NewsBites

Below is a summary of some of the school's citations in prominent national and regional media. These media placements enhance the school's national reputation and help to brand it as one of the nation's top business schools.

U.S. News and World Report has again ranked the UB School of Management a ‘best business school’ in its annual ranking of MBA programs. (See story in Startups.)

An article on ESPN about the important role music and the clubhouse DJ play in Major League Baseball features Katerina Bezrukova, associate professor of organization and human resources, who studies the impact of team chemistry on winning and says music plays a role. “Players do better when they have things in common, and music can be one of the things that they share. It’s part of the soup. It’s one of those things that binds a team together,” she said. Stories also appeared on ABC13 in Houston, WABC-TV in New York City, ESPNW and NESN.

Charles Lindsey, associate professor of marketing, was quoted for an article in USA Today about a new fountain drink machine unveiled by Coca-Cola that allows individuals to use Bluetooth technology to prepare their drinks precisely the way they want with a few taps on their smartphone. “A greater level of customization really allows companies to connect with consumers, especially when it’s what they’re looking for and making them feel special,” he said.

Research by Jim Lemoine, assistant professor of organization and human resources, was featured in a story in Entrepreneur magazine about ways — besides higher pay — a company can show appreciation and keep employees happy. According to Lemoine, employees are turned off by goals they see as unrealistic, but motivated by small wins and challenging, incremental goals.

Entrepreneur also featured School of Management research in a story about businesses that attempt fundraising success with a Kickstarter campaign or other crowdfunding platforms. The researchers found that video, pictures and other types of media greatly increase the results generated by crowdfunding campaigns, and that video content is the key not just for Kickstarter but for digital marketing and engagement in general. The study was co-authored by Yong Li, associate professor, and Supradeep Dutta, assistant professor, both in operations management and strategy, and Christopher Courtney, PhD ’18.

NPR’s Marketplace interviewed Charles Lindsey, associate professor of marketing, for a story about returns for online holiday gifts. Lindsey said returns aren’t a gift for retailers. “[Retailers] send them to a distribution center, they may be purchased by liquidators ... they may end up in a landfill.”

Research by Larry Sanders, professor of management science and systems, and Joana Gaia, clinical assistant professor of management science and systems, was highlighted in Politico’s daily roundup of essential health care news. Their study showed that privacy concerns keep most patients from signing up to electronically share their medical records with health care providers, but education could make a difference. “When a patient decides not to share their records electronically, it can result in increased costs, medical errors and undesired health outcomes,” Sanders said. “But patients are more concerned about privacy, and health care providers should make it a priority to let them know about all the policies and security measures in place to protect them.”

An article on Vice’s Motherboard about new technology that will allow ships to sail autonomously reports that Buffalo Automation — a startup that began at UB and won the 2016 Panasci Technology Entrepreneurship Competition — has raised $900,000 to help commercialize its AutoMate system, a collection of sensors and cameras to help boats operate semi-autonomously.

The Economist featured an article about research co-authored by Feng Gu, associate professor and chair of accounting and law. His research found that reported earnings are no longer a good measure of a company’s profits and may not be a useful guide to future share performance.

Gu’s research also was featured in an article in the Globe and Mail, Canada’s largest newspaper. He and the study’s co-author examined the downward trend in value added from traditional valuation models based on earnings forecasts, and possible causes.

Debabrata Talukdar, professor of marketing, was quoted in a Buffalo News story about how the closing of Bon-Ton is impacting area malls. “Stores are becoming virtual, so the physical dimension of malls is contracting,” he said.

In a Buffalo News opinion piece, Larry Zielinski, executive in residence for health care administration, looks at the striking and alarming health care disparities between white and black America. “Access to health insurance and preventative health care are obviously crucial elements, but equally — or more — important are the social determinants of health,” he wrote. “The economic stability of neighborhoods, the level of poverty and unemployment, education levels and quality, family and social cohesion, access to healthy foods, safe and affordable housing, levels of crime and violence, and environmental quality — all of these factors substantially impact the health of a population.”