Wei Cai

Wei Cai is an Assistant Professor of Business in the Accounting Division at Columbia Business School. She joined Columbia in 2020 and focuses on management accounting, organizational culture, and diversity & inclusion. Her research explores how management control systems can shape organizational outcomes through innovative designs. She employs statistical analyses, field experiments, and surveys, collaborating closely with practitioners to gather impactful data.

Professor Cai holds a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) in Accounting and Management from Harvard Business School. Prior to academia, she worked as a senior financial advisor at Ernst & Young in New York. Her work has garnered prestigious awards like the AAA Dissertation Award and IMA Emerging Scholar Award, with publications in top journals such as The Accounting Review and Management Science.

• Research Interests: Measurement and management of organizational capital, culture design, DEI strategies, and incentive contracts.
• Media Features: Work highlighted in The Economist, Harvard Business Review, and Forbes.
• Teaching: Teaches Financial Accounting courses at Columbia Business School.

Her TEDx talk, A Symphony of Inclusion, underscores her commitment to fostering inclusive organizational practices. Key research contributions include studies on gamified training impacts, diversity targets' credibility, and culture-fit measurement systems in hiring.