Curriculum vitaeZhongyuan Sun
Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study, Hitotsubashi University
2-1 Naka, Kunitachi, Tokyo, Japan
a253135r@r.hit-u.ac.jp
| zhongyuan0.github.io
Academic appointment
- Specially Appointed Assistant ProfessorHitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo Aug 2025 – present
Education
- PhD in ManagementCity University of Hong Kong 2021 – 2026
- MA in FinanceBeijing Foreign Studies University 2017 – 2019
- BA in EconomicsWuhan University 2013 – 2017
Research interests
Business and society; social issues in management; responsible management; organization theory; entrepreneurship; social evaluation (e.g., authenticity, legitimacy); aesthetics; creative industries; large language models for business.
Publications
Peer-reviewed journal articles
- Clark-Hamel, S., Bischoff, L., & Sun, Z. (2026). Bittersweet Symphony: A music theory approach to stakeholder dissonance and value creation. Journal of Management. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/01492063261469450 Best Paper Award, Social Issues in Management, 85th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management.
- Sun, Z., Ren, Y., & Li, Y. (2026). The intellectual legacy of Erving Goffman in management studies: A citation context analysis. Journal of Management History, 32(2), 310–328. doi:10.1108/JMH-04-2024-0059
- Shen, H., Sun, Z., & Li, S. X. (2025). Optimal or detrimental? Distinctiveness in high risk aversion contexts. Journal of Business Research, 200, 115613. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115613
Book chapter
- Sun, Z. (2025). The future of organisational authenticity in the age of artificial intelligence. In M. Moussa & A. McMurray (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of breakthrough technologies in contemporary organisations (pp. 81–91). Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1007/978-981-96-2516-1_7
Book reviews
- Sun, Z. (in press). Review of Japan’s anime revolution! Twenty animated films that changed the world, by Jonathan Clements. Journal of Cultural Economy.
- Sun, Z. (2026). Review of Democratizing luxury: Name brands, advertising, and consumption in modern Japan, by Annika A. Culver. Business History. Advance online publication. doi:10.1080/00076791.2026.2700123
Papers under review
- Sun, Z., Ren, Y., & Wang, K. Outsiders, innovation framing and audience evaluation. Revise and resubmit at Research Policy.
- Ren, Y., & Sun, Z. The ethics of pet influencers. Under review at Journal of Business Ethics.
- Wang, K., Zhang, P., Sun, Z., & Sheng, S. CEO regulatory focus and product recalls. Revise and resubmit at the Journal of Operations Management.
- Wang, K., Zhang, H., Zhang, P., & Sun, Z. Executives’ military background and pay gaps within firms. Under review at Journal of Business Research.
Work in progress
- Sun, Z., Ren, Y., & Karube, M. Authenticity and audience evaluation.
- Sun, Z., & Ren, Y. Aesthetic and analytical judgment in strategy.
- Sun, Z., & Ren, Y. Radical innovation in creative industries.
- Sun, Z., & Ren, Y. Hope among unemployed youth in China.
- Sun, Z., & Ren, Y. Blind entrepreneurs in China.
- Sun, Z., Ren, Y., & Sgourev, S. Aesthetic philosophy and organizational identity.
Honors, awards and grants
- Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI), Early-Career Scientists, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science; principal investigator (JPY 4,550,000) 2026 – 2029
- Above and Beyond the Call of Duty (ABCD) Reviewer Award, OMT Division, Academy of Management 2026
- Best Paper Award, Social Issues in Management, 85th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management 2025
- Best Paper Award, 6th China Marketing Strategy Forum 2025
- Management History Division Travel Grant, Academy of Management (USD 575) 2025
- Conference Grant, City University of Hong Kong (HKD 10,000) 2023
- PhD Fellowship, College of Business, City University of Hong Kong 2021 – 2024
- Master Students Academic Excellence Scholarship, Beijing Foreign Studies University (CNY 50,000) 2019
- BFSU Excellence Scholarship, Beijing Foreign Studies University (CNY 20,000) 2019
- Outstanding Graduate of Beijing Ordinary Colleges and Universities 2019
- Excellence Scholarship, Wuhan University 2016
Conference presentations and invited talks
- 32nd Annual Conference, Japan Academy of International Business Studies, KyotoOct 2025
- 63rd Annual Conference, Academic Association for Organizational Science, TokyoSep 2025
- 85th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, CopenhagenJul 2025
- 41st European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS) Colloquium, AthensJul 2025
- 11th IACMR Biennial Conference, Xi’anJun 2025
- Annual Meeting of the Society for Business Ethics, Chicago (presented by co-author)Aug 2024
- ACEDE Congress, Valencia (presented by co-author)Jun 2024
- School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University (virtual)Dec 2023
- 83rd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, BostonAug 2023
- 39th European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS) Colloquium, CagliariJul 2023
- Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image Conference, WilmingtonMay 2023
- Sixth International Cultural Administration Conference, BeijingJul 2018
Teaching
Instructor
- Strategic Management (undergraduate)City University of Hong KongFall 2024
- International Business (undergraduate)Beijing Foreign Studies UniversitySpring and Fall 2018
Guest lecture
- Advanced Research Methods (graduate)Hitotsubashi UniversitySpring 2026
Teaching assistant
- Strategic Management (undergraduate)City University of Hong KongSpring 2023
- Strategy and Policy (undergraduate)City University of Hong KongSpring and Fall 2022
Professional service
Ad hoc reviewer, journals
Academy of Management Discoveries, Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of International Business Studies, Management and Organization Review, Research Policy
Ad hoc reviewer, conferences
- Academy of Management Annual Meeting (OMT, SIM, TIM and TLC Divisions)2022 – present
- IACMR Biennial Conference2022 – present
- European Academy of Management Annual Conference2025 – present
- Annual Conference of the Society for Business Ethics2025 – present
Roles
- Member, Early Career Reviewer Board, Journal of Knowledge Management2026 – present
- Ambassador, Management History Division, Academy of Management2025 – present
- Research Storyteller, Journal of Business Venturing Insights2025 – present
- Volunteer, Management History Division, 85th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management2025
- Paper session chair, 2025 IACMR Biennial Conference, Xi’an2025
- Coordinator, Brown Bag seminars (five sessions), City University of Hong Kong2022 – 2023
- Student volunteer, Academy of Management OMT YouTube Channel2022 – 2023
Workshops and seminars
- 4th IIR Innovation Research Workshop, Hitotsubashi UniversityAug 2026
- Organization Science PDW, Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityDec 2025
- Research Policy Special Issue PDW, The University of Hong KongDec 2025
- 3rd IIR Innovation Research Workshop, Hitotsubashi UniversityAug 2025
- AOM PDW on the Future of Sociology in Management Scholarship, CopenhagenJul 2025
- Future Directions in Methods for Social Evaluations in Organization Studies PDW, 41st EGOS Colloquium, AthensJul 2025
- Pre-conference PhD Workshop, 41st EGOS Colloquium, AthensJul 2025
- XVII Medici Summer School in Management Studies, HEC, FranceJun 2025
- 2nd Management and Organization Review PDW, Wuhan UniversityDec 2024
- Academy of Management Discoveries Paper Development Workshop (virtual)Nov 2024
- Organization Science Workshop, Singapore Management UniversityNov 2024
- Journal of Business Venturing Insights Bootcamp, City University of Hong KongAug 2024
- Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal Pre-Submission Workshop on “Framing Novelty,” CreteJul 2024
- Journal of Management Studies Publishing Workshop, Yokohama National UniversityMay 2024
- Academy of Management Review Bridge Reviewer Program (virtual)Nov 2023 – Dec 2024
- AOM Organizational Stigma PDW, BostonAug 2023
- Summer School in Stakeholder Theory, Darden School of Business, University of VirginiaJul 2023
- Journal of Management Studies Special Issue Workshop, “Managing Social Evaluation in a Complex and Evolving World” (virtual)Feb 2023
- Brown Bag Seminar, City University of Hong KongDec 2022
Professional affiliations
- Academy of Management (AOM)
- European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS)
- International Association for Chinese Management Research (IACMR)
- Academic Association for Organizational Science (AAOS)
Skills and languages
- Stata, Python, R
- Chinese (native), English (fluent), Japanese (basic)