Industry Background

Prior to entering academia, Dr Jiyao Xun was selected for the International Graduate Programme of Tesco, a leading global retailer. He worked at its Hertford head office (north of London), specialising in brand marketing with creative/media agencies in Soho. To develop operational expertise, he gained practical retail management experience at Tesco's Waltham Abbey Extra store in Essex.

Research & Scholarship

Jiyao holds an MSc in Management Research from the University of Oxford and a fully-funded PhD in Management from the University of Nottingham, UK. His research examines retail technology (metaverse applications), digital marketing strategies, social media dynamics, and marketing-finance interfaces, with publications appearing in journals such as Psychology & Marketing, Internet Research, Business Strategy & the Environment, Industrial Management & Data Systems, along with Chinese journals including Journal of University of Science and Technology of China and New Finance (forthcoming).

He serves as Associate Editor of the International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research and acts as a peer reviewer for leading SSCI-indexed journals including Internet Research, Behaviour & Information Technology, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Journal of Small Business Management, and Tsinghua University's emerging Journal of Digital Economy, among others. He was awarded the 2024 Best Paper Prize by the Chinese Academy of Management Annual Conference.

Dr. Xun secures and leads competitively awarded grants driving retail digitalisation, metaverse consumer behaviour, and pedagogical innovation. His portfolio includes principal investigatorships for the XIPUI Soft Science Programme 2025 (Suzhou cross-border e-commerce) and provincial policy projects, alongside industry-funded metaverse retail studies. He also serves as a key contributor to National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) submissions and transdisciplinary education initiatives at XJTLU’s Centre of Excellence for Syntegrative Education, alongside successfully completed Teaching Development Fund (TDF), Research Development Fund (RDF), and Research Enhancement Fund (REF) projects.

Teaching & Leadership

At XJTLU, Jiyao teaches business courses and served as Programme Director for the BSc Supply Chain Management programme (2020–22), leading its degree awarding power (DAP) accreditation process. He currently serves on the University Curriculum Review Panel. Previously as Associate MBA Director (Asia) for the University of Manchester (2014–20), he managed regional partnerships. He advises organisations on digital transformation and retail innovation.

Dr Xun has supervised and examined numerous industry-linked MBA dissertations at Alliance Manchester Business School (2014-20), covering retail, mobility, health tech, consumer goods, and fintech. These projects—often commissioned by multinationals and start-ups—reflect his commitment to translating academic insight into corporate strategy, particularly in emerging markets.

PhD Supervision

Jiyao supervises doctoral projects in retail/digital technology and social media consumer behaviour. Recent completions include:

• Xiaowei Fan (2022–25): "An Investigation of the Purchasing Behaviour in Metaverse Retailing with Virtual Reality Technologies" (Initial placement: Jimei University)

• Dongyuan Yang (2021–25): "Business Intelligence Adoption for Chinese Banks: The Impact on Firm Performance" (Initial placement: Bank of Communications)

Current supervisees include:

• Weihan Liang (2024- In progress) "The Impact of Metaverse Technology in Physical Shopping Malls on Consumer Purchase Intentions: A Study Based on S-O-R Theory and TAM"
  
  
• Cheng Ma (2024- In progress) "Understanding the Metaverse’s Impact on Retail Consumer (Relational) Behaviour"
  
  
• Co-Supervisor for Hanlihui Ma (2023-In Progress) “Investigating the Effectiveness of Work-based Learning in terms of Learner Motivation, Engagement, and Self-regulation”.

Research Interests

• Retailing technology (e-commerce, metaverse)

• Social media marketing

• AI in education

学术背景

荀继尧博士现任西交利物浦大学副教授、博士生导师，英国高等教育学院资深会士（SFHEA）。加入学术界前，他曾入选英国特易购（Tesco）国际管理培训生项目，专注品牌营销与零售运营。

学术成就

荀博士持有牛津大学管理学研究硕士学位及英国诺丁汉大学全奖管理学博士学位。其研究聚焦零售科技（元宇宙场景）、数字化营销战略、社交媒体及营销-金融交叉领域，成果发表于 Psychology & Marketing、Internet Research、Business Strategy & the Environment、Industrial Management & Data Systems、《中国科学技术大学学报》、《新金融》（待刊）等期刊。现任 International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research 副主编，同时为多家SSCI期刊担任审稿人，包括 Internet Research、Behaviour & Information Technology、Industrial Management & Data Systems、Journal of Small Business Management 及清华大学社科学院新兴期刊 Journal of Digital Economy 等，并获中国管理学年会2024年度优秀论文奖。

行业与社会贡献

• 政府/教育智库：江苏省教育厅专家库成员、教育部本科论文抽检专家、苏州市教育局金融消费专家

• 产业顾问：百联集团创新导师、麦德龙（上海）顾问、上海市供应链发展促进会、上海技术交易所专家、苏州市软件行业协会元宇宙专委会、中国仓储与配送协会

• 学术组织：江苏省法学会大数据与人工智能法学研究会、上海市管理科学学会会员、西浦AI教育研究中心成员
  
  

博士生培养

现指导博士生：Cheng Ma (2024起); Weihan Liang (2024起); Hanlihui Ma (2023); 近期毕业博士生：Xiaowei Fan (2022–2025); Dongyuan Yang (2021–2025)

• Retailing and technology (electronic/mobile-commerce & metaverse)
• Social media marketing
• Retail and entrepreneurship
• AI and Education (https://connect.xjtlu.edu.cn/group/aied/research)

• Associate Professor, XJTLU (2020- now)
  
  • EEH Academic & UCRP Member (AY23- )
  • Programme Director (BSc Intelligent Supply Chain with Contemporary Entrepreneurialism; AY20-22) 
  • Founding Director of Shanghai-Taicang Research Institute (01-08.2023)
• Associate Director of MBA Programmes (Asia Region) & Programme Director of BSc Management (Singapore SIM); Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS) (2014-20)

UG (From AY23-)

• XEC's AI Centric Module (7 schools) and IF Module
• ENT203TC Leadership & Communication
• ENT301TC Capstone Project
• ENT302TC Cutting-edge Practice in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• Final Year Projects 

AY2020-23:

• IFB002TC Essentials of Intelligent Supply Chain
• IFB101TC Analytical Tools In Management Science
• IFB106TC Demand Forecasting & Management
• IFB110TC Fundamentals of Marketing
• IFB204TC Purchasing and Negotiation
• IFB207TC Service Management
• IFB317TC Strategic Management and Policy 

EEH summer school/ILEAD/AoFE/LM open programmes;

PhD Programmes;

• Designated as an Expert and included in the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education's Expert Database (June 2025).

• Nominated Financial Consumption Expert for Suzhou Municipal Education Bureau (March 2025).

• Supervised PhD student Cheng Ma, awarded Best Oral Presentation Award (Top 10%) at the First XJTLU-UoL-XJTU Postgraduate Research Joint Conference & 2025 XJTLU Postgraduate Research Symposium (21 March 2025).

• Supervised PhD student Xiaowei Fan, awarded Excellent Poster Presentation Award (Top 20%) and Excellent Oral Presentation Award (Top 20%) at the First XJTLU-UoL-XJTU Postgraduate Research Joint Conference & 2025 XJTLU Postgraduate Research Symposium (21 March 2025).

• Supervised PhD student Weihan Liang’s research “Enhancing Virtual Reality Experience: Cognitive Fulfilment’s Impact on Customer Attitude” awarded Sugarbomb Best Paper Award at the 2024 International Conference on Entrepreneurship, Technology, and Social Sciences (4–5 December 2024, Kuala Lumpur).

• Supervised PhD student Xiaowei Fan’s research “Shaping Consumer Behaviour in Metaverse Retailing: The Role of Spatial Presence, Immersion, and Interactivity” awarded People’s Choice for Poster Presentation at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China 8th Postgraduate Research Conference (22–23 November 2024, Ningbo).

• Outstanding Paper Award (Marketing Management Track) at the 19th Chinese Academy of Management Annual Meeting (26 October 2024, Taicang, China).

• Supervised PhD student Xiaowei Fan’s research awarded Best Poster Presentation Award (Top 10%) at the First Wisdom Lake Postgraduate Researcher Development Conference & 2023 XJTLU Postgraduate Research Symposium (13–15 December 2023, Suzhou Industrial Park [SIP]).

• Supervised student project “Bosch Warehouse Heavy Goods (Battery) Picking Process Optimization Project” awarded Second Prize at the 2023 XJTLU Student Research-led Learning Symposium, Learning Institute for Future Excellence (November 2023).

• ILEAD/AoFE Open Programmes Training Instructor/Speaker on Syntegrative Education, Teaching Management, and Research-led Pedagogical Reform (Academic Years 2020–2021, 2021–2022, 2022–2023).

• Trainer for XJTLU Affiliated School New Faculty Summer Training Camp, Taicang (2023).

• TV Interview on the Opening Ceremony of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese XJTLU Taicang Campus (April 2023).

• Round Table Panel Discussant at the Suzhou Software Industry Association Special Committee of Meta-verse Ecology Conference (April 2023).

• TV Interview on the Grand Opening Ceremony of XJTLU Taicang Campus (5 September 2022).

• Forum Speaker on “Complementary Resources and SME Firm Performance” at Shanghai Maritime University (2022).

• Supervised student project “Supply Chain Management in Organic Agriculture in the Post COVID-19 Era” awarded First Prize at the 7th Annual Global Issues Conference (April 2022).

• Speaker on “Supply Chain Talent Development: The Syntegrative Approach at EC Taicang” at the Shanghai Forum on Supply Chain Management Construction and Development (22–25 April 2021, Lingang, Shanghai).

• Speaker at the 2021 Digital Economy Development and Digitalised Talent Development Conference, organized by the Shanghai Yangpu Industry Internet and Blockchain Application Innovation Centre (January 2021, Shanghai).

• Keynote Speaker on “Analytical Tools in Management Science” at Beihai Senior High School of Guangxi Province (December 2020).

• Guest Speaker for Undergraduate Social Sciences at NYU Shanghai (2019).

• Representative of Alliance MBS at the Association of MBAs (AMBA) Asia Pacific Deans and Directors Conference (January 2018, Harbin).

• Delegate of Alliance MBS at the GMAC APAC Conference (November 2017, Hong Kong SAR China).

• Representative of Alliance MBS at the Russell Group-China Collaborative Conference (June 2015, Fudan University).

• Delegate of Alliance MBS at the Association of MBAs Asia Pacific Deans and Directors Conference (2015, Chongqing).

• Panel Guest on “Future of Retailing in China” by the Oxford Institute of Retail Management (OXIRM), Saïd Business School, University of Oxford (2015, Shanghai).

• Panel Guest at the 8th China Retail Forum, co-organized by Tsinghua University, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (2012, Beijing).

• Session Chair for Relationship Marketing Track at the Academy of Marketing Conference, supported by the Nottingham University Business School Conference Full Grant (2012, Southampton University).

• Doctoral Fellow in Advanced Model Building for Marketing, Aston Business School (2012, Birmingham).

• EDEN Doctoral Fellow, European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management (2011, Brussels).

• Doctoral Consortium Fellow, INFORMS Marketing Science Conference (2010, Cologne).

• Doctoral Colloquium Fellow, European Marketing Academy (EMAC) Conference (2010, Copenhagen).

• Doctoral Colloquium Grant Recipient, Academy of Marketing Conference (2009, Leeds).

• Nautilus Travel Grant Recipient, Templeton College, University of Oxford (2008).

• Conference Grant Recipient, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford (2008).

• Doctoral Fellow, Research Methods for Industrial Doctoral Community, Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), University of Cambridge (2008–2009).