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

The "momentum effect" holds that stocks that performed well in the recent past will continue to do so in the near future. Yet this is far from a universal effect. Although momentum profits can be substantial in places such as the U.S., the effect is much weaker in other places, notably East Asia. New research suggests there may be cultural-related factors at ... Read More

A company's relations with its stakeholders can have an important bearing on its financial performance. And while this obviously holds true for shareholders, it is also the case for non-financial stakeholders such as employees, suppliers and the community. In fact, the state of relations with this group can also be a determining factor in affecting the ... Read More