Dr. Yanfen Wang | Motivation and Employee Engagement | Best Researcher Award

University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), China

Author Profile

🎓 Early Academic Pursuits

Yanfen Wang’s academic journey is marked by her unwavering commitment to understanding and advancing knowledge in the field of Business Administration. She began her formal higher education at Xi’an International Studies University in 2014, where she pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing. Her dedication and passion for business strategy and organizational behavior soon led her to enroll in a Master’s program in Business Administration at the same institution. During this time, she studied under Professor Zizhen Geng, who played a crucial role in shaping her early research direction, particularly in team dynamics and creativity within organizational contexts.

This foundation set the stage for her doctoral journey at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)—one of China’s most prestigious research institutions—where she embarked on her Ph.D. in Business Administration in 2022 under the mentorship of Professor Qingxiong Weng. Her doctoral studies mark a significant transition into more rigorous and high-impact research, focusing on workplace psychology, employee behavior, and leadership dynamics.

💼 Professional Endeavors

Yanfen Wang’s professional journey as an academic has been heavily research-oriented, marked by her active involvement in both theoretical development and empirical investigation in the field of organizational behavior. Despite being a current Ph.D. candidate, she has already authored and co-authored several impactful papers in reputable international journals.

Her involvement in ongoing research collaborations—with both her former advisor, Professor Geng, and current mentor, Professor Weng—demonstrates her ability to bridge academic theory with practical implications. She has delved into pressing workplace issues such as leader-member exchange (LMX), paradoxical leadership, and team creativity, offering nuanced perspectives and empirical evidence that contribute meaningfully to business psychology literature.

Her growing portfolio of conference presentations at the Academy of Management (AOM) meetings further reflects her standing in the global academic community. Notably, she has presented three times at AOM (2021, 2023, and 2024), with one of her works being recognized with a Best Paper Notification in the OB Division—a testament to the quality and relevance of her research.

🧠 Contributions and Research Focus

Yanfen’s research contributions explore the intricacies of employee behavior and workplace dynamics, particularly in the Chinese organizational context. A core theme running through her publications is how leadership behaviors, both constructive and paradoxical, influence employee outcomes—ranging from creativity and motivation to counterproductive behaviors.

One of her notable studies, “Catching up or putting them down?”, published in Personality and Individual Differences, investigates how employees react to highly conscientious coworkers—shedding light on social comparison mechanisms and interpersonal dynamics in workgroups. Her co-authored paper on “LMX ambivalence” in Applied Psychology dissects the dual-edge consequences of inconsistent leader behavior, identifying its potential to deplete relational energy and trigger counterproductive actions.

In her work in progress, she is tackling bold questions like “Cheating from dominating?”, where she examines how dominant leadership traits can inadvertently push employees toward unethical behaviors—highlighting her interest in the darker side of organizational psychology.

🏆 Accolades and Recognition

Though still early in her academic career, Yanfen has garnered impressive accolades. Her Best Paper Notification from the AOM’s Organizational Behavior Division is a significant early recognition that places her among promising young scholars in the field. Moreover, her role as corresponding author on several publications—an uncommon feat for a doctoral student—reflects the high level of trust and credibility she has earned from her collaborators.

Her Google Scholar profile further reinforces her academic impact, showcasing her citations and growing influence within the research community.

🌏 Impact and Influence

Yanfen Wang’s research resonates deeply in both academic and practical circles. Her focus on team dynamics, leadership styles, and employee behavior offers actionable insights for HR professionals, corporate leaders, and organizational consultants seeking to build more effective and ethical workplace cultures. Her empirical work, rooted in both Western theories and Chinese workplace realities, provides a culturally grounded perspective that enriches global organizational behavior scholarship.

Her multi-methodological expertise—ranging from SPSS and Stata to Mplus, Amos, and fsQCA—also showcases her versatility in tackling complex behavioral phenomena using robust analytical techniques. This skill set makes her well-positioned to produce rigorous and policy-relevant research in both academia and industry contexts.

🌟 Legacy and Future Contributions

Looking ahead, Yanfen Wang is poised to become a thought leader in organizational psychology and business administration. Her research trajectory suggests a growing interest in the ethical and psychological implications of leadership, and her ability to interrogate both the motivational and adverse effects of workplace behaviors will continue to shape conversations in organizational studies.

Her evolving body of work contributes not only to theory development but also to practical frameworks that managers and organizational developers can use to create healthier, more transparent, and performance-enhancing workplaces.

If her early achievements are any indication, Yanfen is set to leave a lasting impact on the academic world, with a legacy rooted in intellectual curiosity, methodological rigor, and a deep commitment to advancing human potential in organizational settings. ✨

Motivation and hindrance: The mixed blessing of paradoxical leader behaviour for workplace creativity in China

Authors: Z. Geng, Y. Wang, Y. Fan, C. Shan
Journal: Asia Pacific Business Review
Year: 2023

Motivating R&D team creativity: the social cognitive effect of external developmental feedback and internal goal interdependence

Authors: Z. Geng, Y. Wang, J. Xue, H. Tang, H. Liu
Journal: R&D Management
Year: 2022

Diminished relational energy: How and when LMX ambivalence leads to leader‐directed counterproductive work behavior

Authors: L. Chen, Q. Weng, A. Popelnukha, H. Jiang, Y. Wang
Journal: Applied Psychology
Year: 2025

Catching up or putting them down? An investigation of employee divergent reactions to coworker conscientiousness

Authors: Q. Weng, Y. Wang, X. Wang, H. Qin
Journal: Personality and Individual Differences
Year: 2025

Navigating the Paradox of Originality and Usefulness: The Roles of Distinct Error Climates in Fostering Team Radical Creativity

Authors: Z. Geng, M. Xiao, H. Wang, J. Xue, Y. Wang
Journal: Creativity and Innovation Management
Year: 2025