Dustin Chambers has accepted an appointment as Senior Economist for Regulations at the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA).
Professor Spotlight: How Dr. Judi Billups is Getting Involved:
SU Alumni Association Honors Five with Faculty Appreciation Awards:
RESEARCH DIGEST – Perdue School of Business
Spring 2025 Edition, Vol. 1, Issue 1.
Dear friends, please find below the first issue of the Research Digest. I noticed we have many wonderful opportunities for synchronous presentation/discussion of research. However over the years I have thought it would be nice to add some asynchronous learning to the mix in the form of the Research Digest. As the Chair of the FDC, I now have the pleasure of reading summaries of the many wonderful research activities that are being undertaken in the School. It occurred to me that I am now in a great place to start sharing this information with the rest of the School. Please find this new experiment below and your feedback is welcome. I hope you find this interesting and/or informative.
Very best regards,
Gene Hahn
N.B. No attempt has been made to make the publications appear in a complete citation format such as APA or Chicago format. Most articles were submitted to the FDC shortly after acceptance so no citation information was available – it was deemed out of scope at the current time for the Research Digest to pursue this information. In a small number of instances, the title and/or abstract was omitted or could not otherwise be located. For such abstracts, the first paragraph was substituted. The approximate time period for the Spring 2025 Edition involved, essentially, the papers that were submitted to the FDC Chair between August to December, 2024. Possible future issues of the Research Digest may include 2025 submissions.
Ronei Leonel. Of Shepherds and Sheep: Who Sets the Agenda for Firms’ Attention to Social Issues? Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management.
ABSTRACT: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has received a lot of attention in terms of how it can benefit firms and why firms voluntarily address social issues. However, little is known about the issues to which firms choose to pay attention and what influences these decisions. In this paper, we adopt an attention-based view (ABV) of the firm that builds on media agenda-setting theory to develop a model of situated attention suggesting that firms address social issues that are most prominent in their institutional environment as determined by the media. We analyze the frequency of 64 social issues in the CSR reports of 258 firms from 2006-2016 for a total sample of 86,208 issue-firm-year observations. We find that the salience of issues in traditional media influence which social issues firms address in their CSR reports. We also find evidence that over time, the agenda-setting effect of traditional media on firms’ social agenda is increasing while the public has an increasing indirect influence on the firm’s social agenda by influencing the traditional media channels.
Shan Lei and Ning Li. Health Deterioration and Stock Investment: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study. Journal of Personal Finance.
ABSTRACT: This study examines the effect of health deterioration experienced by the aging population on their household portfolio choices. This study adds to the literature by incorporating various facets of health deterioration, which include 1) health shocks, which consider a diagnosis of a new severe health condition and a new hospital admission measured by length of hospital stay, 2) self-reporting of fair or poor health status in the previous wave and 3) mental health score in the previous wave. Analysis of the most recently released eight waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) suggests that self-reported health status, and nights spent in hospital play a significant role in stock investment decision making. However, the onset of a new diagnosis of acute or chronic conditions and mental health status are not found to be a significant contributor in this study for singles or married couples. The findings in this study provide implications for policy makers, financial professionals as well as individual investors.
Jamie Emerson and Theresa Manns, Risk-taking and performance in marathon running: do pace setters matter? Economics Bulletin
ABSTRACT: After many years of using pace setters, the Chicago Marathon eliminated professional pacers for elite runners for the 2015, 2016, and 2017 races, and then reinstated the use of pace setters beginning with the 2018 race. Publicly available data was collected pertaining to the three Chicago Marathon races that did not use pace setters and for the three races subsequent to the reinstatement of pacers. For the same years, data was also collected for the New York Marathon, a World Majors Marathon that did not use professional pace setters for elite runners in any race years under consideration. Difference-in-differences estimations were used to determine the impacts of professional pace setters on the performance of elite male marathon runners. Results indicate that use of professional pacers does improve the race times of the fastest elite runners while making the race appear less competitive by creating more separation between the runners earlier in the race.
Jong Hyun Wi, Hoon S. Cha, Chanhi Park, Taeha Kim Understanding Factors Influencing Virtual Reality Acceptance Using a Unified SOR-TAM Approach. Asia Pacific Journal of Information Systems
ABSTRACT: This study explored factors influencing user acceptance of virtual reality (VR) technology. In this study, we proposed a comprehensive research model combining the technology acceptance model (TAM) extension with the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) framework. The integration of TAM and SOR, along with the exploration of three distinct sensory inputs – vividness, presence, and interactivity – shaping user intentions in the VR context, makes a substantial contribution to the existing literature. Assessed through perceptions of usefulness, ease of use, and enjoyment, our findings revealed that perceived enjoyment was positively affected by vividness and presence. Perceived usefulness was exclusively influenced by presence factors, whereas perceived ease of use was solely affected by interactivity. This study’s results confirmed the direct positive influence of perceived usefulness, ease of use, and enjoyment on the intention to adopt VR. However, the mediating effect of perceived ease of use was supported only by perceived usefulness. Our findings offer valuable insights for both researchers and industry professionals, aiding the development of more effective VR systems through an enhanced understanding of users’ willingness to adopt VR technology.
Ronei Leonel. Extending Beyond Collective Action: Stakeholders’ Influence on Firms in the Digital Age by Colleoni, Zyglidopoulos and Illia (2024) and Barnett et al.,2024. Academy of Management Perspectives
ABSTRACT: Scholars are exploring how digital media affects stakeholder-firm relationships. Digital activism, from clicktivism to hacktivism, bypasses traditional media, enabling online content sharing. Debates exist on whether digital media weakens or strengthens stakeholder influence. Some argue it leads to “slacktivism,” reducing collective action, while others believe it helps diverse stakeholders unite through hashtags, increasing their impact. This article suggests digital activism includes more than hashtags, proposing two pathways for digital tools to pressure firms for social change. We call for broader research comparing digital activism with traditional social movements and examining its impact on firm responsiveness.
Yun-Kyoung Kim and Jihyun Eun. The Adoption of Corporate Family-Friendly Policies in South Korea from the 1960s to 2023: A Three-Stage Model for Emerging Economics. Journal of Management History
ABSTRACT:
Purpose – This paper aims to present the trajectory of corporate family-friendly policies (FFPs) in South Korea, as it evolved from an emerging economy to a developed country. The adoption of FFPs by South Korean corporations since the 1960s has been shaped by a dynamic interplay of cultural, political, economic, legal, social and organizational forces. The authors use the example of South Korea to propose a three-stage conceptual model for the adoption of FFPs in emerging economies.
Design/methodology/approach – Adopting the institution-based view, the authors explore the theoretical framework for implementing FFPs in corporations in emerging economies. This paper uses South Korea as a case study, reviewing its economic and corporate transitions from the early 1960s through 2023. The authors analyze cultural and macro-level forces, including political, economic, legal and social contexts to understand their impact on the adoption of FFPs.
Findings – The adoption of FFPs in South Korea encompassed three historical stages – embryonic, stagnant and leaping. The embryonic stage brought the birth of social interest in a worker-friendly environment, alongside rapid economic growth. In the stagnant stage, economic growth plateaued, resulting in stalled discussions of FFPs. In the leaping stage, economic recovery raised employee expectations, societal demands for FFPs to address ultralow fertility rates intensified and corporations adopted FFPs. All three stages are apparent in an emerging economy that is undergoing rapid growth and industrialization.
Originality/value – There has been scant investigation into the historical adoption of FFPs by emerging economies. The findings enrich the international literature by proposing a developmental model of the adoption of FFPs in emerging economies.
Pat McDermott. Fitting the Forum To Fit The Fuss – The Rise Of Online Video Mediation For Workplace Dispute Resolution. Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution
ABSTRACT: Is online dispute resolution poised to become the predominant mediation model for workplace dispute resolution? This paper provides a data-driven analysis of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (“EEOC”) mediation program, the OVM program’s success, EEOC’s transition to the use of online video mediation (“OVM”) in lieu of in-person mediation (“IPM), and comparisons of IPM and OVM. The data is drawn from over two decades of data; the data identifies the forum the parties prefer and why. The data suggests a qualitative change that presages the replacement of IPM with OVM for many workplace dispute mediations. As the Covid era subsides, the jury is out on the permanency of new ways of resolving disputes. Our data suggests there will be change.
Pat McDermott. Journal of Dispute Resolution
ABSTRACT: This study measures the existence and impact of the “repeat player effect” (“effect”) in mediation at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). Legal and conflict resolution theorists suggest that the existence of repeat players is a process flaw. They opine that first time players ( “one-shotters”) are at a disadvantage to repeat players, including in mediation. Dispute resolution scholarship literature discusses this effect, many assuming it as an a priori process failure. This study will report empirical data on the measurement of its existence and impact from the vantage-point of the mediator. The study also employs participant survey measures comparing the inexperienced participant (“one shotter”) versus the repeat player. This data measures repeat player and one-shotter bargaining/negotiation conduct, party outcome satisfaction, and settlement rates. This provides new perspectives on the existence and impact of the repeat player effect. The thrust of this data suggests that the repeat player effect exists in different cases in different amounts and has a de minimis impact on the case settlement.
Kenneth Smith, David J Emerson, Megan S Kelly. The Role of Self-Efficacy and the Fraud Diamond on the Decision to Use Assignment Assistance Websites. Current Psychology.
ABSTRACT: Recently, several factors have exacerbated the potential for college students to circumvent the learning process. These include rapid technological advances, easy information access, competitive pressures, and the proliferation of websites that facilitate student access to information which provide “assistance” in completing outside assignments. With a sample of 964 students matriculating in numerous majors at a public university in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region, we conducted Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling analyses to assess the effects of psychological factors on student inclinations to engage the services of assignment assistance websites (AAW). Specifically, we examined how self-efficacy interacted with Fraud Diamond elements to impact student decisions to engage AAW services. We found that self-efficacy exerted a significant influence on multiple Fraud Diamond elements, which in turn had a significant influence on students’ intentions to use, and reported use of, AAW. However, this influence was not uniform between identified groups based on cheating behaviors.
Yuqi Peng et al. E-waste Take-back and Producer Eco-innovation: Empirical Analysis of State Regulations in the United States. Production and Operations Management.
ABSTRACT: E-waste take-back regulation in the United States requires producers to manage their products at the end of life. This legislation aims to stimulate product and process innovations that reduce the environmental impact of E-waste. In this study, we employ a staggered difference-in-differences approach to explore the causal relationship between state E-waste regulations and eco-innovation among producers. Our results indicate that E-waste regulations significantly boost the number of eco-patents filed by producers, with the effect intensifying as regulatory pressure increases. Additionally, our findings show that regulated producers tend to focus more on upstream resource efficiency innovations than on downstream waste management. This research offers valuable insights for policymakers and industry practitioners aiming to enhance practices for E-waste management.
Jill Caviglia-Harris and co-authors. The New Frontier: Social Media’s Influence on Farming Practices in the Brazilian Amazon. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review.
ABSTRACT: Social media has transformed the ways in which people interact with family and friends (O’Keeffe, Clarke-Pearson, and Media 2011; Coyne et al. 2014), operate at work (Han et al. 2020; Rozgonjuk et al. 2020), learn in academic settings (Casal 2019; Ben Aoun and Jerbi 2017), and collectively act within national politics (Wolfsfeld, Segev, and Sheafer 2013). This communication method also has the potential to reshape rural areas in developing nations in ways that differ from previous Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) such as television, radio and telephones both by enabling the spread of information through a large number of strong and weak social networks (Aker 2011; Anderson-Wilk 2009; Tiwari, Lane, and Alam 2019; Cash et al. 2003) and by increasing the rate at which such information is spread (Engotoit, Kituyi, and Moya 2016; White et al. 2014; Davis 2017). For farmers, social media not only lowers the cost of transferring information, but also connects them to virtual markets, provides easy-to-access information on input and output prices, and provides opportunities to share experiences of on new and existing best practices.
Jacob Almaguer and co-authors. Emoji Marketing: Toward a Theory of Brand Paralinguistics. International Journal of Research in Marketing
ABSTRACT: Emojis, or pictographs that supplement or replace written language, have become ubiquitous in contemporary communication, including emoji marketing. Drawing on insights from linguistics and sign theory, the current research proposes an emoji marketing frame- work in which emoji symbolism (symbolic vs. iconic emoji use) affects consumers’ message appraisals (perceived message intimacy and clarity), which in turn influence brand cultural relevance (propositions P1 and P2). Emoji syntax (i.e., whether emojis are supplemented with text or not) and marketer-consumer group relatedness (shared vs. unshared group membership) moderate the relationship between emoji symbolism and consumers’ message appraisals. The framework suggests that messages that use emojis as symbols, relative to no-emoji (text-only) marketing messages, evoke greater perceived message clarity (P3a) and greater perceived message intimacy (P4a) if those emojis are supplemented with text, as well as greater intimacy if group relatedness is shared (P5a). In contrast, if messages use emojis as icons, again relative to no-emoji (text-only) marketing messages, they produce greater perceived message clarity if emojis are not supplemented with text (P3b) and higher perceived message clarity and intimacy regardless of marketer-consumer group relatedness (P4b and P5b). The authors present several implications and pertinent avenues for research that can leverage this novel emoji marketing framework.
Hong Kim Duong, Ying Wu, Eduardo Schiehll, Hong Yao. Environmental and Social Disclosure, Managerial Entrenchment, and Investment Efficiency. Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics.
ABSTRACT: This study investigates the effect of environmental and social (E&S) disclosure and managerial entrenchment on investment efficiency. E&S disclosure increases not only capital accessibility but also external monitoring of entrenched managers’ actions. We develop a theoretical model that demonstrates how these benefits and costs of firms’ voluntary E&S disclosure affect investment efficiency. Using a large sample of U.S.-listed firms over the period 2016–2022, we test the model’s predictions and provide empirical evidence suggesting that E&S disclosure is positively associated with investment efficiency and that this effect is stronger for firms with lower managerial entrenchment or those disclosing more financially material E&S information. Our study contributes to the investment efficiency literature by demonstrating the relevance of an incentive-compatible mechanism reflecting managers’ choice of E&S voluntary disclosure to the efficient capital allocation.
Wenxiu Nan, Yuqi Peng, Minseok Park, Tao Li. Mobile Money, Stockouts, and Informal Microenterprise Performance: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa. Industrial Management & Data Systems
ABSTRACT:
Purpose – The extensive use of mobile money (MM) has been widely recognized as a digital engine of socioeconomic development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This paper aims to focus on the effects of MM use and stockouts on informal microenterprise performance and investigate whether MM use mitigates the relationship between stockouts and firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach – This study utilizes firm-level data from the latest World Bank Informal Sector Enterprise Surveys across six SSA countries. We employ instrumental variable-adjusted and propensity score-weighted regressions to investigate the buffering effect of MM use.
Findings – We find a significantly positive effect of MM use and a significantly negative impact of stockouts on informal microenterprise performance. Importantly, we establish that MM use attenuates the negative impact of stockouts on firm performance. We further document that the attenuating effect of MM use is more profound for firms using MM for transactions with supply chain partners, located in communities with high MM use rates, and operating in the retail industry.
Practical implications – Our research generates important managerial and policy implications. Future policies should capitalize on MM to foster an effective financial ecosystem in which informal microenterprises can survive and grow, thereby deepening their contributions to sustainable development.
Originality/value – Whereas the business benefits of MM among small, medium and large firms are well-documented, the role of MM use on informal microenterprise performance is less understood. This study fills the research gap in the literature by focusing on the influence of MM use on the relationships between informal microenterprise operations and performance.
Herman Manakyan. Decomposition of tracking difference components for leveraged exchange traded products. International Journal of Financial Markets and Derivatives.
ABSTRACT: The tracking difference is arguably the gold standard of measuring the performance of leveraged exchange traded products. The objective of this research is to identify the elements that give rise to the formation of tracking differences and pinpoint the relative importance of these elements under different financial environments. In this study, we analysed the tracking differences of both unleveraged and leveraged ETPs in different asset categories. Specifically, we used daily values for the Standard and Poor’s 500 total return index (S&P 500 TR) and the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude as benchmarks for two different asset categories of ETPs. The tracking differences for each of these selected leveraged and unleveraged ETPs were decomposed using classical additive time series model.