The effect of shareholder rights on firm value is a field of growing interest as corporate governance issues grow in importance. The theory states that strong shareholder rights should lower the cost of capital and mitigate over-investment, but the evidence to date has been inconclusive. Now, a new study suggests this may in fact be what is happening. Kevin ... Read More

Anticipation can be the sweetest reward, but, as with many things, there are conditions. It can peter out if you have to wait too long, if somebody has decided what you will be waiting for, and if you have thought too hard in advance about the object or experience. These findings on the complexities of anticipation emerged from research on delays in ... Read More

Conditions in the womb and at birth have increasingly been shown to have long-term effects on people's health and mortality. Similarly, research has found that conditions surrounding the development and launch of new companies may affect whether they become operational and survive. Organizations founded in adverse conditions appear to have a higher mortality ... Read More

Managers today are often required to deal with employees from different cultures, either because they are posted to manage overseas branches or face an increasingly diverse workforce at home. New research suggests they may be putting a foot wrong if they get too caught up in focusing on the cultural differences. Jiing-Lih Farh of HKUST and his co-authors ... Read More

Derivative warrants typically cost more than otherwise identical options, a situation that on the surface seems to defy logic. However, they are preferred by traders who trade frequently so there is something else at play besides price. Chu Zhang of HKUST and co-author Gang Li investigated and found some distinct, non-price advantages. Derivative warrants ... Read More

Expatriate managers can find themselves facing two conflicting demands: carrying out the strategy of their MNE, and adapting to the circumstances of their subsidiary and host country. A manager's success at juggling these demands can make a difference in whether the subsidiary succeeds. The MNE therefore has a vital stake in understanding how to make the ... Read More

Asset market liquidity varies considerably over time a fact that became painfully clear during the recent financial tsunami. "Illiquidity" can be defined as the price impact of buying or selling a given quantity of assets. "Liquidity" is the opposite of illiquidity and fell precipitously during 2008. Until recently, there have been limitations to empirically ... Read More

The extent to which employees identify with their work groups can be influenced by demographics. Women working in male-dominated groups, for example, tend to be evaluated negatively by their male peers and have to work harder for similar rewards. That imbalance can affect not only work-group identification but also perceptions of conflict in the workplace ... Read More

Decision makers are frequently called upon to make choices between gains and losses. A lot of research has been devoted to how people choose among risky choices, with a focus on either/or situations: a loss or a gain. But Alex B. Markle of HKUST and George Wu argue this may not be a realistic approach. "Most important real-world decisions are mixed gambles ... Read More

A new overseas market opens and a few foreign companies move in to establish themselves and their products. These early prominent players can play an important role in establishing the legitimacy of their "population". And interestingly, their success can benefit their seeming competitors - those who follow them into the market or who have a lower profile ... Read More