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Bauer Business Minds
In 2021, several C. T. Bauer College of Business faculty were appointed to editorial board positions at prestigious academic journals and published precedent-setting research. A small sampling of noteworthy faculty research produced from the Bauer College follows.
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Acting to Advance Racial Equity
Faculty: Enrica N. Ruggs, Associate Professor, Department of Management & Leadership; Derek R. Avery, Chair of Inclusive Leadership and Professor, Department of Management & Leadership
Insight: An unprecedented number of organizations spoke out publicly and pledged to join the fight for racial justice after the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in 2020. The researchers say it’s not enough for organizations to have gone on the record against racism; they must show stakeholders and employees how they are making progress to address equity internally. In “Linking Good Intentions to Intentional Action,” published by MIT/Sloan Management Review, they encourage organizations to focus on accountability, results, and transparency while modeling behavioral integrity.
Predicting FX Currency Returns
Faculty: Antonio Gargano, Assistant Professor, Department of Finance
Insight: Partnering with the world’s largest FX settlement institution, researchers were able to yield some of the first economically valuable, predictive information about how the giant market behaves. The CLS Group data used in the study covers around 50 percent of OTC spot, forward, and swap market activity for 31 currency pairs, over six years, at an hourly frequency, providing invaluable insight for institutional investors. “Foreign Exchange Volume,” was published by Review of Financial Studies.
Direct Messaging and Hiring Outcomes
Faculty: Yili (Kevin) Hong, Professor and Bauer Senior Fellow; Nina Huang, Associate Professor and Bauer Fellow, Department of Decision & Information Sciences
Insights: In the vast online labor market, job-seekers are looking for every advantage. Researchers found evidence to suggest three things job applicants can do to distinguish themselves from the rest of the invisible online hoard. DM the employer, be polite, and don’t sabotage your effort with mis-spellings. According to the research, “Just DM Me (Politely): Direct Messaging, Politeness, and Hiring Outcomes in Online Labor Markets,” published in Information Systems Research, direct messaging with a prospective employer increases a worker’s probability of being hired by 8.9 percent, especially if they lack experience for a particular job.
Mitigating Unexpected Shortfalls
Faculty: Bin Li, Assistant Professor, Department of Accountancy & Taxation
Insights: Li and co-authors analyzed data from more than 2,000 companies before and after implementation of the 2006 Pension Protection Act (PPA), which had a huge impact on companies that offer defined-benefit pension plans. In “Do Financing Constraints Lead to Incremental Tax Planning? Evidence from the Pension Protection Act of 2006,” published by Contemporary Accounting Research, they reported that impacted firms were able to recoup 19 percent of their investment shortfall by modifying tax strategies, some of which are documented in the paper.
Brand Extension and Court Decisions
Faculty: Betsy D. Gelb, Marvin Hurley Professor, Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship
Insights: Entering a new product category or new geographic area can create trademark disputes between well-established companies and competitors with similar names. In "Will that Brand Extension Hit Headwinds? The Issue is Natural Expansion of a Trademark," published in Business Horizons, Gelb and co-authors researched 12 cases which went to trial and found that brand extenders prevail in court under just two conditions: They were entering a new product category seen as similar to its current offerings, or its geographic expansion was seen as simply moving into an area in which it had established market presence.
