Dr. Zhike Lei is an Associate Professor of Applied Behavior Science and Director of the Center for Applied Research at the Graziadio Business School at Pepperdine University. Previously, Dr. Lei was a faculty member at Georgetown University, ESMT European School of Management Technology (Germany), and George Mason University. Dr. Lei holds a PhD in Organizational Behavior from Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dr. Lei’s research explores how organizations and their employees and teams adapt and learn in complex, time-pressured, consequence-laden situations. Dr. Lei has published her scholarly work in premier research journals, including the Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management, Journal of Organizational Behavior, and the Academy of Management Discoveries, among others. Her research work has twice won the Best Paper Award with Group and Organization Management. Dr. Lei has also won prestigious awards and grants to study medical errors and team adaptation from the European Commission’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Juran Center for Leadership in Quality at University of Minnesota, among others.
As a management scholar, Dr. Lei serves as an editorial review board member and a guest editor for premier management journals, including the Academy of Management Review and the Academy of Management Discoveries. Her management insights have been featured in general business journals and magazines, such as Harvard Business Manager and the Wall Street Journal. Dr. Lei is a frequent panelist and speaker for major academic conferences in the management field.
Dr. Lei has taught executive programs and PhD graduates across the globe as well as undergraduates and MBA graduates. She has also served on the patient safety committee for major health information organizations in China and USA. Prior to her academic career, Dr. Lei has worked as a marketing specialist for leading advertising and marketing firms in Beijing, China and for startup companies in Chicago, USA.