Contact Dr Zimu Xu
Background
Dr Zimu Xu is a lecturer in Entrepreneurship at the Bettany Centre for Entrepreneurship. Prior to which, having completed her PhD on ‘Critical analysis of business growth in the UK digital gaming industry’, Zimu worked as lecturer in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, and later lecturer in Business Analytics at Coventry University. Before that, Zimu studied the MSc Innovation and Entrepreneurship degree at the University of Warwick after completing the BSc in Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics.
Zimu’s research interests and passion lie within entrepreneurship and technology. Prior to joining the teaching team at Coventry, she had worked in the research team for a number of years and participated in a range of research projects at the International Centre for Transformational Entrepreneurship. Selected project topics includes entrepreneurial ecosystems, innovation ecosystems and AI industry in China, digital skills gap in the UK healthcare sector, social enterprise, innovation and entrepreneurship in sports sector. As a result, Zimu has produced a range of publications including international reputable journals, book chapters, reports and conference papers.
Research opportunities
Zimu is interested in supervising and taking part in research projects that align with and/or further develop her current research profile. Some specific interested topics include Entrepreneurial ecosystems, entrepreneurship in technology intensive industry, business growth and entrepreneurship resilience, entrepreneurship and technology in creative industry (e.g. arts sector, digital gaming), entrepreneurship and innovation in sports sector, digital transformation and intrapreneurship. Please get in contact if you are interested in pursing a doctorate in this area.
Publications
Articles In Journals
- Sukumar APC, Jafari-Sadeqhi V, Xu Z & Tomlins R (2022) Young students and desire to social entrepreneurship: The impact of governments role, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 46 (4) 526-554.
- Xu Z, Gonzalez-Serrano MH, Porreca R & Jones P (2021) Innovative sports-embedded gambling promotion: A study of spectators’ enjoyment and gambling intention during XFL games, Journal of Business Research, 131 (July) 206-216.
- Xu Z, Sukumar APC, Jafari-Sadeqhi V, Li F & Tomlins R (2021) Local-global design: Entrepreneurial ecosystem approach for digital gaming industry, International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation, 18 (4) 418-438.
- Sukumar A, Jafari-Sadeghi, V & Xu Z (2021) The influences of social media on Chinese start-up stage entrepreneurship, World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development , 17 (5).
- Xu S, Xu Z, Li F & Sukumar A (2021) Re-defining Peer Learning: Role of Student Entrepreneurs in Teaching Entrepreneurship in the UK Higher Education Context, Industry and Higher Education, 35 (4) 306-311.
- Arenal A, Armuña C, Feijoo C, Ramos S, Xu Z & Moreno A (2020) Innovation ecosystems theory revisited: the case of artificial intelligence in China, Telecommunications Policy, 44 (6) Article No. 101960.
- Xu Z & Dobson S. (2019) Challenges of building entrepreneurial ecosystems in peripheral places, Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, 8 (3) 408-430.
Conference Papers
- Xu Z, Maas G, Jones P & Lockyer J (2019) Digital Gaming Industry in Global-Local Crossings: Comparative Study of UK, China and Brazil. In: 42nd Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship conference, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Newcastle, UK, 14-15 November 2019.
- Xu Z (2018) Behind the Game: Survival and Growth of Game Development Businesses. In: 41st Annual Conference of the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Birmingham, 7-8 November 2018.
- Xu Z Entrepreneurship Ecosystems: Policy Support and Comparison with Innovation Ecosystems. In: 40th Annual Conference of the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Belfast, 8-9 November 2017.
Books
- Xu Z (2022) Returnee entrepreneurship in China: the multi-faced story in the travel of location, time and culture. In: Entrepreneurship as practice: Time for more managerial relevance, Singapore: Springer, p. 49-55.
- Sukumar A, Xu Z & Tomlins R. (2020) Chapter 5: Student social enterprise engagement: capturing process, benefits and measuring social value. In: Entrepreneurship Education as a Lifelong Learning, Cham: Springer, p. 77-84.
- Xu Z & Maas G (2019) Chapter 2: Innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems as important building blocks. In: Transformational Entrepreneurial Practices: Global Case Studies, Cham: Palgrave Pivot, p. 15-32.
