Dr Zhe Li

Profile

Roles:

• Member of the Department of Accounting and Financial Management

• Co-programme Director for BSc Accounting and Finance

Biography:

Dr Zhe Li is an Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) in Accounting and Finance and joined the School of Business and Management at Queen Mary University of London in December 2021.

Before joining Queen Mary, Zhe was an Assistant Professor (Research Focused) in Finance at Swansea University. Zhe holds a PhD in Finance from the University of Birmingham (2020), an MSc in Business Finance and Accounting from the University of Warwick (2016), and a Bachelor of Economics in Finance from the South China University of Technology (2015).

His research interests mainly cover empirical topics in corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainable finance, corporate finance (i.e. foreign institutional investors, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, top management teams’ attributes), corporate governance and financial reporting quality.

• Academic services: the referee for the Journal of Business Ethics (Financial Times 50 Journal), Journal of Business Finance & Accounting (ABDC-A*), British Accounting Review (ABDC-A*), International Journal of Finance & Economics, Accounting Forum, International Review of Financial Analysis, Applied Economics, etc.
• Current and former affiliations: American Finance Association (AFA), European Finance Association (EFA), Financial Management Association (FMA), European Financial Management Association (EFMA), British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA)
• Passed CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Level 1
• Passed ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Financial Management, Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, Accountant in Business, Corporate and Business Law, and Performance Management exams
• External examiner in PhD viva, Yi Liu, King’s College London, 2023; Thesis: Two Essays in Corporate Finance

Google Scholar page:
https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=TpjskxoAAAAJ&hl=zh-CN&oi=sra

ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1442-4499

Publons page:
https://publons.com/researcher/4460854/zhe-li/

SSRN page:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=4643664

Teaching

Undergraduate: 

•  BUS331: Company Valuation

Education Award: 

• 2023 Education Awards (nomination for the PGR Supervisor of the Year Award, top 3 in QMUL)

Research

Research Interests:

Corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainable finance, corporate finance (i.e. foreign institutional investors, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, top management teams’ attributes), corporate governance and financial reporting quality.

Research Award

2024 QMUL Research & Innovation Awards (nomination for the Research Supervisor of the Year Award, top 5 in QMUL)

Research group membership:

• Behavioural Finance working group (BFWG)
• Accounting & Accountability Research Group (AARG)

 

Publications

Peer-reviewed journal articles

Li, Z. and Liu, X. (2025), Top Executives with Academic Work Experience, Stakeholder-friendly Engagement, and Firm Value. Abacus (ABS-3*/ABDC-A). https://doi.org/10.1111/abac.12359

Huang, C. & Li, Z. (2024). The Role of Cross-border Alliances in Corporate Social Responsibility: International Evidence. Journal of Financial Research (ABS-3*/ABDC-A).

Li, Z., &  Wang, B. (2023). Non-CEO executives' intraorganizational competition incentives and corporate labour investment efficiency. European Financial Management, 1–48. https://doi.org/10.1111/eufm.12463 (ABS3*/ABDC-A)

Li, Z., Liu, X., & Wang, B. (2023). Military-experienced senior executives, corporate earnings quality, and firm value. Journal of Accounting Literature. (ABS-3/ABDC-A). https://doi.org/10.1108/JAL-08-2022-0089

Li, Z., & Wang, P. (2023). Cross-border Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms. Journal of Business Finance and Accounting. (ABS-3/ABDC-A*).

Li, Z., Wang, B., & Zhou, D. (2022). Financial Experts of Top Management Teams and Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from China. Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting. (ABS-3).

Li, Z. & Wang, B. (2022). The influence of foreign institutional investors on audit fees: evidence from Chinese listed firms. Accounting Forum. (ABS-3).

Li, Z., Pryshchepa, O., & Wang, B. (2021). Financial experts on the top management team: Do they reduce investment inefficiency?. Journal of Business Finance and Accounting. (ABS-3/ABDC-A*).

Li, Z., Wang, B., Wu, T., & Zhou, D. (2021). The influence of qualified foreign institutional investors on internal control quality: Evidence from China. International Review of Financial Analysis, 78. (International collaboration.) (ABS-3/ABDC-A).

Li, Z., & Wang, P. (2021). Flotation costs of seasoned equity offerings: Does corporate social responsibility matter?. European Financial Management. (ABS-3/ABDC-A). 

Li, Z., Wang, P., & Wu, T. (2020). Do foreign institutional investors drive corporate social responsibility? Evidence from listed firms in China. Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, 48(1-2), 338-373. (International collaboration.) (ABS-3/ABDC-A*).

Non-CEO executives’ intra-organizational competition incentives and corporate labor investment efficiency, revised & resubmitted at the European Financial Management (ABS-3*/ABDC-A).

Referred conference presentations

“Social Capital and Board Advising: Evidence from the Structure of Board Committees” (with Bo Wang), presented at the 2021 European Financial Management Association Annual Meeting (Virtual conference, June 2021).

“Cross-border Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms” (with Ping Wang), presented at the 2018 Paris Financial Management Conference (France, December 2018), 28th European Financial Management Association (EFMA) Annual Meeting (Portugal, June 2019), and 2021 Financial Management Association (FMA) Annual Meeting (USA, 2021).

Supervision

Dr Zhe Li is available for PhD supervisions and encourages applications from those interested in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, empirical corporate finance, institutional investors, corporate governance and earnings management.

Current Doctoral Students:

• Zixuan Zhu (primary supervisor), Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Finance
  
• Shibo Fang (primary supervisor), Employee Friendly Policies and Access to Finance
  
• Zhihuan Li (co-supervisor), Delisting and Corporate Governance
  
• Zankai Wang (co-supervisor), Empirical Essays in Corporate Social Responsibility
  
• Ahmad Khoerurizal (co-supervisor), Mergers and Acquisitions and AI Industry Exposure

 

Public Engagement

• Member of Financial Management Association
• Member of British Accounting and Finance Association
• Member of European Finance Association

Dr Zhe Li’s research work has been presented at several top international finance and accounting conferences, including the 2021 European Financial Management Association (EFMA) Annual Meeting, 2019 Financial Management Association (FMA) Annual Meeting (New Orleans, US), the 28th EFMA Annual Conference (Portugal), and the 2018 Paris Financial Management Conference.

 

PHD EXAMINATIONS

External examiner in PhD viva, Xuetong Wang, SOAS University of London, 2025; Thesis: The Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility in Contemporary China - a Communities of Practice Perspective

External examiner in PhD viva, Yi Liu, King’s College London, 2023; Thesis: Two Essays in Corporate Finance

Internal examiner in PhD viva, David Ririmasse, 2023, QMUL; Thesis: Essays on ESG, emissions and debt

Internal examiner in PhD annual review, Xin Gao, 2025, QMUL; Topic: Effects of political ideology on capital markets

Internal examiner in PhD annual review, Hussein Ahmad Mousa Bataineh, QMUL, 2023; Topic: The impact of the Chief Sustainability Officer on pension assets allocation

Internal examiner in PhD annual review, Yang Zou, QMUL, 2023; Topic: Mixed ownership and corporate governance structure for Chinese listed companies

Internal examiner in PhD annual review, Jeffery Bondzie, QMUL, 2022; Thesis: Information asymmetry and M&As during crises

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES AND SEMINAR PRESENTATIONS

2025 Financial Management Association (FMA) Asia Conference, Taiwan Province, China
2025 European Financial Management Association (EFMA) Annual Meeting, Greece
2025 European Accounting Association (EAA) Annual Congress, Italy
2025 British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA) Annual Conference/Doctoral Masterclasses, UK
2024 Financial Management Association (FMA) Annual Meeting, USA
2024 FMA European Conference, Italy
2024 Financial Management & Accounting Research Conference (FMARC), Cyprus (co-author presented)
2024 EFMA Annual Meeting, Italy
2024 BAFA Annual Meeting, UK
2023 Southern Finance Association (SFA) Anniversary Meeting, USA
2023 FMA Annual Meeting, USA
2023 BAFA South-east Area Group Annual Meeting, UK
2022 Paris Financial Management Conference, France
2022 FMA European Conference, France
2022 EFMA Annual Meeting, Italy
2021 EFMA Annual Meeting (Virtual meeting)
2020 SFA Anniversary Meeting, USA
2019 FMA Annual Meeting, USA
2019 EFMA Annual Meeting, Portugal
2018 Paris Financial Management Conference, France
2018 Birmingham Business School Conference, UK