DIAN YU
I am a postdoctoral research associate of NEXT Innovation Lab, D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University. My research intersects innovation, institutions, and entrepreneurship, focusing on how firms navigate regulatory environments and strategize within emerging technologies such as drones, robots, and intelligent machines.
During my Ph.D. in Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, I examined the global commercial drone industry, investigating the impact of government support on firm establishment, product feature experimentation, and the emergence of new product categories. Supported by the NSF Science of Science Dissertation Improvement Grant, my research provides valuable insights for policymakers on balancing regulation with market support and for managers on aligning product strategies with institutional environments.
At NEXT Innovation Lab, I extend my focus to innovation and entrepreneurship as pathways to better sustainability and equity in the construction industry. Here, I investigate how startups leverage digital platforms, robotics, and site control technologies to drive innovation and efficiency.
For more information, please feel free to contact me at: dia.yu@northeastern.edu
Ongoing Research
“Institutions Meet Ecosystem: China’s Market and Institutional Infrastructure in the Commercial Drone Industry.”
How does ecosystem interact with institutional infrastructure to contribute to firm entry and the scaling of an industry?
Abductive Study
revise and resubmit under SMJ
“Institutions Meet S-curve: Product Innovation in the Drone Industry around Precision Agriculture.”
How institutional support influences the kinds of product features that drone firms create and produce?
Preparing for Submission
“When and What to Conform to: Product Framing Strategies in the U.S. Small Drone Market.”
How firms react to regulatory change as they construct and align themselves to product categories?
Text Analysis
Working paper
“Integrating Smart Machines in Conventional Industries: the Case of Construction Industry”
How firms and teams in a conventional industry are organized and making decisions of using technology innovations?
Qualitative study and field experimentation
Data collection
“Academic Invention Disclosure.”
What are the incentives for invention disclosures in deep science labs within universities (when there are no penalties for non-disclosure)?
Data collection
“Policy as a Catalyst: the Role of Local Regulations in Advancing RFID Technology in the Cannabis Sector”
To what extent do policy variations across regions drive innovation in compliance technologies such as RFID?
Ideation