The University at Buffalo School of Management is a vibrant and inclusive community of big thinkers and even bigger doers. We work together to question and upend theories, lifting each other up and driving change. Because at the UB School of Management, ambition is a virtue, tenacity is a given, and discovery happens everywhere, from the classroom to the boardroom. That’s just how we do it here.
How to win the wallet war
New UB School of Management research surveyed nearly 1,800 shoppers and found that price remains a dominant concern for nearly 70% of consumers, while highlighting emerging concerns around artificial intelligence, physical store security and broader economic and geopolitical issues.
Classroom to community
Matthew Mullens, MBA ’25, recently helped the Lexington Co-op add value and make meaningful environmental impacts — without compromising its financial health.
The project was part of the UB Carbon Reduction Challenge, in which students collaborate with companies to design, pitch and implement strategies to reduce their carbon footprint.
Minecrafting a plan
In their project management course, our Online MBA students used Minecraft’s creative mode to tackle complex challenges, build virtual structures and sharpen essential business skills — no pickaxes required.
This course is just one example of how School of Management faculty are thinking outside the box to deliver online programs in innovative ways.
Boosting business, building skills
The Projects Clinic, in partnership with local and global businesses, employs graduate students in experiential learning projects.
Clinic interns work to solve real problems. Working in small teams, our interns leverage the skills they learn in the classroom, while also bringing their own perspective to create positive change.
Climate innovation
As the impact of climate change grows daily, business leaders are developing innovative solutions, including new technologies, renewable energy sources and business models that are less carbon-intensive.
In the School of Management, faculty are advancing research to address regional and global environmental challenges. Meanwhile, in workplaces around the world, our alumni are at the forefront of impactful climate action.
Thinking big, driving change
Researchers in the UB School of Management continuously explore and expand the frontiers of business knowledge.
That rich mixture of ideas, camaraderie and academic discipline was on display in front of the entire university at the school’s 14th annual PhD Showcase.
AI agents can form unscripted alliances
Large language model agents, such as virtual assistants or chatbots, can learn to cooperate with one another — even when they aren’t given any instruction to do so — according to new School of Management research.
The study examines whether generative AI assistants with different or conflicting goals can choose to cooperate because each recognizes the benefits.
Business analytics meets societal impact
Business leaders increasingly agree: The days of corporations operating solely to maximize shareholder value are behind us. In addition to paying attention to a slew of additional metrics alongside the bottom line, organizations are assessing the effects their actions have on employees, customers, communities and the planet.
In this feature from AACSB International, the prestigious accrediting organization for business schools worldwide, read how UB School of Management MS in Business Analytics students use their data storytelling and visualization skills to support sustainable, community-focused initiatives.
Ranked No. 5 in the U.S.
The UB School of Management is again one of the best business schools in the nation based on the return on investment it provides MBA graduates, according to Bloomberg Businessweek’s ROI calculator.
At No. 5 among U.S. B-schools, the UB School of Management is ranked far ahead of schools like Harvard (No. 42), Wharton (No. 51) and Cornell (No. 45), as well as numerous other schools in in the Northeast, including NYU (Stern), University of Rochester (Simon) and University of Pittsburgh (Katz).
Two factors that mask economic inequality
A pair of new School of Management studies analyzed decades of data and thousands of surveys to explore how people perceive disparities in income.
Their findings show that individuals who believe in the fairness of socioeconomic institutions and those living or working in geographical areas where rich and poor are separated from each other perceive less economic inequality than those who question institutional fairness or are exposed to mixed-income spaces.
How investors are trading to minimize taxes
Investors are capitalizing on a loophole in U.S. tax laws that has led to billions of dollars of lost tax revenue, according to new School of Management research.
By analyzing more than two decades of data, the researchers discovered that investors are selling and repurchasing nearly identical exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a group of stocks, bonds or other securities, as a strategy to minimize taxes owed to the federal government and bypass long-standing tax laws.
Going green pays off for hedge fund investors
New School of Management research analyzed the performance of nearly 4,000 hedge funds 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% — making it a smart strategy for both investors and hedge fund managers.
AI in your workplace
Artificial intelligence is already affecting every aspect of business, from accounting and finance, to marketing, supply chains, HR and more — and its impact is growing every day.
In the School of Management, faculty are conducting research to deepen our understanding of AI and how we can use it to change society for the better. Meanwhile, in workplaces around the world, alumni are at the forefront, putting this rapidly changing technology to work.
Making bots more chatty
As artificial intelligence increasingly impacts our daily lives, researchers in the School of Management analyzed more than 20 years of data to develop a new framework that transforms AI chatbots into more intuitive, human-like conversation partners.
Entrepreneurial innovation
The School of Management received the Excellence in Curriculum Innovation in Entrepreneurship Award at VentureWell’s 2024 Deshpande Symposium honoring UB’s exemplary commitment to developing innovative educational courses and programs that foster entrepreneurship education.
True Blue: Corina Stammworthy, CEL ’21
Stammworthy came up with her business concept in a dream. Now, the founder of the dog grooming and daycare provider The Laundromutt has turned her dream into reality and a career — while facing serious health challenges.
Securing AI for the U.S. military
Four UB faculty researchers will serve as key members of a new $1.8 million initiative to secure the U.S. Department of Defense’s most critical artificial intelligence models, while also accelerating the technology’s commercialization in the private sector.
Photo: “The Pentagon” by Touch of Light (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Integrating AI in the classroom
Two School of Management projects recently received seed grant funding to integrate generative artificial intelligence into course and curricular design to help students understand how these models work, how to use AI ethically and how to build their own AI tools.
United to celebrate a century
As the yearlong recognition of the School of Management’s 100th anniversary draws to a close, students, alumni, faculty and staff donned their UB blue apparel and gathered at Clemens Field for a commemorative photo — in the shape of a huge 100.
Team says “cheeze” to win UB entrepreneurship competition
First-year MBA students Matthew Mullens and Neharika Korati took first place in this year's Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition. The team will receive $25,000 in startup capital and in-kind services valued at $40,000 for their company, Empasta, which produces what the team calls “cheeze” sauce—a healthier, tasty cheese alternative.
Equity in employment: Rethinking the most qualified candidate
School of Management researchers conducted five experiments with more than 3,300 participants and found 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.
Celebrating a century: Nine distinguished alumni share lessons learned at the top
Amid a yearlong recognition of its 100th anniversary, the School of Management invited nine distinguished alumni to campus in November to share insights, inspire the university community and look ahead to the future.
Meet the honorees, learn more about them and read their personal stories in the spring 2024 issue of Buffalo Business magazine.
Securing the Arctic: School of Management research receives grant from Department of Homeland Security
Kyle Hunt, assistant professor of management science and systems, was recently selected to be part of the launch of a new Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate initiative that will address critical security issues in the Arctic.
University at Buffalo receives formal association with the United Nations Department of Global Communications
Through an effort led by Dorothy Siaw-Asamoah, clinical professor of organization and human resources, the University at Buffalo will gain global recognition and representation at the United Nations, and will be involved in advocacy efforts to help monitor and implement international agreements thanks to its new formal association with the UN Department of Global Communications.
Academic Impact: SEC cites UB School of Management research in ruling
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cited research by Michael Dambra, the Kenneth W. Colwell Chair of Accounting and Law, 17 times in its recent ruling on special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) — a hot Wall Street fad.
The new SEC rules tightened regulations around these blank-check shell companies, seeking to make it clearer to investors whether they are being misled.
Celebrating a century
In recognition of the UB School of Management's 100th anniversary, the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority illuminated the Peace Bridge in UB blue on Nov. 3.
How to make flights more punctual
By analyzing 11 years of data of U.S. carriers, new School of Management research by Milind Sohoni, professor and chair of operations management and strategy, reveals the most effective strategies for improving airlines' on-time performance rankings — a key indicator of punctuality and service reliability.
CEL grad Cristian Johnson wins Fast 46 competition
Beautiful Brains, led by Christian Johnson, CEL ’15, was named the fastest-growing business as confirmed by revenue growth rates. A Buffalo-based company, the firm helps businesses strengthen and diversify their supply chains through end-to-end global product manufacturing and distribution services. A serial entrepreneur, Johnson is a board member of the Erie County Medical Center and the African American Veterans Monument in Buffalo.
