Dr Rebecca Yu Li
Senior Lecturer in Strategy and Management
- Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Management
- Brunel Business School
Summary
Dr Rebecca Yu Li is a Senior Lecturer in Strategy and Management at Brunel Business School. Her research examines the dark side and responsible governance of innovation, with a particular focus on how firms manage innovation when expected value is uncertain, contested or constrained by regulation. She studies these issues in settings including blockchain adoption, AI-enabled digital transformation, carbon-market and sustainability innovation, social innovation, and cross-border knowledge transfer.
Her work has been published in leading international journals including the Journal of Product Innovation Management, Technovation, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Journal of International Marketing and Journal of Business Research. This body of research contributes to strategy, innovation and international business by explaining how firms learn from innovation failure, govern emerging technologies, and build capabilities for responsible and sustainable value creation.
Rebecca’s research is closely connected to external engagement and research-led education. Through the Made Smarter London programme, she contributes to executive education for manufacturing SME leaders on digital transformation, linking her research on innovation capability, technology adoption and organisational change with the practical challenges of SME digitalisation. She has also led funded research on regional and national institutional support for sustainable innovation among UK SMEs.
Rebecca is a member of the Editorial Board of International Marketing Review, a CABS/AJG 3 and ABDC A-ranked journal. She welcomes invitations for research seminars, doctoral workshops and industry-facing knowledge exchange on responsible innovation governance, emerging technology adoption, carbon-market innovation, innovation failure and capability building.
At Brunel Business School, Rebecca has held strategic leadership roles including Director of Rankings and Director of Recruitment and Admissions for the Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Global Management Department. Before joining Brunel, she was a Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Essex, where she also served as Research Seminar Coordinator.
Qualifications
Higher Education Academy D2 (Fellowship)
PhD. in Marketing,, Durham University 2018
MSc. Marketing and Management, Loughborough University 2013
BSc. Statistics Economics and Finance, University College London 2012
Newest selected publications
Nahar, S., Li, RY. and Moral, I. (2025) 'Blockchain Adoption in Emerging Markets: The Role of Institutional Pressures, Cultural Acceptance, and Resource Slack in Driving Innovation'.Innovation & Product Development Management Conference. Porto, Portugal. [unpublished]
Veiga, J., Sousa, C., Li, RY. and Lopez, V. (2025) 'Exploring the Impact of Breadth and Depth of Open Innovation Sources on Radical Innovation: The Moderating Role of External Management in Product and Process Innovation'.Innovation & Product Development Management Conference. Porto, Portugal. [unpublished]
Ji, Y., Li, R., Yao, N., Tian, K. and Li, RY. (2024) 'How do Regulatory Constraints Impact on Firm Innovation?'.Academy of Management. Chicago, USA. Academy of Management. ISSN: 0065-0668
Li, RY., Sousa, CMP., He, X. and Hu, Y. (2022) 'Spinning straw into gold: Innovation recycling, innovation sourcing modes, and innovation ability in Sub-Saharan Africa'. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 39 (5). pp. 583 - 603. ISSN: 0737-6782 Open Access Link
Li, W., Liu, Z., Xia, S., Yan, J., Xiong, Y., Sakka, G. and et al. (2022) 'How can emerging-market SMEs domestically benefit from their performance in developed countries? Empirical evidence from China'. Journal of Business Research, 142. pp. 200 - 210. ISSN: 0148-2963 Open Access Link