We model a multi-phase and high-volume recruitment process as a large-scale dynamic program. The success of the process is measured by a reward, which is the total assessment score of accepted candidates minus the penalty cost of the number of accepted candidates in the end deviating from a preset hiring target. For a recruiter, two questions are important ... Read More

How and why can irrelevant, short-lived factors shape investment decisions? This can happen in investment decisions in nascent, seed-stage startups, where information is scarce and uncertainty is intense. Taking sunshine on the day of deal evaluation as a context, we show that in the face of intense uncertainty, sunnier days may affect investors’ mood and ... Read More

Managing new products is important for many firms. One challenging problem is how to predict the success of a new product, especially in their early life cycle. Using large-scale retailer data, we find the novel prediction that the early success of a new product among certain customers may have negative—rather than positive—implications for the long-term ... Read More

We exploit a setting where lawyers are selected before the assignment of a judge and find that large Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings resolve 17%--25% faster when at least one lead counsel lawyer for the debtor has a connection to the judge. The most effective connections arise through previous in-court interactions. Connected cases are more likely to emerge ... Read More

Political science studies show that judge ideology influences judicial votes in federal courts, with judges appointed by Democratic presidents being more liberal than those appointed by Republican presidents. Although legal doctrine plays an important role in deciding case outcomes, judges are more likely to obey legal doctrine when such doctrine supports ... Read More

Building on the search-based view of innovation, we develop a framework regarding how Google guides innovative search behavior. We exploit an exogenous shock, China's unexpected blockade of Google in 2014, and adopt a difference-in-differences approach with a matched sample of patents from China and nearby regions to test our predictions. Our analyses show ... Read More

Economists and the broader investment community rely on government data to learn about key market indicators like oil inventories, agricultural production, and export volumes. But access to new technology is changing that. Commercial satellites are loosening the authorities’ hold over such information and making it possible for investors to anticipate ... Read More

Managing new products is important for many firms. One challenging problem is how to predict the success of a new product, especially in their early life cycle. Using large-scale retailer data, we find the novel prediction that the early success of a new product among certain customers may have negative—rather than positive—implications for the long-term ... Read More