Yixi Chen

I am a 5th-year Ph.D. candidate in Management (Organization Theory) at Columbia Business School.

My research sits at the intersection of identity, social evaluation, and social networks. In my dissertation, I propose the concept of stigma as distinction to examine when and how stigmatized identities can shift from being mere liabilities to potential assets in entrepreneurial evaluation. Specifically, I investigate the forms and consequences of revealing versus concealing devalued identities, such as neurodivergence, criminal records, and lower social class, in entrepreneurship and education contexts. I use a mixed-method approach, combining experiments with in-depth interviews, computational text analysis, and surveys.

Before coming to Columbia, I worked as a Senior Analyst at Mastercard International (New York and Shanghai). I received my M.A. in Sociology from the University of Chicago and my B.A. in History and Economics from Mount Holyoke College.

I will be on the 2026-2027 job market.

Contact

Feel free to contact me at: YiChen26@gsb.columbia.edu.