Research

The word cloud of my research

Central to my various projects, I harness approaches that span both micro and macro levels to study the organizational theory of adaptation, with a particular emphasis on organizational learning, design, and culture -- how these strategies and structuring enable organizations to become more adaptive in response to "change" and "stagnation" -- navigating shifting cultural landscapes, responding to technological innovation, and overcoming reinforced inertia? My analytical lens extends across various mechanisms and dynamics -- learning such as cognition and reinforcement; strategic like mergers and acquisitions; and sociological mechanisms jointly from cultural and relational perspectives. I am particularly intrigued by the intricate interplay among these mechanisms and how their interactions give rise to unanticipated yet discernible patterns of behavior.

In my research I use a multi-method approach: computer simulations/game-theoretical models, social network analysis, big data-driven studies (machine learning/NLP), quasi/online experiments, and collaboration with qualitative studies to produce grounded and comprehensive theoretical contributions. 

I show how belief dynamics drive structural dynamics, yielding the community-level incompatibility where residentially segregated communities tend to be more socially cohesive (Bao et al., 2022; Neal et al., 2014).

I possess a foundation in evolutionary biology, which has led me to recognize the parallels between classical models of organizational change and the principles found in evolutionary biology and behavioral ecology. One crucial insight that biology has imparted upon me is the understanding that a group's potential surpasses the mere sum of its individual components. Complex, interdependent dynamics in human organizations that give rise to 'emergent' behaviors are of broad interest to me. I target several substantive areas -- around my key inquiry -- where collective action and emergent processes are prominently exhibited (e.g., networks, norms, knowledge, and adoption). This perspective empowers me to expand the generalizability of my studies on these organizational phenomena, ultimately contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of their fundamental principles.

I employ NLP techniques, such as embedding, topic modeling, and semantic networks, to investigate shifts in categorization and the intersections of knowledge domains.