Digital technology is transforming commerce, and the operational strategies of international businesses must change accordingly. HKUST’s Jiatao Li and colleagues assess this new business landscape in their editorial for the Journal of International Business Studies ’ special edition on digitalization. “Businesses are developing digital strategies to create ... Read More

In online retail marketplaces, consumers learn more about products through reviews or ratings, which can then increase their willingness to buy. HKUST’s Zijun (June) Shi and colleagues assess the optimal level of information disclosure in these reputation systems, which can reduce the information asymmetry between sellers and consumers. As the researchers ... Read More

Structural economic changes over time have increased the value of digital technologies. Recent advances in this area, such as analytics, big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence, have led nontech firms to follow the tech industry’s lead and invest in digital technologies on a large scale. How has this increased uptake of digital technology ... Read More

Firms’ financial reports are an important source of information for market participants, and relevant disclosure requirements have been imposed by regulators. However, “there is no discussion about the verification requirements of such disclosures,” explain HKUST’s Yan Xiong and colleagues. They offer an alternative explanation for the importance of ... Read More

Limited information sharing between retailers and their suppliers represents a critical bottleneck in the performance of supply chains. Working with a colleague, HKUST’s Hongtao Zhang proposes a novel wholesale pricing mechanism that will benefit both retailers and manufacturers and ultimately enhance supply chain efficiency. “Advances in information ... Read More

In today’s technologically connected world, people learn about others’ purchase decisions on social media and review sites, as well as through direct observation. These decisions are perceived as either a choice or a rejection, explain HKUST’s Sang Kyu Park and co-researchers, who ask a critical question: “Does the mere perception of another’s decision as a ... Read More

Using lockers for parcel delivery can significantly reduce congestion in city centers. This is among the major findings of research by HKUST’s Guodong Lyu and a colleague, focusing on a “smart nation” initiative recently proposed for implementation in Singapore. The researchers developed an innovative analytical method of determining the optimal network ... Read More

How large should the reward be for corporate whistleblowers? This question was explored in novel research by HKUST’s Chao Tang and colleagues. Their study shows that while larger bounties do not increase the value of whistleblowing information, they do make the absence of whistleblowing a more informative signal for regulators. Some firms exaggerate their ... Read More

Do credit rating actions predict accounting fraud? The answer is yes, according to Allen H. Huang and Shiheng Wang of HKUST and their colleague. Their study also suggests that evidence of fraudulent accounting is strongest when it comes from issuer-paid credit rating agencies (CRAs); their investor-paid rivals are less able to detect fraud signals ... Read More

Investors seek information to guide their investment decisions and maximize their profits. These information-acquisition activities are often kept secret. However, some investors voluntarily disclose such activities, and some regulators have mandates (such as the Regulation Fair Disclosure in the U.S. and China’s Shenzhen Stock Exchange requiring the ... Read More