Address
10-234, Lau Ming Wai Academic Building, City University of Hong Kong
Phone
+852 34429911
Fax
+852 34420346
Email
Public CV
Research Areas
Interorganizational relationship governance (e.g., franchising)
GIS-informed location choices and their impacts on firms’ financial performance and survival
Conflict management
Qualifications
PhD - Marketing
MPhil - Marketing
BSc - Economics
Biography
Xu Vivian Zheng is an Associate Professor in Department of Marketing, College Business of City University of Hong Kong. She received her Ph.D. in Marketing from University of Wisconsin-Madison. Vivian’s research interest primarily focuses on inter-firm relationship governance mechanisms, specifically including: (1) retail location selection and multi-channel governance in marketing channel contexts; (2) inter-organizational governance mechanisms; (3) development strategies of franchising companies (e.g., regional expansion); and (4) corporate ESG practices. Vivian has published in leading marketing and business journals such as Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Operations Management, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and Journal of Retailing, etc.
Dr. Zheng teaches Global Marketing and Principles of Marketing across all levels including undergraduate, taught master, MBA, EMBA and DBA programs. She has received College of Business Teaching Excellence Award and Student Learning and Development Excellence Award. She received her Ph.D. in Marketing from University of Wisconsin-Madison before joining the Marketing Department at CityU.
Awards
| Award Title | Institution |
|---|---|
| Louis Stern Award (Runner-up) | American Marketing Association |
| Top 5% Outstanding Teaching Performance | City University of Hong Kong |
| College of Business Teaching Excellence Award | City University of Hong Kong |
| College of Business Assurance of Learning Award | City University of Hong Kong |
| Student Learning and Development Excellence Award | City University of Hong Kong(Marketing) |
Research Grants
PI: "Contagion of Failure: Paths and Curbing Mechanisms of Successive Store Failure Within Franchise Networks", Strategic Research Grant - City University of Hong Kong, Amount: 100,000 (2024-2026), with Yajing Fan
PI: "The Role of Franchise Contracts in Optimizing Franchise Relationships Outcomes: A Data Science Approach", Strategic Interdisciplinary Research Grant - City University of Hong Kong, Amount: 300,000 (2022-2024), with Li, Lishuai, Wang, Shucheng, and Huang, Jianxiang
PI: "When Mutli-Unit Franchising Backfires: The Contingent Effects of Subgroup Configurations", General Research Grant - Research Grants Council, Hong Kong, Amount: 240,993 (2022-2023), Zheng, Xu (Vivian), Li, Ji Jenny
PI: "Beyong Locations: The Contingent Effects of Governance Mechanisms in Clustering of Franchised Outlets", General Research Grant - Research Grant Council, Hong Kong, Amount: 486,176 (2021-2023), Zheng, Xu (Vivian) and Yajing Fan
PI: "When It Is Good to Be Vague: The Strategic Use of Contract Ambiguity in Franchise Relationship Management", Strategic Research Grant - City University of Hong Kong, Amount: 100,000 (2018-2020), Zheng, Xu (Vivian)
PI: "Unnatural Relationship Dissolution in Franchising: A Dual-Agency Perspective", General Research Grant - Research Grants Council, Hong Kong, Amount: HKD 501,250 (2015-2017), Xu Zheng, Jeff Jianfeng Wang, Marko Grunhagen
PI: "Marketing Assets, Marketing Actions, and Firms' Response Strategies to Exogenous Shocks", Early Career Scheme - Research Grants Council, Amount: HKD321,696 (2013-2015), Zheng, Xu
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Administrative Assignments
| Period | Name | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 8/2025 - Now | Global EMBA | Co-Director |
| 6/2025 - Now | Strategic Marketing and Analytics Unit | Director |
| 8/2024 - 7/2025 | MBA Program | Program Associate Director |
| 8/2020 - 7/2025 | Departmental Staffing Committee | Member |
| 8/2020 - 7/2024 | BBA Global Business | Program Leader |
Selected Publications
Journal Publications and Reviews
Lu, Jialiang; Zheng, Xu; Nervino, Esterina; Li, Yanzhi; Xu, Zhihua; Xu, Yabo / Retail Store Location Screening: A Machine Learning-Based Approach. March 2024; In: Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. Vol. 77
Ma, Yongchao Martin; Deng, Zhongzhun; Teng, Ying; Yang, Zhilin; Zheng, Xu (Vivian) / Firms' multi-sided platform construction efforts and ESG performance: An information processing theory perspective. November 2023; In: Industrial Marketing Management. Vol. 115, pp. 455-469
Wang, Jeff Jianfeng; Grünhagen, Marko; Ji, Li Jenny; Zheng, Xu Vivian / Conflict Aftermath: Dispute Resolution and Financial Performance in Franchising. December 2020; In: Journal of Retailing. Vol. 96, No. 4, pp. 548-562
Feng, Chao; Zheng, Xu; Zhuang, Guijun; Li, Ruqi / Revisiting exercise of power strategies from the perspective of information processing. November 2020; In: Industrial Marketing Management. Vol. 91, pp. 41-54
Zheng, Xu Vivian; Ji, Li Jenny ; Su, Chenting / Mitigating the Negative Effects of Regional Clustering in Franchising: The Roles of Governance Mechanisms. September 2020; In: Journal of Retailing. Vol. 96, No. 3, pp. 434-444
Zheng, Xu Vivian; Griffith, David A.; Ge, Ling; Benoliel, Uri / Effects of Contract Ambiguity in Interorganizational Governance. July 2020; In: Journal of Marketing. Vol. 84, No. 4, pp. 147-167
Zheng, Xu (Vivian); Li, Xiaoling; Ren, Xingyao; Yang, Zhilin / Enhancing compliance among channel members by modeling reward events: matching motivation and ability with model selection. March 2020; In: Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 331-349
Shen, Lu; Su, Chenting; Zheng, Xu (Vivian); Zhuang, Guijun / Between contracts and trust: Disentangling the safeguarding and coordinating effects over the relationship life cycle. January 2020; In: Industrial Marketing Management. Vol. 84, pp. 183-193
Zhang, Chun; Zheng, Xu(Vivian); Li, Juan Julie / Is collaboration a better way to develop trust after opportunism? Distinguishing firm and boundary spanner opportunism. October 2019; In: Industrial Marketing Management. Vol. 82, pp. 38-51
Shen, Lu; Su, Chenting; Zheng, Xu; Zhuang, Guijun / Contract design capability as a trust enabler in the pre-formation phase of interfirm relationships. February 2019; In: Journal of Business Research. Vol. 95, pp. 103-115
Benoliel, Uri; Zheng, Xu(Vivian) / ARE DISCLOSURES READABLE?: AN EMPIRICAL TEST. 2018; In: Alabama Law Review. Vol. 70, No. 1, pp. 237-257
Li, Miao; Zheng, Xu; Zhuang, Guijun / Information technology-enabled interactions, mutual monitoring, and supplier-buyer cooperation: A network perspective. September 2017; In: Journal of Business Research. Vol. 78, pp. 268-276
Grünhagen, Marko; Zheng, Xu (Vivian); Wang, Jeff Jianfeng / When the Music Stops Playing: Post-litigation Relationship Dissolution in Franchising. June 2017; In: Journal of Retailing. Vol. 93, No. 2, pp. 138-153
Shou, Zhigang; Zheng, Xu (Vivian); Zhu, Wenting / Contract ineffectiveness in emerging markets: An institutional theory perspective. September 2016; In: Journal of Operations Management. Vol. 46, pp. 38-54
Li, Xiaoling; Ren, Xingyao; ZHENG, Xu / Management of competition among sellers and its performance implications for business-to-business electronic platforms: Dynamic analysis by VAR model. 2015; In: Nankai Business Review International. Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 199 - 222
ANTIA, Kersi D.; ZHENG, Xu(VIVIAN); FRAZIER, Gary L. / Conflict Management and Outcomes in Franchise Relationships: The Role of Regulation. October 2013; In: Journal of Marketing Research. Vol. 50, No. 5, pp. 577-589
Conference Papers
YE, Qianbi; ZHENG, Xu / The Impact of Recommendation Lists on Consumer Satisfaction in Ota: The Role of Climate, Culture, and Platform Dynamics. June 2025; 2025 ISMS Marketing Science Conference, 13/06/2025 - 15/06/2025, Washington DC, United States.
Chapters, Conference Papers, Creative and Literary Works
JI, Li; Zheng, Vivian / Boosting Success: Optimizing Network Configurations for Franchised Outlet Survival. May 2025; Proceedings of European Marketing Academy Conference 2025.
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