About Lina
Dr. Lina Xiong is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources (HDNR) at Colorado State University (CSU), where she also serves as Director of the China Sustainable Tourism Programs. Also known as “Dr. Bear” by students given the meaning of her last name in Chinese. She joined CSU with a strong background in tourism and hospitality marketing, earned through her Ph.D. in Business Administration from Temple University in Philadelphia. Dr. Xiong’s research began with a focus on internal branding, service management, and employee well-being in the tourism and hospitality industry. Over time, her work has evolved to encompass nature-based tourism and conservation, maintaining a consistent emphasis on the human dimension. As a Colorado transplant, she has developed a deep appreciation for nature and open spaces, which has influenced her interdisciplinary research exploring the intersection of business management, stakeholder voices, and human–nature relationships to promote sustainability and well-being. She has led funded research projects on human–wildlife coexistence in rapidly urbanizing environments and facilitated multiple international cultural exchange initiatives. At CSU, she teaches tourism strategic management and tourism marketing at both undergraduate and graduate levels, advocating for the voices of internal stakeholders, including service employees and destination residents. As Director of the China Sustainable Tourism Programs, she oversees two successful international collaborative master’s degrees—the Master of Tourism Management and the Master of Park and Protected Area Management. Both are offered in partnership with Central China Normal University.
Website Google Scholar ProfileInterests
- Internal branding and brand-aligned workforce development
- Service management and employee wellbeing in tourism and hospitality
- Destination resident well-being in destination development
- Human–wildlife coexistence in rapidly urbanizing environments
- International and cross-cultural collaboration in tourism education and research
Education
Ph.D, Business Administration - Temple University
Philadelphia, PA, 2014
M.S., Hospitality Information Management - University of Delaware
Newark, DE, 2008
B.S., Tourism Management - Jinan University
Guangzhou, China, 2006
Awards, Honors, Grants
- Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, China Program International Fellowship, 2023-24
- Outstanding Faculty Award, APACC (Asian Pacific American Cultural Center), Colorado State University, 2022
- HDNR travel funds, 2016-2019
- Highly Commended Award of the 2014 Emerald/EFMD Outstanding Doctoral Research Awards (Hospitality Management category), 2015
- “Advancement in Research Grants”, HDNR , 2015
- Winner of the Outstanding Paper in the 2015 Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence , 2014
- The Fox School of Business, Temple University, Travel Grant, 2010-2012
Selected Publications
Promoting resident-tourist interaction quality when residents are expected to be hospitable hosts at destinations
“That’s not my job”: Exploring the employee perspective in the development of brand ambassadors
Too much of a good thing? Examining how proactive personality affects employee brand performance
Exploring How Employee Sense of Brand Community Affects Their Attitudes and Behavior
Aligning employees’ attitudes and behavior with hospitality brands: the role of employee brand internalization
It takes a village: examining how and when brand-specific transformational leadership affects employees in internal brand management