An unexpected death in an apartment can cause a 20% drop in the property’s sale price and further impact those on the same floor, in the same block, and on the same estate, according to HKUST’s Utpal Bhattacharya and colleagues. Focusing on Hong Kong’s real estate market, the authors show that such “haunted houses” can have a sustained negative impact on the ... 閱讀更多

Are numbers perceived to have human-like characteristics, such as the ability to feel lonely? A study by HKUST’s Jaideep Sengupta and colleagues suggests that they are—and that consumers’ preferences are influenced by these supposed characteristics. This pioneering study, which for the first time links numerical cognition with consumer behavior, shows that ... 閱讀更多

Interviews are riddled with unspoken negotiations, with both parties bound to the push and pull of obtaining and withholding information. For an interviewee, the optimal outcome is to be trusted and liked by one’s interviewer, and—most importantly—hired at the highest possible salary. However, unwelcome questions can expose information that compromises ... 閱讀更多

Peers and trend-setters have a powerful say in what products we decide to buy, particularly on online social media platforms. Naturally, this means that firms must consider the influence of network connections on purchase behaviors when designing pricing strategies. In doing so, they must consider when consumers decide to buy a new product—some consumers ... 閱讀更多

Distributive bargaining is innately competitive: one party cannot benefit without the other’s losing out. To secure the best deals, good negotiation skills are crucial. Negotiators usually opt for one of two opposing communication styles—warm and friendly or tough and firm. But which has the upper hand in a distributive bargaining context? Negotiation expert ... 閱讀更多