Yanfei Hu

Dr. Yanfei Hu is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Sustainability & Innovation at the University of Surrey’s Surrey Business School and a Sustainability Fellow at the Institute for Sustainability. She holds a PhD in Business Administration and an MBA from Ivey Business School, Western University, Canada, and a BA in Economics from the University of International Business and Economics, Beijing. Her research focuses on sustainability, strategic management, organizational theory, and qualitative research methods, with a particular interest in how organizations address societal challenges like climate change. She leads a large ESRC-funded project on cultural entrepreneurship in vegan meat markets. Previously, she worked in business media and corporate development roles in Asia and North America.

• Education:
  • PhD in Business Administration, Ivey Business School, Western University, Canada
  • MBA, Ivey Business School, Western University, Canada
  • BA in Economics, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing

Her research explores institutional entrepreneurship, social movements, and organizational responses to grand challenges. Recent projects include examining how vegan meat entrepreneurs drive social value through disruptive technologies and how organizations navigate authoritarian contexts to enact institutional change. She has been recognized as the 2023 Mid-Career Researcher of the Year at Surrey Business School.

Dr. Hu supervises PhD candidates on topics like post-growth sustainability and African mining sectors. She teaches Business Ethics (MAN1090) and Sustainable Operations (MANM518), and actively participates in doctoral examinations and grant reviews. As Co-Director of the Centre for Social Innovation Management, she fosters interdisciplinary social innovation research.

• Awards:
  • Mid-Career Researcher of the Year (2023)
  • Finalist, Best Paper on Environmental and Social Practices (ESP), AOM 2017
  • Best Student Paper Award, EGOS 2015

Her work bridges academia and practice, with grants totaling £286,000 and over 10 conference presentations at leading venues like AOM and EGOS. She advises on policy transfer mechanisms in global south contexts and advocates for formalization strategies in artisanal mining sectors.