible leadership.

Her work sits at the intersection of global strategy, innovation, sustainability, and public policy, with a particular focus on two interconnected themes. First, she investigates how organizations learn, innovate, and adapt in response to changing institutional environments, emerging technologies, and global opportunities. Second, she explores how organizations, governments, and other stakeholders collaborate to address grand societal challenges such as sustainability, environmental protection, and inclusive growth.

A central thread across her research is understanding how external institutions and internal leadership jointly shape organizational decision-making. In particular, she examines how government–organization interactions, public policies, political environments, and leaders’ experiences and capabilities influence strategic choices, innovation outcomes, and broader societal impact.

Her research has been published in leading international journals, including Journal of Management, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Global Strategy Journal, Regional Studies, International Business Review, Journal of International Management, and Asia Pacific Journal of Management.

Research Substream 1: Global Strategy, Innovation, and Technological Change

1. How do organizations create, utilize, protect, and transfer knowledge across borders to drive innovation and growth?
2. How do organizations learn from experience to navigate institutional complexity and operate effectively in diverse international environments?
3. How do leaders shape organizations’ strategic choices, innovation, and adaptation in a rapidly changing global landscape?
4. How do emerging technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and digital platforms) transform organizational capabilities, decision-making, and business models?

Research Substream 2: Sustainability and Social Impact

1. How do organizations respond to grand societal challenges such as climate change and sustainability?
2. How do governments, businesses, and other stakeholders work together (e.g., through private-public partnership) to create sustainable and socially beneficial outcomes?
3. How do leaders influence organizations’ sustainability and broader societal impact?

Helena Li was one of the chief investigators for several research projects on lifting Australian firms’ managerial capabilities funded by the Australian Federal Government. She also worked with the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) and developed a report on ‘Dynamic Capabilities in Australia pre- and post-COVID’. She is the Associate Editor for two journals: Multinational Business Review and Business & Society. She also serves on the editorial reviewing board for Journal of Production Innovation Management, Business & Society, Management and Organization Review, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, and continues to review for prestigious journals in the field of strategy and management, such as Journal of Management Studies, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Business Ethics, Global Strategy Journal, Journal of International Business Policy, and Journal of International Management.