Speaker: Jason D. Shaw (Nanyang Technological University)

Abstract: The authors conduct a meta-analysis of the relationship between pay dispersion and organizational outcomes to examine the magnitude of the relationship and, more importantly, test potential moderators: pay dispersion types, outcome types, and unit types. Results from 138 total correlations (N = 311,509) show that the overall correlations between pay dispersion and organizational outcomes is significant and positive (ρ = .06). In addition, pay dispersion among individuals holding different jobs—vertical pay dispersion—was positively related to workforce performance and financial performance, but pay dispersion among individuals within the same job—horizontal pay dispersion—was negatively related to financial performance. Additionally, the results show that a positive relationship exists between vertical pay dispersion and turnover—the sorting effect. The authors discuss the meta-analytic findings and their implications for future pay dispersion research.

About the Speaker:

Jason D. Shaw is Professor and the Shaw Foundation Chair in Business in the Nanyang Business School at Nanyang Technological University. He studies turnover, employment relationships, pay structures and incentives, and social networks. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of Academy of Management Journal. His research has appeared or been accepted for publication in Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Applied Psychology, Organization Science, Strategic Management Journal, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and Personnel Psychology, among other scientific outlets. His writing has also appeared in outlets such as the Harvard Business Review, WorldatWork Journal, and Compensation and Benefits Review. Prior to joining NBS, he was the Yeung Kin Man Professor at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Curtis L. Carlson School-wide Professor in the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, the Clark Material Handling Company Professor at the University of Kentucky, an assistant professor at Drexel University, and an analyst for the Boeing Company. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas in 1997.

Speaker: Xiaomeng FAN, Northwestern University

Abstract: Evaluative conditioning (EC) is a widely used technique to shape consumers’ brand preferences by repeatedly pairing a brand with affective cues. According to one dominant theoretical perspective – the associative account of EC – any sort of affective cue can be an effective basis for EC. I investigate this idea with a focus on implicit brand attitudes. In contrast to the associative account, I show that EC involves higher-order relational processing: (1) EC is moderated by relational affordances between the targeted brand and the associative affective cues; implicit brand attitudes can be changed more substantially by affective cues having a plausible (vs. implausible) relation with the brand, and (2) EC can reflect the processing of negation; implicit brand attitudes can be enhanced by a negative cue if there is a plausible negation between the brand and the cue. Finally, I show that relational processing can happen spontaneously but requires cognitive resources.

About the Speaker:

Xiaomeng Fan is a PhD Candidate in Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. Her research focuses on understanding consumers’ affective reactions to brands and products, and how these reactions interact with cognition and motivation to influence consumer learning, judgement and decision making. The interplay between affective and cognitive responses is examined in her dissertation project regarding evaluative conditioning and in another research regarding information processing of zero prices. She also studies the dissociation of wanting (motivational) versus liking (affective) systems in human beings, and the unique impact of each system on consumers’ purchasing behavior. Prior to the PhD program, Xiaomeng received her Masters degree in Consumer and Family Sciences from Purdue University and her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Renmin University of China. 

Speaker: Guanmin, LIAO, Remnin Business School)

Abstract: Exploiting the Chinese anti-corruption campaign as an exogenous shock to corruption, we show that following a decrease in corruption, the performance of firms in highly corrupt industries improves. Small firms appear to benefit to a larger extent. We identify the channels through which corruption hampers firm performance. Following the anti-corruption campaign, the allocation of capital and labor becomes more efficient in ex ante highly corrupt industries. Firms in these industries experience productivity gains, easier access to debt financing, and higher growth of sales than firms in other industries. Overall, our results suggest that corruption creates negative externalities.

About the Speaker: Liao Guanmin, Professor of Accounting, Renmin University of China Business School. In 2007, he obtained a doctorate degree in accounting from Renmin University of China. From 2007 to 2018, he worked in the Accounting College of Central University of Finance and Economics. His main research interests are corporate governance and the usefulness of accounting information in incentive contracts. Academic achievements are published in academic journals such as Journal of Finance, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, accounting research, and audit research.

Speaker: Zhenyu GAO (Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Abstract: We find that people revise their beliefs about climate change upwards when experiencing warmer than usual temperatures in their area. Using international data, we show that attention to climate change, as proxied by Google search volume, increases when the local temperature is abnormally high. In financial markets, stocks of carbon-intensive firms underperform firms with low carbon emissions in abnormally warm weather. Retail investors (not institutional investors) sell carbon-intensive firms in such weather, and the return patterns are unlikely to be driven by changes in fundamentals. Our study sheds light on understanding collective beliefs and actions in response to global warming.

About the Speaker:

Prof. Zhenyu Gao is an Assistant Professor in Finance at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School. Prof. Gao joined CUHK Business School in 2014. His primary research interest is in asset pricing, behavioral finance, real estate finance, and Chinese economy. He received his PhD in Economics from Princeton University and MA in Economics as well as BS in Astrophysics from Peking University.

Speaker: Wenbo WANG (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)

Abstract: Consumption of entertainment products, such as movies, video games, and sports events, takes place over a nontrivial time period. During these experiences, consumers are likely to encounter temporal variations in the content of consumption, to which they may react in real time. Compared with existing in-consumption analysis (e.g., eye tracking, neural activity analysis), listening to in-consumption consumers’ voices on social media has great potential. Our paper proposes a new approach for in-consumption social listening and demonstrates its value in the context of online movie watching wherein viewers can react to movie content with live comments. Specifically, we propose to listen to the live comments through a novel measure, moment-to-moment synchronicity (MTMS), to capture consumers’ in-consumption engagement. MTMS refers to the synchronicity between temporal variations in the volume of live comments and those in movie content mined from unstructured video, audio, and text data from movies (i.e., camera motion, shot length, sound loudness, pitch, and spoken lines). We demonstrate that MTMS has a significant impact on viewers’ post-consumption appreciation of movies, and it can be evaluated at finer level to identify engaging content. Finally, we discuss the relation between MTMS and existing in-consumption measures and the value of integrating supply-side content information into in-consumption analysis.

About the Speaker:

Professor Wenbo Wang is an associate Professor with tenure in the Marketing Department at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He earned PhD degree at New York University Stern Business School. Professor Wang’s research interests focus on social media, big data, green Marketing. He published at Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing Research, and Journal of Consumer Research. Professor Wang won the Early Career Award from the Hong Kong Government RGC.  Professor Wang won Franklin Prize for Teaching Excellence. He has been teaching digital marketing and big data for EMBA, EDP, UG programs. Professor Wang was a research scientist or training consultant with P&G, Boehringer Ingelheim, Citibank, Apple Daily, Hainan Airline, Chongqing Government, etc.

Speaker: Liang Chen (The University of Melbourne)

Abstract: In this seminar, we will explore recent trends in the strategy research that concerns competition, innovation and globalization in the digital economy. We identify three streams of research regarding platforms, ecosystems and complementors. Latest topics in these fields will be discussed respectively and our own empirical findings presented. We will also look into future research directions which aim to stimulate interaction with audience members.

About the Speaker:

Liang Chen is Senior Lecturer in Management at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Previously, he spent eight years in the UK where he earned a PhD degree from University of Leeds and worked at the University of Sussex. His research focuses on competition, innovation and global strategy in the digital economy. His recent work has been published in the Journal of International Business Studies, Global Strategy Journal, Journal of Business Ethics, among others.