Pia is a young, hotshot, product manager with an MBA from a top school; she’s just delivered a presentation at her company’s board meeting, during which the CEO praised her lavishly. She heads to a fancy restaurant to celebrate, where she needs to decide between the bar’s signature best-selling cocktail or the limited-edition microbrew. Which will she choose ... Read More

From the latest policy information to downloadable car license renewal forms to filing taxes – an increasing array of government services is now available online. There are benefits all round: citizens find accessing government services easy and convenient, while governments can save costs as well as deploy a new channel to engage citizens. It is not all ... Read More

Can developments in the banking industry affect technological progress? Researchers have been generally sceptical that innovative firms, especially listed ones, could benefit from banking credit to finance their innovative activities. But a study argues for a re-think of that assumption. Alminas Zaldokas of HKUST and his co-authors Mario Daniele Amore and ... Read More

What makes you fat? Ask the ordinary man or woman in the street and many will respond, “eating too much,” but significant numbers will cite “lack of exercise.” Medical research, however, has established that the main determinant of the obesity crisis is overeating. So why does the popular misconception of lack of exercise persist – and why does it matter? ... Read More

The candy maker M&Ms offers a lucky draw with a chance to win the grand prize of a new car or one of thousands of coupons for a free pack of candy. Wellcome supermarket in Hong Kong offers scratch-and-win cards with a large cash prize to the winner and numerous discount coupons and other rewards as consolation prizes. How do customers view such offerings ... Read More

Innovation has become an essential survival feature in today’s world, where new technologies and evolving markets mean companies have to be creative and open to new ideas to stay competitive. Much research has been written on the factors that underpin individual innovation and team innovation. But how do they interact? And what can managers do to maximise ... Read More

In the 1990s, some Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) started providing stock options for directors, following in the footsteps of the US and other countries. The intention was to signal alignment of managerial interests with those of shareholders. But rumours and reports over the years put a question mark over whether these options were bona fide. For ... Read More

Imagine being in a clothing shop and hearing the salesperson tell another customer, “You have fantastic fashion sense”. The other customer can expect to feel flattered, but simply witnessing this exchange has an effect on the observer, too: it elicits complex and conflicting emotions and ultimately could influence their purchase decision. This was the ... Read More

Work is an economic activity but also a social one, and the nature of that social side can have implications for an organisation ranging from an employee’s sense of obligation to the firm to even their task performance. Research by Riki Takeuchi, Seokhwa Yun and Kin Fai Ellick Wong shows how this happens by focusing on a specific aspect of the social nature ... Read More

French wine and video games may seem to have little in common, but they are both subject to advance sales – that is, being offered for sale to customers before the quality of the product is widely known. This can benefit the customer by giving them guaranteed availability at a discounted price, and it is good for the seller, too, because they can increase ... Read More