Xuechen Ding is the Research Officer at TMCD with the Innovation and Catch-up in Platform Economy (ICPE) project. This project aims to examine the key factors that drive technological innovation and catch-up of world-leading technology companies from developing countries in the digital sector. Xuechen is responsible for conducting the quantitative research based on the organizational management theories, publishing the academic results of the projects in appropriate scholarly journals and writing up book chapters. She is also undertaking a range of administrative activities to ensure the smooth functioning and impact dissemination of the project.

Xuechen received her Ph.D in Innovation Management at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2020, as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Management Science from Central University of Finance and Economics in 2013. Her PhD research focuses on academic entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems in research institutes. Xuechen went to the University of California, Davis as a visiting scholar in 2018, which was funded by the China Scholarship Council. Before coming to Oxford, she worked at UCAS for a year as a post-doc researcher.

She has worked on a wide range of innovation-related topics, such as knowledge and collaboration network, digital technologies and innovation, business model innovation, ambidextrous innovation, radical innovation and national innovation systems. Her current research lies on how latecomer countries and companies catch up in the digital era, especially in China.