Coco Liu

I’m Coco.

I am on the 2026-2027 academic job market in management.

I am a PhD candidate at the University of Utah, David Eccles School of Business.

Much of the inspiration for my work comes from childhood conversations with my parents. I grew up listening to my parents talk about the dark side of work—wrongful accusations, political turmoil, and betrayal from those they trusted. Yet they were adamant in teaching me that I would always be able to see the good in people if I just took the time to learn and understand them. My parents drew on Confucius’ belief that doing so helps people uncover sources of knowledge and potential. However, what remained a mystery to me was how we would identify such expertise.

My research therefore examines how people identify expertise at work, focusing specifically on the behaviors and cognitions that shape this identification process. In particular, my job market paper examines how a type of public, information recognition behavior—which I call spotlighting—affects group processes through expertise identification.

As an instructor, I see my role as guiding students to develop a more complex understanding of their world.

This component of my teaching philosophy stems from my experience working at Morningstar Inc. It was my first corporate internship, and my supervisor said, approvingly, “you ask questions like a manager.” She meant that I did not just ask what the task was but also why we were doing it. I strive to encourage my students to do the same through my teaching, such as by highlighting the importance of considering multiple perspectives or by helping them develop critical writing and reflection skills.

Photo credit: Saverio Truglia

Gallery

  • 2026 INGRoup presentation on dissertation chapter 2
  • 2025 SJDM presentation on Liu et al. (2026)
  • 2024 AOM symposium on multicultural experiences with Carmit Tadmor, Jaina Zhang, Daniela Rodriguez-Mincey, Giselle Antoine, Cynthia Feng, and Terence McElroy (pictured from left to right).
  • 2024 field data collection in Munich with coauthors from Tenney et al. (2026).
  • 2024 AOM New Doctoral Student Consortium (NDSC), with marketing committee chair Emily Hsu
  • 2023 AOM New Doctoral Student Consortium (NDSC) Marketing Committee
  • Celebrating the final submission of Rochford et al. (2026)