Yongzhi (Alex) Wang
Background
Yongzhi (Alex) is an assistant professor in Strategic Management. His research program consists of two streams of research: competitive strategies in digital platform markets and strategic alliances, with publications in Strategic Management Journal and Journal Management. Alex's research has won multiple awards, such as the Award of Rigor in Research from the Competitive Strategy interest group at the 2020 Strategic Management Society Annual Conference, a 2015-2016 dissertation grant from the Strategy Research Foundation, one of eight finalists of the 2017 INFORMS/Organization Science Best Dissertation Proposal Competition, the Innovation Theme Best Paper at the 2017 Hong Kong Special Conference of the Strategic Management Society, and a 2015 Phi Kappa Phi Student Recognition Award for research from University of Southern California.
Alex teaches Strategic Management as an undergraduate capstone class, Digital Platform Strategy as a second-year MBA (and WPMBA) elective, and Digital Market Strategy of the Integrated Business & Engineering Honors Program, with the following student evaluations: MBA/WPMBA (Max=4.87 on a scale of 5.00, 2025 Academic Year = 4.40), undergraduate (Max = 4.79 on a scale of 5.00, 2025 Academic Year Average = 4.40).
Areas of Expertise
- Competitive Strategies in Digital Platform Markets
- Firm Capabilities
- Strategic Alliances
Teaching
- BUSMHR 7413: Digital Platform Strategy (MBA and WPMBA Elective)
- BUSMHR 4490: Strategic Management (Undergraduate Capstone)
- IBE 3200: Digital Market Strategy (Integrated Business & Engineering Honors Program)
Areas of Expertise
Entrepreneurship
- Entrepreneurship
International
- International Business
Strategy
Education
- Ph.D. in Business Administration (specialize in Strategic Management), University of Southern California
Publications
Yongzhi Wang, Lori Qingyuan Yue, Nandini Rajagopalan, and Brian Wu. (2024). "The entry‐deterring effects of synergies in complementor acquisitions: Evidence from Apple's digital platform market, the iOS app store". Strategic Management Journal.
Yongzhi Wang and Nandini Rajagopalan. 2015. "Alliance Capabilities: Review and Research Agenda." Journal of Management, 41(1): 236-260.
Courses
- BUSMHR 7413 - Advanced Strategic Analysis
- Course objective is to analyze a firm's competitive situation and related strategies to create competitive advantage in a more realistic setting than is possible using the traditional case method. Theoretical frameworks learned in the core strategy course among others are applied to firms using real-time data from multiple public sources in order to create well-grounded insights about a firm.
- BUSMHR 3240H - Principles of Management in Digital Markets
- The course explores core business concepts and sharpens decision-making in digital environments. It examines how platforms (e.g., iOS vs. Android) and algorithms (AI/ML/DL) transform value creation. Students learn to assess resource allocation, platform dynamics, and algorithmic tradeoffs in tech-driven environments. Prereq: Honors standing; and enrollment in the Integrated Business and Engineering (IBE) program; or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 3200 or 3200H.