Xule

Xule

PhD student

CV

Xule Lin 林徐乐

Imperial College London South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK

xule.lin@imperial.ac.uk | linxule.com

Education

  • Imperial College Business School, Imperial College London, 2019 – 2025 (Expected)
    • Doctor of Philosophy, Management and Entrepreneurship
  • University of Chicago, 2018 – 2019
    • Graduate Student At-Large
  • University of Notre Dame, 2011 – 2016
    • MSc in Accountancy
    • BBA in Accounting

Research Interests

My research examines organizational design and governance, focusing specifically on decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and traditional craft organizations, such as bespoke tailoring houses. I’m particularly interested in how these distinct organizational forms innovate and adapt by integrating human judgment with technological capabilities, especially blockchain and artificial intelligence.

My methodological focus blends qualitative research methods with AI-enhanced inquiry, exploring how intelligent systems shape—and potentially transform—our approaches to theorizing and building knowledge. By actively engaging with academic, industry, and open-source communities, I explore new epistemological boundaries, aiming to develop integrative approaches that enrich both theoretical understanding and practical methodologies in organizational studies.

Work in Progress

  • Lin, X., Hsieh, Y.-Y., & Autio, E. (2024). Tokens’ Dual Role in DAOs: Enabling Collective Governance and Shaping Outcomes. [Manuscript in preparation]
    • Recipient, 2024 Strategic Management Society (SMS) Annual Conference Ph.D. Paper Prize

  • Lin, X., Hsieh, Y.-Y., & Autio, E. (2024). How Do Algorithmic and Social Governance Drive Governance Adaptations in Decentralized Organizations? [Manuscript in preparation]
    • Nominee, 2023 Strategic Management Society (SMS) Annual Conference Research Methods Paper Prize
    • Nominee, 2023 Strategic Management Society (SMS) Annual Conference Ph.D. Paper Prize

  • Lin, X., & Corley, K. G. (2024). Preserving Researcher Agency When Adding AI Tools to a Grounded Theory Study: Introducing Scalable Inductive Grounded NLP Approach (SIGNA). [Manuscript in preparation]
    • Grant Recipient, OpenAI Researcher Access Program, 2024
    • Grant Recipient, Google Cloud Research Credits Program, 2023

  • Epistemic Innovation in Qualitative Research [Conceptual Development Stage]
    • Developing frameworks integrating qualitative epistemologies with AI and agentic systems.
    • Exploring how intelligent systems extend and reshape foundational assumptions in organizational theory and research.

  • Hilbolling, S., Kratochvil, R., Corley, K., Glaser, V., Jung, J., Levina, N., Lin, X., & Smith, A. (2024). AI as a Collaborator for Qualitative Research Scholars? Reflections on Embracing Opportunities While Preserving Its Essence. [Essay in preparation]

  • Consensus Formation in DAOs (Project with Puranam, P., Hsieh, Y.-Y., Shrestha Y.). [Data analysis and additional data collection stage]

  • daogov: A Public Dataset on DAO Community Discussions [Data preparation stage]
    • 78 DAOs, 260K posts, ~40.3 million words
    • Ongoing cleaning and fine-tuned transformer-based labeling using grounded theory approach

  • Crafting Organizations: Creativity, Autonomy, and Authenticity in London’s Bespoke Tailoring Houses [Data collection stage]
    • Employing ethnographic methods and grounded theory approach

  • -
    Baldwin, C. Y. & Lin, X. (2024). Technological Paradigms, Trajectories, and Revolutions: On Pin Factories and Tailored Suits. In A Tribute to Giovanni Dosi. [Book chapter]

Awards and Grants

Organized Symposia

  • “Human & Artificial Intelligence in Organizations (HAIO): Interdisciplinary Impact”
    • Symposium, September 2024, Imperial College London
    • Co-organizers: Kevin Corley (Department of Management and Entrepreneurship), Chris Tucci (Imperial-X), David Shrier (Data Science Institute), Mark Kennedy (Data Science Institute)
    • Presenters & Panelists: Jennifer Ding (Alan Turing Institute), Lujian Ibrahim (Oxford), Winnie Street (Google Research), Kevin R. McKee (Google Deepmind), Aidan Peppin (Cohere for AI), Martin Anthony (LSE), Susan Scott (Imperial)

  • “Humans and Algorithms in Organizations: Navigating the Intersection of Blockchain and AI”
    • Panel Symposium, 2024 Academy of Management Annual Meeting (Chicago, Illinois)
    • Co-chairs: Magnus van Haaren (RSM) & Carlos Santana (NTNU)
    • Panelists: Oliver Baumann (SDU), Robert Wayne Gregory (U-M), Hanna Halaburda (NYU Stern),
      Vivianna Fang He (St. Gallen), and Alex Murray (Oregon)

  • “Web3 Decentralization: Blockchain Technologies’ Impact on Modern Organizational Governance”
    • Panel Symposium, 2023 Academy of Management Annual Meeting (Boston, Massachusetts)
    • Co-chairs: Magnus van Haaren (RSM) & Wenqian Wang (HKBU)
    • Panelists: Ethan Bernstein (HBS), Hanna Halaburda (NYU), Ying-Ying Hsieh (Imperial),
      Alex Murray (Oregon), Joana Pereira (LUBS), and Jean-Philippe Vergne (UCL)

Presentations

  • “Tokens’ Dual Role in DAOs: Enabling Collective Governance and Shaping Outcomes”
    • Strategic Management Society (SMS) Annual Meeting, Istanbul, 2024

  • “Rethinking Organizational Design: Governance of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs)”
    • CCC Doctoral Conference, Olin School of Business, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, 2024

  • “How Do Algorithmic and Social Governance Drive Governance Adaptations in Decentralized Organizations?”
    • SEI Research Day, Imperial College Business School, London, 2023
    • Strategic Management Society (SMS) Annual Meeting, Toronto, 2023
    • University of Edinburgh Business School (UEBS) Paper Development Workshop, Edinburgh, 2023
    • SEI Research Day, Bayes Business School, London, 2022

  • “MakerDAO Demystified: Exploring the Decentralized Nature of a Stablecoin Ecosystem”
    • UK FinTech Academic Network (UKFAN) Annual Conference, London, 2023

  • “Commons and Tokens—Governance Modes in Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs)”
    • Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Online, 2021

Reviewing

  • Ad Hoc Reviewer
    • Strategic Management Society Annual Conference, 2024
    • Data for Policy, “Decoding the Future: Trustworthy Governance with Al?”, London, 2024
    • Academy of Management Annual Meeting, 2021 – Present
    • Academy of Management Discoveries, Special Research Forum (SRF) on “The Human Side of the Future of Work: Understanding the Role People Play in Shaping a Changing World”, 2022

Service

Teaching

  • Management, Strategy, and Innovation in FinTech, Imperial College Business School, 2022-2024
    • Teaching Assistant to Ying-Ying Hsieh
    • Developed a teaching case to help students understand the unique aspects of collectively managing and growing a DAO
    • Case materials available at: https://makerdao.daogov.info/
  • Technology and Innovation Management, Imperial College Business School, 2023-2024
    • Teaching Assistant to Anne ter Wal
  • Strategic Management, Imperial College Business School, 2022-2023
    • Teaching Assistant to Yuri Mishina
  • International Taxation, University of Notre Dame, 2016
    • Teaching Assistant to Ken Milani
  • Partnerships and Passive Activities, University of Notre Dame, 2015
    • Teaching Assistant to Ken Milani

Public Scholarship

Guest Lectures

  • “How will AI Transform Research Process”
    • Research Seminar, King’s Business School, King’s College London, 2024
    • Contributed to discussion on the use of AI in qualitative research and interactive knowledge building
    • Invited by Prof. Phanish Puranam, main seminar speaker

  • “Teaching AI to Lend a Hand: Customizing Large Language Models (LLMs) for Data, Writing & Coding”

  • “Tools For Systematic Reviews: Challenges and Solutions”
    • Systematic Reviews (for MRes students at the PhD program), Imperial College Business School, 2023
    • Discussed challenges, opportunities, and best practices for leveraging AI tools (Research Rabbit, Elicit) and Large Language Models (OpenAI, Llama models) in research
    • Slides available at: https://tinyurl.com/29svdbby

AI Research Platforms and Tools Development

  • Multi-Agent AI Systems for Collaborative Research
    • Developed an application to orchestrate role-based AI discussions using various LLMs, exploring potential for human-AI teaming in complex problem-solving
    • Video demo & Blog post
  • Interactive Literature Discussions

  • LLM-Powered Bots for Academic Research Assistance

Skills

  • Qualitative Research
    • Grounded Theory, Interviews
    • BERTopic, ATLAS.ti

  • Technical Tools & Languages
    • Python, R, TypeScript, STATA, Streamlit
    • AI Frameworks: LangChain, Hugging Face Transformers

Academic & Professional Experience

  • INSEAD
    • Research Assistant to Phanish Puranam, 2024-Present
    • Human-AI Interaction
  • Booth School of Business, University of Chicago
    • Research Assistant to Johan Chu (MIT), 2018 – 2019
  • Ernst & Young, Chicago, IL
    • Staff, 2016 – 2018
  • Café Tatum Break, Xiamen, China
    • Co-founder, Manager, 2013 – 2014

Professional Affiliations

Academy of Management (AOM)
Strategic Management Society (SMS)
Consortium for the Advancement of Research Methods and Analysis (CARMA)
Organizational Design Community (ODC)
London Qualitative Community (LQC)
Decentralization in Organizations (DiO)
Ledgerback Digital Commons Research Cooperative
Metagov (a laboratory for digital governance)
MirrorDAO
RnDAO

Languages

Mandarin Chinese (native)
English (fluent)
English Braille (Grade 1)

References