Yuping Li (PhD’25)
Faces of Leeds Snapshot
Name: Yuping Li (PhD’25)
Hometown: Fujian Province, China
Leeds Division: Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Operations
Upcoming Position: Assistant Professor in Strategy and Entrepreneurship at Singapore Management University
Leeds Mentors: I am especially thankful to my advisor, Professor Tony Tong. From the earliest stages of my dissertation through to its completion, he has provided unwavering support, insightful feedback and generous mentorship. Our ongoing conversations have shaped how I think about research, academic life and what it means to contribute to a scholarly community. His guidance has been instrumental to my growth as a scholar, and working with him has been a truly formative experience.
I am also sincerely appreciative of the members of my dissertation committee. Professor Janet Bercovitz has been an enduring source of support throughout my PhD studies. Her clarity of thought and insightful feedback greatly enriched this work, and she has been a continual source of inspiration to me—especially in her example as a female scholar.
Professor Mukund Chari helped deepen my appreciation for methodological rigor and precise thinking. I am grateful for the many conversations where he patiently engaged with my ideas and helped refine my presentations.
I am also grateful to Professor Sina Khoshsokhan for his support throughout the dissertation development and the job search process. I have greatly benefited from his generosity in sharing his experiences.
Highlight: I feel incredibly fortunate to have pursued my doctoral studies in such an intellectually stimulating and naturally beautiful environment, nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. I especially enjoyed the sunny weather and breathtaking views—something I’ll miss dearly. Beyond academic growth, I’ve been lucky to build lasting friendships and share this journey with an exceptional group of colleagues. The mentorship and camaraderie I’ve experienced here have been truly special.
Research Inspiration: My research sits at the intersection of open-source innovation, corporate strategy and entrepreneurship. I was drawn to this area by observing how open-source software has become both technologically essential and commercially valuable. Today, nearly 95% of software includes some open-source component. Major commercial transactions underscore its value—for example, IBM’s $34 billion acquisition of Red Hat and Microsoft’s $7.5 billion acquisition of GitHub.
Despite its prominence in practice, academic research on open source remains limited. We still know little about why firms choose to engage with open source, what the consequences are, and how they sustain competitive advantage while doing so. While open source can provide firms with advantages like cost reduction, access to distributed knowledge, talent identification and broader technology diffusion, it also introduces competitive risks by exposing proprietary technologies.
”Beyond academic growth, I’ve been lucky to build lasting friendships and share this journey with an exceptional group of colleagues. The mentorship and camaraderie I’ve experienced here have been truly special.“
Dissertation: “Navigating the Paradox of Openness in Corporate Growth: Evidence from Open-Source Startups”
Summary: Open-source innovation has become increasingly influential in the technological landscape and is gaining significant commercial value. While traditionally viewed as independent of corporate interests, recent years have witnessed a substantial increase in the participation of commercial firms, particularly digital startups, in open-source development. Globally, open source has catalyzed entrepreneurial growth by allowing startups to build on existing technologies and tap into decentralized talent pools. However, the open-source nature of startups’ technology also presents challenges to their ability to capture value. My dissertation investigates the strategic implications of digital startups leveraging open source for growth and examines how they navigate this paradox of openness during key strategic events, such as competing with industry incumbents and reaching corporate milestones like initial public offerings (IPOs) and mergers and acquisitions (M&As).
Why is this research impactful?
This research advances our understanding of how firms navigate the complex trade-offs of openness in innovation ecosystems. It offers novel insights into how startups can strategically engage with open source to drive growth, maintain competitive advantage and maximize value capture. As open source continues to shape the future of technology and entrepreneurship, these findings hold both theoretical and practical significance for scholars, entrepreneurs and corporate strategists alike.