Xian Cao
Assistant Professor
Department of Management
Office
SFHB State Farm Hall Of Business 250
Office Phone
Email
- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
- Research
Biography
Xian received her Ph.D. in Strategic Management with a concentration in Entrepreneurship from the University of Connecticut. Living in Champaign with her family, she is the proud mother of two wonderful children, Leo and Lia. A passionate traveler, Xian relishes the opportunity to explore new places and cultures.
Current Courses
MGT 226.001 Corporate Entrepreneurship
MGT 226.002 Corporate Entrepreneurship
MGT 326.001 Small Business Field Studies
Teaching Interests & Areas
She teaches courses in entrepreneurship and strategic management, integrating her research interests which focus on female entrepreneurs, the motivations behind entrepreneurship, social media, and research methods.
Research Interests & Areas
Her scholarly work has been published in respected journals such as Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Decision Support Systems, Small Business Economics, Journal of Small Business Management, Group & Organization Management, and Personality and Individual Differences. Xian also serves as an ad-hoc reviewer for multiple academic journals.
PhD Strategic Management
The University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT
MBA Business Administration
The Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, Ohio
Bachelor of Arts International Economics and Trade
Nanjing University
Nanjing, China
Best Student Paper Award
2024 Midwest Academy of Management
2024
Best Paper Nominee
Midwest Academy of Management
2021
Diversity Scholarship Recognition
The Ball State University Office of Inclusive Excellence
2019
Evidence From the Kauffman Firm Survey, The Honorarium Award
The Small Business Economics Special Issue in Entrepreneurial Dynamics
2017
Grants & Contracts
COB University Research Grant. College of Business. Illinois State University. (2025)
Summer Assessment Grant. Ball State University. Other. (2023)
Journal Article
Cao, X., Li, H., Xu, Q., & Zhu, R. Detecting Gender Stereotypes against Women Entrepreneurs in Large Language Models. Journal of Business Ethics (2025)
Cao, X., Folta, T., Li, H., & Zhu, R. Analyzing the online word of mouth dynamics: A novel approach. Decision Support Systems 185.114306 (2024)
Hsu, D., Mitchell, R., & Cao, X. Examining Psychological Mediators in Entrepreneurship: Experimental Designs, Remedies, and Recommendations. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 48.1 (2023)
Cao, X., Im, J., & Syed, I. A Meta-Analysis of the Relationship Between Chief Executive Officer Tenure and Firm Financial Performance: The Moderating Effects of Chief Executive Officer Pay and Board Monitoring. Group & Organization Management 46.3 (2021)
Syed, I., Butler, J., Smith, R., & Cao, X. From entrepreneurial passion to entrepreneurial intentions: The role of entrepreneurial passion, innovativeness, and curiosity in driving entrepreneurial intentions. Personality and Individual Differences 157 (2020)
Cao, X., & Im, J. Founder human capital and new technology venture R&D search intensity: the moderating role of an environmental jolt. Small Business Economics 50 (2017): 625-642.
Arend, R., Cao, X., Grego-nagel, A., Im, J., Yang, X., & Canavati, S. Looking Upstream and Downstream in Entrepreneurial Cognition: Replicating and Extending the Busenitz & Barney (1997). Journal of Small Business Management 54.4 (2016): 1147-1170.
Written Case with Instructional Material
Cao, X., Li, H., Folta, T., & Zhu, R. From Problem to Method: Designing Multiview Sequential Canonical Covariance Analysis for Online Word-of-Mouth Dynamics. Sage Research Methods (2025)
Cao, X., Hsu, D., & Mitchell, R. How to Test Psychological Mediators in Entrepreneurship Using Experiments. Sage Business Cases (2025)
Presentations
Still Drinking From a Firehose: Teaching With AI 2025 Edition. Midwest Academy of Management. (2025)
Detecting Gender Stereotypes in Large Language Models. Midwest Academy of Management. (2024)
Drinking From a Firehose: Teaching With and About AI. Midwest Academy of Management. (2024)
Excellence in Teaching: A Panel Discussion on Innovative Strategies for Effective Teaching. Midwest Academy of Management. (2024)
ChatGPT is my Teaching Assistant. Midwest Academy of Management. (2023)
Venting on Social Media and Social Support for Entrepreneurs: The Mediation Effect of Gender-Venting Congruity. Academy of Management. (2023)
Analyzing Big Data in Entrepreneurship: Replicating and Extending Evans and Leighton (1989) Using a Machine Learning Approach. Academy of Management. (2022)
Gender Stereotypes and Social Support in the Digital Entrepreneurial Community. Midwest Academy of Management. (2022)
A New Method to Understand the Online Word of Mouth Dynamics: Multi-view Sequential Canonical Covariance Analysis. Midwest Academy of Management. (2021)
A New Method to Understand the Online Word of Mouth Dynamics: Multi-view Sequential Canonical Covariance Analysis. Academy of Management. (2020)
Who Becomes a Serial Entrepreneur: Developing a Multi-Dimensional Definition of Prior Entrepreneurial Experience. Academy of Management. (2020)
A New Method to Understand the Online Word of Mouth Dynamics: Multi-view Sequential Canonical Covariance Analysis. Statistical Conference in E-Commerce Research. (2019)
Analyzing Big Data in Management: Re-visiting the Entrepreneurial Entry Problem. Academy of Management. (2019)
Mechanisms underlying the impact of passion on entrepreneurial intentions. Midwest Academy of Management. (2019)
The Impact of Microfinance Community on Opportunity-Motivated Entrepreneurship: the Moderating Role of Gender Equality. Academy of Management. (2019)
The Relative Financial Payoffs to Prior Entrepreneurial Experience: Inside versus Outside the Entrepreneurial Context. Academy of Management. (2019)
Who Becomes a Serial Entrepreneur: Developing a Multi-Dimensional Definition of Prior Entrepreneurial Experience. Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference. (2019)
Can Ownership be Seductively Destructive? Unpacking the Relationship between CEO Stock Ownership and at-IPO discretionary Earnings Management.. Academy of Management. (2018)
Explore Entrepreneurial Human Capital and New Venture R&D Search Intensity: A Dynamic Perspective. Academy of Management. (2016)
Unpacking the Relationship between CEO Share Ownership and IPO Firm Survival. Academy of Management. (2016)
CEO Involvement in At-IPO Discretionary Earnings Management in Young Entrepreneurial Firms. Academy of Management. (2015)
CEO Tenure and Financial Performance: A Meta-Analysis. Academy of Management. (2015)
Looking Upstream and Downstream in Entrepreneurial Cognition: Replicating and Extending the Busenitz & Barney Study. Academy of Management. (2013)