Insights

— Cristian Tiu, chair and associate professor of finance, on his research that analyzed the performance of nearly 4,000 hedge funds from 2012 to 2022 and found that those that focused on green (environmentally friendly) stocks outperformed ones that invested more heavily in brown (less environmentally friendly) stocks by a difference of about 8%. Read more about Tiu's study.

— Raj Sharman, professor of management science and systems, on his research that introduces the Chatbot Discourse Design Framework, which helps find key conversation patterns in discussions between humans and connects them to chatbot designs to enhance their conversational abilities. The study appeared in AIS Transactions on Human-Computer Interaction. Read more about Sharman's study.

— Danielle Tussing, assistant professor of organization and human resources, on her study that showed how understanding the different aspects of flexible thought processes can help organizational scholars improve theories about employee behavior and decision making. The review gives a systematic view that improves the understanding of cognitive flexibility and provides shared terminology for management scholars to use in future research. The study appeared in the Academy of Management Annals. Read more about Tussing's study.

— Daniela Goya-Tocchetto, assistant professor of organization and human resources, on her research that challenges practices that reward candidates exclusively based on achievements like GPA and quality of internships — often celebrated as the gold standard of fairness in organizations. The study reveals that when confronted with a candidate’s prior socioeconomic advantages or disadvantages in the hiring and promotion process, both liberals and conservatives alter their perceptions of fairness. The study appeared in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Read more about Goya-Tocchetto's study.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board — the main regulator for audits of publicly traded companies in the U.S. — cited research by Brandon Szerwo and Joshua Khavis, assistant professors of accounting and law, in a recent audit disclosure proposal. Their study investigates how employee turnover is related to audit quality. Read more and watch their video.

— Ram Ramesh, professor of management science and systems, on his study that found that that both monetary and nonmonetary incentives increase participation from gig economy workers like DoorDash or Uber drivers when offered separately. But when offered at the same time, the effects of the monetary incentives are diminished, rather than enhanced by the nonmonetary rewards. The study appeared in Management Science. Read more about Ramesh's study.

— Michael Dambra, associate professor and Kenneth W. Colwell Chair of Accounting and Law, on his research about investors capitalizing on a loophole in U.S. tax laws that has led to billions of dollars of lost tax revenue. The study finds that investors are selling and repurchasing nearly identical exchange-traded funds (ETFs), group of stocks, bonds or other securities, as a strategy to bypass long-standing tax laws. Read more about Dambra's study.

— James Lemoine, associate professor of organization and human resources, on his study that examined which political skills leaders should develop to best help employees embrace, engage with and work toward successful change. The study reveals key skills, such as networking ability and interpersonal influence, for leadership training to prioritize to help managers navigate change efficiently. The study appeared in Group and Organization Management. Read more about Lemoine's study.

— Kate Bezrukova, associate professor of organization and human resources, on her research that found diversity training is most effective when it is part of a broader, ongoing organizational effort. In addition, programs that consider the big picture with longer, iterative training programs that include skill development are more likely to succeed than one-off sessions or “check-the-box” approaches. The study appeared in Current Opinion of Psychology. Read more about Bezrukova's study.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand visited UB in November to highlight her visionary Cyber Service Academy scholarship program, and to celebrate the university’s critical role in educating the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. The program will create a pipeline for a talented, highly trained workforce to address critical vulnerabilities in national security. Kevin Cleary, clinical assistant professor of Management Science and Systems, underscored the dynamic nature of cybersecurity threats. “This field evolves daily, requiring agile and adaptive programs,” Cleary said. “Sen. Gillibrand’s support is paramount in fostering the partnerships and policies needed to expand the talent pipeline.”

— Arun Lakshmanan, associate professor of marketing, on his research that found when consumers get a sense of how a product is put together they are more confident that a product will deliver its core benefit — and they will be more likely to buy it. The findings show that anatomical depictions — a way of displaying the product that shows how its inner components are assembled — influence consumer perception of product performance and worth. The study appeared in the Journal of Marketing. Read more about Lakshmanan's study.

— Wreetabrata Kar, assistant professor of marketing, on his study that investigated the impact of nonfinancial incentives like badges and status on Yelp, and found that when consumers see a badge indicating that a reviewer once was elite, they place more trust in those reviews, regardless of their actual depth or accuracy. Read more about Kar's study.