Investor Behavior | Strategy
In emerging markets, pricing — not reputation — drives the partnership between underwriter and IPO.
Yan Anthea Zhang
Fayez Sarofim Vanguard Professor of Management – Strategic Management
Dr. Yan “Anthea” Zhang is a professor and the Fayez Sarofim Vanguard Chair of Strategic Management. She was president of Strategic Management Society (SMS) during January 2023-December 2024 and is the immediate past president of SMS during January 2025-December 2026. Prior to being elected president of SMS in 2021, Zhang had served on the board of SMS for six years. She has also served on the board of directors of the International Corporate Governance Society (ICGS) for three years. She is an elected Fellow of Strategic Management Society (SMS) and Academy of International Business (AIB). She has served as an associate editor of Academy of Management Journal and Strategic Management Journal, and a consulting editor of Management and Organization Review. She is an area editor of Journal of International Business Studies.
Zhang joined Rice University in 2001. Her research focuses on CEO succession and corporate governance of public-listed companies and family firms, foreign direct investments, technological entrepreneurship, and energy transition. She has published extensively on these topics in leading academic journals, such as Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, and Journal of International Business Studies, among others. Her research has been cited in top business media outlets such as Harvard Business Review, Economist, Business Week, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, and Financial Times, among others. She has published a co-authored book on managerial succession in family-owned businesses. She was the recipient of Strategic Management Society Emerging Scholar Award in 2010.
Zhang received her Ph.D. degree in business administration from the University of Southern California (USC), Master of Philosophy degree in international business from City University of Hong Kong, and BA and MA degrees in economics from Nanjing University, China. She received the Distinguished Alumni Award from College of Business, City University of Hong Kong in 2019.
HEAR FROM PROFESSOR ZHANG ON OWL HAVE YOU KNOW
To Become a CEO, You Need To Take Risks
Zhang shares what her research reveals about the leap from functional roles to the C-suite, why taking risks is non-negotiable for career advancement, and how Rice Business Executive Education’s Executive Leadership for Women program is giving women the tools and community to rise..
Rice Business Wisdom
Strategy | Strategy
When a VC firm can’t watch a startup closely it’s more likely to change unseasoned leadership.
Strategy | Strategy
Research shows that CEOs with distinctive first names are more likely to chart distinctive business strategies.
Corporate Investment | Strategy
The very traits that make global growth possible — size, age and ownership — can also make cultural distance harder to overcome.
Risk Management | Strategy
Emphasizing R&D tends to raise idiosyncratic risk more than emphasizing branding and marketing, especially when demand is volatile.
Leadership | Strategy
Why hiring women for jobs left by abusive men gets everyone back on track.
Foreign Markets | Strategy
What’s learned, and what’s lost, when foreign investors enter a market?
Investing | Strategy
To build long-term value, keep customers — and employees — satisfied.
Emerging Markets | Strategy
In emerging markets, locals with experiences abroad can bring distinct advantages to business at home.
Acquisitions | Strategy
Death of an independent director dampens acquisition fervor for CEOs left behind.
Global Business | Strategy
State-owned enterprises need to closely analyze potential overseas investments.
Leadership Succession | Strategy
Company performance and a female CEO’s job survival can suffer if her predecessor was male.