Xiaoxu Zhang
Title
Dr.
Last Name
Zhang
First name
Xiaoxu
Email
xiaoxu.zhang@unisg.ch
Phone
+4171 2247154
8 results
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Item type:Publication, Alike but a world of difference: an analysis of internationalization trajectories of Italy’s and Spain’s largest companies from 2001 to 2022Business leaders and policy makers are increasingly concerned about possible deglobalization characterized by decreasing economic interdependence among nations. Against this backdrop, this study analyzes large companies in two comparable economies to shed light on the question whether and to what extent firms are de-internationalizing and deglobalizing. Based on a sample of the 100 largest firms in Italy and Spain each over the 2001–2022 period and multiple measures of the extent of internationalization and home region orientation, we conclude that on average large Italian and Spanish firms do not rely less on foreign markets for revenue generation. The largest 100 companies in these two countries display distinct internationalization trajectories despite certain cultural and institutional similarities. We identify that although the largest 100 Spanish firms started off with lower average degrees of internationalization, by 2022 they displayed higher levels of internationalization than the average large Italian firm. We also find that Spanish firms have been much more aggressive expanding outside their home region, including to Latin American markets, than their Italian counterparts. Finally, we depict the important and dissimilar role played by the largest 20 companies in Italy and Spain in driving these developments, reflecting the effect of firm size on the degree and scope of corporate internationalization. This paper underscores how an empirical approach at the firm level can serve to better understand the current reconfiguration of MNE international and regional strategies.Type:journal articleJournal:Journal of Industrial and Business Economics - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Flowers That Bloom in March, Do They Flourish in May? Career Paths of Leaders with Elite Education(2025)Does studying in an elite university pave the way for a successful career in the corporate world, all the way to the top? Although conventional wisdom associates elite credentials with strong general social and human capital and hence views those with such credentials as more competitive in the executive and director labor market, little is known about the form in which the education-derived competitive edge plays out and for how long it can sustain in one’s career trajectory. This study addresses these gaps by observing the career progression of a selected sample of directors and executives of Chinese listed firms who made their debut to the upper echelon labor market during the 2004-2022 period. The tracking discerns a significant competitive advantage in market entry in that executives and directors with degrees from elite universities tend to obtain their first top-ranked positions at earlier ages than those without. We also find that firm performance, candidate gender, and the market development level of the city where the firm is located serve as important boundary conditions. However, the study reveals that upon their first appearances, elite education background no longer predicts the speed or extent of further advancement to the pinnacle of corporate hierarchy – namely, the board chair position. These insights advance the understandings in director and executive selection and individual social and human capital.Type:conference paperJournal:Academy of Management Proceedings - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Janus-Faced Factional Divides – Can Independence-Based Faultlines Foster Board Effectiveness Following Corporate Failures?(2025-07-04); ; In this study, we endeavor to reveal the Janus face of boardroom factional faultlines. Contrary to conventional wisdom which stresses the detrimental effects of factional faultlines in creating schisms, distrust, and conflicts among members of work teams, our study shows that when the factional faultlines on the board are configured along the independent vs. non-independent statuses of directors, they are conducive to enhanced board decision making effectiveness in the face of corporate failures through reversing the marginalized positions of independent directors, heightening their motivation to fulfil the monitoring authority, and reducing the likelihood of collusion between independent and non-independent directors. Adopting a quasi-experimental research design with matched samples of listed Chinese firms, this study features how the presence of factional faultlines between independent and non-independent directors shapes boardroom dynamics and subsequent decision making outcomes in the contexts of two distinct types of corporate failures – i.e., competence failures and integrity failures. We find that in the wake of corporate failures, independence-based factional faultlines tend to reduce the level of dissent in board meetings. We also note that the influence of such factional faultlines on the board’s engagement in disciplinary actions and firm’s turnaround is conditional on the nature of the corporate failure. Our findings contribute to advancing the knowledge in board independence, factional faultlines, and leadership in crisis.Type:conference paper - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Opportunity in disguise? Examining career paths of female directors following glass cliff assignments(2024); ; The glass cliff phenomenon, which denotes the greater tendency of women than men to be placed on precarious leadership positions, has attracted considerable scholarly interest since the notion’s inception two decades ago. By framing women-held upper echelon roles in crisis-stricken firms as “cliff”, the glass cliff research hitherto has concentrated on uncovering the downsides – i.e., biases and detrimental career implications embodied in such positions. This paper breaks away from the tradition to explore the potential upsides of glass cliff assignments. Based on a large-scale matched sample of Chinese listed firms over the 2012-2022 period, our analyses reveal that neither is a crisis-stricken firm more likely to engage in preferential selection of women in leadership positions, nor does such a position cause significant damages to a woman leader’s future advancement in the director labor market, manifested as courtesy stigma and/or declined employability. On the contrary, we proffer evidence that a precarious upper echelon position tends to accelerate one’s ascension to the acme of the corporate power pyramid, namely a CEO or board chair role, a tendency which applies to both men and women and robust in different crisis configurations. In addition, our analyses disentangle the crisis effect from the gender effect in glass cliff assignments. That is, the ex-post career implications of a glass cliff appointment are rather derived from the character and competences signaled by one’s leadership experience in crisis rather than the gender of the leader. With these findings, this study contributes to bringing more comprehensive and nuanced understandings of the glass cliff phenomenon and adds to the research on the career progression of female leaders.Type:conference paper - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Opportunity in Disguise? Examining Career Paths of Female Directors Following Glass Cliff AssignmentsThe glass cliff phenomenon, which denotes the greater tendency of women than men to be placed on precarious leadership positions, has attracted huge scholarly interest since the notion’s inception. By framing women-held upper echelons roles as “cliff”, the glass cliff scholarship thus far has concentrated on uncovering how systematic biases towards women extend into higher-end labor markets, manifested as the “think crisis, think female” association in director appointment process and a greater exposure to courtesy stigma in consequence to their affiliation with crisis-stricken firms. This paper adopts a different angle to explore the potential upsides of glass cliff assignments. Based on a large-scale matched sample of Chinese listed firms, our analyses reveal that 1) preferential selection of women to top corporate ranks is not universal but rather contingent on the configurations of crisis situations and that 2) directorships in distressed firms can increase female directors’ future employability in the director labor market. Our findings contribute to the glass cliff literature in two ways. First, we provide more nuanced understandings to the glass cliff phenomenon by clarifying the boundary conditions. Second, by introducing insights from research on ex post settling up in director labor market and on double standards of competence, we locate long-term opportunities embodied in precarious leadership assignments.Type:conference paperJournal:Academy of Management ProceedingsVolume:2024Issue:1 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, The S-Shaped Internationalisation Pattern of UK Multinational Enterprises: An Empirical Investigation 2001–2022(Springer Nature Switzerland, 2025-02-23); ; ; - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Compensation Regulations in Large Banks: Promoting or Preventing the Next Crisis?(2026); ; A series of banking crises in recent years have rekindled the debate across the globe on regulating executive pay and especially on the effects of “excessive” executive compensation. This paper reviews the executive pay regulations currently in place in advanced economies with strong financial sectors. We look at the nature of the regime (regulation or principles), the target group (e.g., the Top Management Team, Material Risk Takers or the entire bank) and variable pay regulations concerning bonus cap, deferrals, and malus or clawback provisions. We find that regulations among major developed economies have neither been completed nor harmonised. Moreover, the literature explicitly studying the effects of executive compensation in banks and financial services on growth, innovation and risks is limited, and there is mixed evidence on the effectiveness of existing regulations. We find that although European countries have enforced stricter regulation, U.S. studies are dominating the literature. We conclude that policymakers are lacking strong empirical foundations to opt for relaxing or increasing executive pay regulation. We discuss the implications and identify research directions to support future policymaking.Type:conference contribution - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, BEYOND MICROFOUNDATIONS: STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP IN MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES(2025); ; ; Sabina Tasheva NielsenType:conference contribution