Short Bio
Yukun Liu is currently an Associate Professor at the School of Entrepreneurship and Management of ShanghaiTech University. He earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the School of Business Administration at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law and the School of Labor and Human Resources at Renmin University of China, respectively, majoring in Human Resource Management. He later obtained his Ph.D. from the National University of Singapore Business School, specializing in Management and Organizations.
Before joining ShanghaiTech University, Dr. Liu worked at the University of Western Australia (2017–2018), Curtin University (2018–2021), and Zhejiang University (2021–2025), conducting research in the fields of organizational behavior and human resource management. He has taught a variety of courses, including: Management Research Methods (for undergraduate, master's, and Ph.D. students), Leadership Development (for MBA students), Leadership and Effective Communication (for corporate trainees), and Work Design in the Digital Era (for corporate trainees).
Research Interests
Dr. Liu's research interests include work design, employee well-being, positive experiences in the workplace, work-family interface, managerial decision-making, etc. His current research projects include new forms of work in the digital era, work design of human-AI collaboration, sustainable development of humans in future work (e.g., motivation, performance, well-being, learning and development, etc.).
Employment History
08/2025 - present Associate Professor School of Entrepreneurship and Management, ShanghaiTech University
06/2021 - 07/2025 Assistant Professor School of Management, Zhejiang University
07/2018 - 04/2021 Research Fellow Future of Work Institute, Curtin University, Australia
07/2017 - 07/2018 Research Fellow Centre for Transformative Work Design, University of Western Australia
Education Background
08/2012 - 06/2017 Ph.D National University of Singapore
09/2010 - 06/2012 MBA Renmin University of China
09/2006 - 06/2010 BBA Zhongnan University of Economics and Law
Academic Service
Dr. Liu currently serves as an Editorial Review Board member for the journals Personnel Psychology, Human Resource Management, Journal of Organizational Behavior, and Human Relations. Additionally, he acts as an anonymous peer reviewer for several academic journals, including Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Business Research, and Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology.
Scholarly Publications
Liu, Y., Wu, S., Ruan, M., Chen, S., & Xie, X. Y. (May 13, 2025). Research: Gen AI makes people more productive—and less motivated. Harvard Business Review (Online Article). https://hbr.org/2025/05/research-gen-ai-makes-people-more-productive-and-less-motivated
Wu, S., Liu, Y. ^, Ruan, M., Chen, S., & Xie, X. Y. (2025). Human-generative AI collaboration enhances task performance but undermines human’s intrinsic motivation. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 15105. (^ corresponding author)
Ilies, R., Liu, Y. ^, Aw, S., Las Heras, M., & Rofcanin, Y. (2024). Why does using personal strengths at work increase employee engagement, who makes the most out of it, and how? Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 29(2), 113–129. (^ corresponding author)
Wang, B., Liu, Y., Qian, J., & Parker, S. K. (2023). Help anyone, if helped by some: Understanding generalized reciprocity through the lens of interaction ritual chains theory. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 96(4): 970–992.
Wang, B., Liu, Y., Qian, J., & Parker, S. K. (2023). How can people benefit, and who benefits most, from using socialization-oriented social media at work? An affordance perspective. Human Resource Management Journal, 33(4): 1035–1052.
Klonek, F., Zhang, F., Nguyen, H., Johnson, A., Liu, Y., & Parker, S. K. (2023). The role of individual goal orientations in shaping skill utilization over time: a four-year longitudinal study. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 32(3): 346–359.
Wang, B., Liu, Y., & Parker, S. K. (2021). Let’s get on the same page: Conceptual clarification of individual-level information and communication technology use. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 14(3), 404–408.
Wang, B., Liu, Y., Parker, S. K., & Qian, J. (2021). Achieving effective remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic: A work design perspective. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 70(1): 16–59.
Wang, B., Liu, Y., & Parker, S. K. (2020). How does the use of information communication technology affect individuals? A work design perspective. Academy of Management Annals, 14(2): 695–725.
Feng, Z., Liu, Y., Wang, Z., & Savani, K. (July 21, 2020). Research: A method for overcoming implicit bias when considering job candidates. Harvard Business Review (Online Article). https://hbr.org/2020/07/research-a-method-for-overcoming-implicit-bias-when-considering-job-candidates
Feng, Z. *, Liu, Y. *, Wang, Z., & Savani, K. (2020). Let’s choose one of each: Using the partition dependence effect to increase diversity in organizations. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 158, 11–26. (* equal contribution)
Ilies, R., Ju, H., Liu, Y., & Goh, Z. (2020). Emotional resources link work demands and experiences to family functioning and employee well-being: the emotional resource possession scale (ERPS). European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. 29:3, 439–449.
Pluut, H., Ilies, R., Curşeu, P. L., & Liu, Y. (2018). Social support at work and at home: Dual-buffering effects in the work-family conflict process. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 146, 1–13.
Wang, Z.*, Xu, H.*, and Liu, Y.*^ (2018). Servant leadership as a driver of employee service performance: Test of a trickle-down model and its boundary conditions. Human Relations, 71(9), 1179–1203. (* equal contribution ^ corresponding author)
Wang, Z., Xu. H., & Liu, Y. ^ (2018). How does ethical leadership trickle down? Test of an integrative dual-process model. Journal of Business Ethics. 153(3), 691–705. (^ corresponding author)
Ilies, R., Liu, X.*, Liu, Y.*, & Zheng, X. (2017). Why do employees have better family lives when they are highly engaged at work? Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(6), 956–970. (* equal contribution)
Guan, Y., Wang, Z., Zhou, W., Liu, Y., Yue, Y., Zhang, Y., Liu, H, & Liu, H. (2013). Career locus of control and career success among Chinese employees: A multi-dimensional approach. Journal of Career Assessment. 21: 295–310.
Research Awards
2024 Excellence in Reviewing Award, Human Resource Management
Wiley Top Cited Article (2020-2021, 2021-2022)
Wiley Top Downloaded Article (2019-2020)
Web of Science Essential Science Indicators (ESI) Highly Cited & Hot Paper (2021)
2021 Human Relations Reviewer of the Year Award, Human Relations
2021 Responsible Research in Management Winner Award, AOM Fellows Group & RRBM
2021 Saroj Parasuraman Award Runner-Up, AOM Gender & Diversity in Organizations Division
2020 Journal Article of the Year Award, Faculty of Business and Law, Curtin University
2019 Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award Nominee, Work and Family Researchers Network (WFRN)
Research Profiles
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=bXKG_gYAAAAJ&hl=en
Web of Science: https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/1239249
