Joy (Zhao) Zheng

Ph.D. Candidate in Management (Entrepreneurship)

I’m on the 2026–27 academic job market.

I study how emerging technologies — AI in particular — reshape the production, distribution, and valuation of creative work, through the lenses of innovation, entrepreneurship, and organization theory. My current focus is human–AI-agent collaboration and AI-native organizations, studied up close through ongoing relationships with the entrepreneurs and practitioners living that shift. I believe serious research can be built through collaboration between a human and an organization of AI agents, and I run many of my projects exactly that way: as one-person, multi-AI-agent organizations experimenting with frontier AI. The current projects and prototypes are on the Initiatives page.

Research interests

AI & Organizing

How organizations become AI-native: how startups are built around AI from day one, and how established firms reorganize as the technology matures.

Innovation in Creative Industries

How technological change drives innovation in creative fields — how novel work is produced, judged, and valued, and how creative teams adapt.

Entrepreneurship & Strategy

How entrepreneurs adapt strategy to technological shifts — and the new business models emerging in the AI era.

Curriculum Vitae

View my CV →