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. (2025). Cognitio Emergens: Agency, Dimensions, and Dynamics in Human–AI Knowledge Co-Creation. [Preprint forthcoming on arXiv]
    • Introduces framework comprising three components: Agency Configurations (Directed, Contributory, Partnership), Epistemic Dimensions (capabilities across Discovery, Integration, and Projection axes), and Partnership Dynamics
    • Provides practical guidance for researchers detecting dimensional imbalances, institutional leaders designing governance structures, and policymakers developing nuanced evaluation approaches
    • Draws from autopoiesis theory, social systems theory, and organizational modularity to reconceptualize human-AI scientific collaboration as co-evolutionary

  • Baldwin, C. Y. (Harvard Business School), & Lin, X. (2025). Technological Paradigms, Trajectories, and Revolutions: On Pin Factories and Tailored Suits. [Book chapter in Review]
    • Examined pin factories, tailors, catalogues and platforms as structural paradigms in the apparel industry, building on Giovanni Dosi’s framework of technological trajectories

  • Weiss, T., Rindova, V., Corley, K. G., & Lin, X. (2025). Academy of Management Journal. [2nd round of R&R]
    • Note: Title paraphrased for blind review purposes
    • Developed framework for multi-agent AI system combining human and AI-based coding to enable rigorous qualitative analysis of large corpus of entrepreneurial narratives while maintaining researcher agency

  • Lin, X., & Corley, K. G. (2025). 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, Cohere for AI Research Grant Program, 2024
    • Grant Recipient, Google Cloud Research Credits Program, 2023

  • Corley, K. G., & Lin, X. (2025). Interpretive Orchestration: When Human Intuition meets Machine Intelligence. Strategic Organization. [Manuscript in preparation]
    • Invited contribution for Special Essay Forum on AI in qualitative research

  • Lin, X., Hsieh, Y.-Y., & Autio, E. (2025). Tokens’ Dual Role in DAOs: Enabling Collective Governance and Shaping Outcomes. [Manuscript in preparation]

  • Lin, X., Hsieh, Y.-Y., & Autio, E. 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

  • Puranam, P. (INSEAD), Hsieh, Y.-Y. (Imperial), Shrestha, Y. (University of Lausanne), & Lin, X. (2025). Consensus Formation in DAOs. [Manuscript in preparation]
    • Development of a multi-agent (committee & judge) framework for analyzing unstructured proposal data

  • 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

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