Does The Monitoring Effectiveness Improve After Busy Independent Directors Become Less Busy? — A Quasi-Experiment From China, Hui Gao

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The importance of independent directors is well-recognized both in academic literature and among regulators. This dissertation leverages the introduction of the Management Measures for Independent Directors of Listed Companies (hereafter the Measures) in China, which reduces the maximum allowable concurrent directorships from five to three, to investigate whether fewer directorships allow independent directors to devote more time and attention to enhancing their monitoring effectiveness.

Prior literature offers mixed findings on the impact of busy independent directors on corporate governance and firm value, with no clear consensus on whether multiple directorships affect their oversight capabilities. Analyzing data on independent directors’ votes …

Making Accounting Education Fit For Purpose For The New Economy, Yew Kee Ho, Jean Liu, Sze Kee Koh, Kai Teck Ng, Sa-Pyung Sean Shin, Tin Wee Tan, Yuanto Zhu Kusnadi

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

The accountancy profession faces one of its most challenging periods as several factors converge to disrupt it. Technological advancements, the expanding role of accountants, declining student interest in accountancy, and increasing expectations for uniquely human capital all exert pressure on the profession to reinvent itself or face marginalisation. This study, funded by the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), examines trends in the accountancy profession alongside accountancy education in Singapore. Its goal is to formulate a fit-for-purpose accountancy education for the new economy.

Uncovering Merchants’ Willingness To Wait In On-Demand Food Delivery Markets, Jian Liang, Ya Zhao, Hai Wang, Zuopeng Xiao, Jintao Ke

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

While traditional on-demand food delivery services help restaurants reach more customers and enable doorstep deliveries, they also come with drawbacks, such as high commission fees and limited control over the delivery process. White-label food delivery services have emerged as an alternative, ready-to-use platform for restaurants to arrange delivery for customer orders received through their applications or websites, without the constraints imposed by traditional on-demand food delivery platforms or the need to develop an in-house delivery operation. Although several studies have investigated consumer behavior when using traditional on-demand food delivery services, there is limited research on merchants’ behavior when adopting white-label …

Finding Purpose In Higher Education: Insights From The Distinctive Career Of Professor Rajani Naidoo, Howard Thomas

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The author explores Professor Rajani Naidoo’s inspiring journey in higher education, marked by advocacy, leadership, and a commitment to social justice. Born in apartheid South Africa, Rajani’s formative experiences with inequality shaped her lifelong dedication to equity in education. Her academic path took her to the University of Bath, where she directed the International Centre for Higher Education Management, emphasising interdisciplinary research and ethical leadership. Now Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Exeter, she drives cultural change and inclusivity. Rajani’s work challenges competitive norms, advocates global collaboration, and envisions universities as agents of societal good. Her story exemplifies purpose-driven academic …

A Practical Guide To Driving Financial Inclusion Through Cbdcs, Heng Wang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Welcome back to our blog series exploring the potential that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) hold to positively impact individuals that are currently unserved or underserved by financial systems globally. Together with Professor Wang, we first delved into the challenges and opportunities of driving financial inclusion, and how CBDCs could serve as an important mechanism in ensuring that no one is excluded from financial services – or our increasingly digital economies and societies. In our second blog we then examined how CBDCs can be intentionally designed to drive financial inclusion. In this third and final piece, Professor Wang offers a …

From Sustainable Agriculture To Sustainable Agrifood Systems: A Comparative Review Of Alternative Models, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper reviews, compares, and critically evaluates two broad groups of sustainable agriculture models: “sustainable agriculture” and “sustainable agrifood systems”. The “sustainable agriculture” models—comprising organic farming, regenerative agriculture, climate-smart agriculture, carbon-capture agriculture, and nature-based solutions—focus primarily on improving ecological sustainability through farm-level practices. These models emphasize reducing external, industrial inputs, enhancing biodiversity, and promoting climate resilience, relying on technological and market-based solutions to address environmental concerns. On the other hand, the “sustainable agrifood systems” models—agroecology, alternative food networks, and permaculture—offer more ambitious visions of systemic transformation. These approaches not only seek to implement environmentally sound practices but also aim to …

Which Idea To Pursue? Gender Differences In Novelty Avoidance During Creative Idea Selection, Mengzi Jin, Roy Y. J. Chua

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Despite women having made significant progress in the modern workforce, gender gaps are still evident in creative work. In this paper, we propose that, although women and men are equally capable of generating creative ideas, gender differences emerge during the idea-selection stage. Specifically, compared with men, women engage in higher novelty avoidance during idea selection—the degree to which one selects an idea that is less novel than the most novel idea one has generated. In two laboratory studies and a field survey involving creative professionals, we found significant gender differences in novelty avoidance during idea selection and identified women’s concerns …

Validity Of Social Media Assessments In Personnel Selection: A Systematic Review Of The Initial Evidence, Franz W. Mönke, Nicolas Roulin, Filip Lievens, Marie Therese Bartossek, Philipp Schäpers

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Approximately two out of three recruiters report screening candidates’ KSAOs (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics like personality) or hireability based on social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn), often referred to as cybervetting. However, various researchers cautioned against engaging in this emerging practice due to questions about the validity of social media assessments. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review to summarize initial research on the psychometric properties of social media assessments: Reliability, construct-related validity, and criterion-related validity. Our literature search yielded 12 studies with 536 raters and 2,019 ratees, and most of these studies addressed personality traits. We found that …

Efmd’S View Of Critical Issues Of Gender Equality And Diversity In Business Schools, Eric Cornuel, Matthew Wood, Howard Thomas

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Since its foundation in 1971, EFMD has maintained a resolute and firm belief in socially responsible management education. Over that period, European management educators have formed sound, balanced, and generally collaborative relationships with business, government, and civil society stakeholders who are often the providers of core funding for their universities and business schools. This worthwhile cooperation promotes greater social understanding, cultural progress, and improved levels of social and economic inclusion in society. This article sets the scene for EFMD’s view and principles for change in business schools aimed at improving quality and effectiveness.

Knowledge “Hiding And Seeking” During The Pandemic: Who Really Wins In The New Normal?, Kim-Lim Tan, Ivy S. H. Hii, Chuen Kong Kevin Cheong

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

PurposeThe recent COVID-19 pandemic caused a severe economic downturn. Employees working in these organisations face employment uncertainty. The pandemic disrupted their daily routines, and it added a layer of complexity to the already resource-constrained environment. During these times, employees would conserve their resources to maintain competitiveness, one of which is knowledge hiding. While economic activities are resuming, the appearance of new variants could mean the transition towards endemicity could be put on hold. Hence, there is a need to rethink the behaviour of employees as they would have elevated levels of anxiety towards resuming daily work activities. Therefore, this study …

An Empirical Test Of Auction Efficiency: Evidence From Mbs Auctions Of The Federal Reserve, Pietro Bonadi, Ali Hortacsu, Zhaogang Song

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

PurposeWe estimate the marginal cost curve of each dealer in each auction, based on structural models of the multiunit discriminatory-price auction.Design/methodology/approachAuction theory has ambiguous implications regarding the relative performance of three formats of multiunit auctions: uniform-price, discriminatory-price and Vickrey auctions. We evaluate the performance of these three auction formats using bid-level data of the Federal Reserve’s purchase auctions of agency MBS from June 2014 through November 2014.FindingsOur results suggest that neither uniform-price nor Vickrey auctions outperform discriminatory-price auctions in terms of the total expenditure. However, Vickrey auctions outperform discriminatory-price auctions in terms of efficiency, with the efficiency gain around 0.74% …

Politically Connected Firms And The Cash Flow Sensitivity Of Cash: International Evidence, Yuanto Kusnadi

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This paper examines the role of political connections on the cash flow sensitivity of cash using a sample of international firms. The finding reveals that the cash flow sensitivity of cash is lower for politically connected firms than their non-connected counterparts, which is supportive of the precautionary motive of cash holdings. Further analyses reveal that the result is driven by political connections that are made through the directors of the firms and with members of parliament, as well as by differences in country-level institutional infrastructure. Overall, the empirical results corroborate that of previous studies on the relevance of the precautionary …

Discretionary Dissemination On Twitter, Richard M. Crowley, Wenli Huang, Hai Lu

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

The study provides large-scale descriptive evidence on the timing and nature of corporate financial tweeting. Using an unsupervised machine learning approach to analyze 24 million tweets posted by S&P 1500 firms from 2012 to 2020, we find that firms are more likely to tweet financial information around significantly negative or positive news events, such as earnings announcements and the filing of financial statements. This convex U-shaped relation between the likelihood of posting financial tweets and the materiality of accounting events becomes stronger over time. Whereas research based on early samples concludes that firms are less likely to disseminate financial information …

Public Enforcement Through Independent Directors, Xiaoxi Li, Pingui Rao, Yong George Yang, Heng Yue

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We examine how public enforcement and private enforcement interact to contain self-dealing activities in emerging markets. Using data from China, we find that firms receiving comment letters concerning related party transactions (RPTs) from stock exchanges significantly reduce their RPTs in subsequent years. We further find that (1) the subsequent reduction in RPTs is more pronounced when independent directors have higher career or reputation concerns and (2) independent directors are more likely to dissent or resign if their firms do not significantly reduce RPTs after receiving RPT comment letters, especially if they have high reputation concerns. Our study sheds light on …

Strategic Cross-Subsidization In Healthcare Capitation Programs: Evidence From Medicare Advantage, Zhaowei She, Turgay Ayer, Bilal Gokpinar, Danny R. Hughesd

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Problem definition: : This study identifies a resource misallocation problem in Medicare Advantage (MA), the United States' largest healthcare capitation program, which may result in discrepancies between patients' health status and the healthcare resources allocated to them. Methodology/results: : Utilizing a large commercial insurance database with claims from more than 2 million MA enrollees, this research investigates the allocation of MA capitation payments. By exploiting an exogenous policy shock on MA capitation payments through a difference-in-difference design, we find empirical evidence of an illegal practice known as "cross-subsidization." This practice involves MA health plans strategically reallocating portions of the capitation …

Regulating Adaptive Medical Artificial Intelligence: Can Less Oversight Lead To Greater Compliance?, Jiayi Lai, Liang Xu, Xin Fang, Tinglong Dai

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

As of June 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved 950 medical artificial intelligence (AI) devices. The current regulatory framework freezes AI algorithms after approval, requiring new submissions for updates to ensure compliance with Good Machine Learning Practices (GMLP). This approach imposes a significant administrative burden, while hindering the ability of AI algorithms to learn from new data. To address these challenges, the FDA has explored a novel pathway known as Predetermined Change Control Plans (PCCP), allowing developers to outline future changes during initial submissions and exempting approved changes from regulatory review. Yet, the impact of this …

Celebrating Professor Rita Mcgrath: Winner Of The Ck Prahalad Outstanding Scholar / Practitioner Award, Strategic Management Society, Us 2022: A Conversation With Howard Thomas, Rita Mcgrath, Howard Thomas

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This article highlights Rita McGrath’s extraordinary career and contributions to management thinking, particularly at the intersection of strategy and innovation. Raised in a science-oriented family, McGrath’s academic journey began with a PhD at Wharton and continued at Columbia Business School. She pioneered concepts like “Discovery-Driven Planning” and the idea of “transient competitive advantage,” reshaping how organisations navigate uncertainty and innovation. Her works, including The End of Competitive Advantage and Seeing Around Corners, blend rigorous research with practical insights. A tireless advocate for diversity in academia, McGrath’s achievements bridge academic excellence and real-world impact, serving as an inspiration for future leaders.

Making An Impact While ‘Muddling Through’: Conversations With Anne Tsui, Anne Tsui, Howard Thomas

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This article chronicles the inspiring journey of Anne Tsui, a leading management scholar and advocate for responsible research. Born in China and educated in the U.S., Tsui overcame challenges to pursue a transformative academic career. Her contributions span three phases: pioneering organisational behaviour and HR research in the U.S., advancing Chinese and international management at HKUST, and championing the Responsible Research in Business and Management (RRBM) initiative. Guided by her vision of research serving society, Tsui emphasises inclusivity, sustainability, and humanity in business education and research. Her story exemplifies resilience, compassion, and purpose in advancing meaningful academic impact.

Catching The Digital Wave : Jumbo Group Shows How Digital Transformation And Its Seafood Business Can Go Together, Xuesong Geng, Andrew Chin, Thomas Lim

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

JUMBO Group shows how digital transformation and its seafood business can go together.

A Study On The Impact Of Relationship Strength In Technological Collaboration Networks, Absorptive Capacity, And Leadership Regulatory Focus On Team Ambidextrous Innovation, Zhen Li

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

In the context of rapid global economic development, competition among enterprises has become increasingly fierce, making innovation the core driving force for maintaining competitive advantage and promoting sustainable development. This paper explores the impact of relationship strength within technological collaboration networks, absorptive capacity, and leadership regulatory focus on incremental and radical innovation. The study finds that while relationship strength has no significant impact on incremental innovation, it has a negative effect on radical innovation. The absorptive capacity within technological collaboration networks positively influences both types of innovation. The research also highlights the critical role of leadership regulatory focus: High prevention-focus …

Impact Of Industrial Park Platforms On Sme Financing: Evidence From The Ld Park, Zhendong Liu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are essential to the Chinese economy. However, when seeking financing, SMEs often face stricter financing conditions and higher financing costs due to information asymmetry in the market, commonly referred to as the problem of “difficult and expensive financing.” This issue severely limits the growth potential of SMEs. This study explores the positive role that industrial parks play as a bridge between banks and SMEs in alleviating the “difficult and expensive financing” problem. The study surveyed 54 industrial parks and collected 268 valid questionnaires from banks, industrial parks, and SMEs. The data analysis yielded the following …

Behavioral Factors Associated With Patients' Non-Attendance: A Retrospective Study In An Outpatient Specialty Clinic At A Women's And Children's Hospital In Singapore, Yue Tang, Houyuan Jiang, Jingui Xie, Zhichao Zheng, Chui Yee Loke, Bee Keow Goh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Background: This study aimed to identify behavioral factors that affect patient attendance in outpatient clinics, especially those related to rescheduling. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 20,386 appointment records for 6,252 patients in an outpatient specialty clinic at a women’s and children’s hospital in Singapore over 34 months (January 2012–October 2014). Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the influence of independent variables on appointment no-shows. Results: The average no-show rate of the study population was 28.87%. Patient historical behaviors were significantly associated with appointment attendance. In particular, a larger number of previous visits, more historical no-shows, more historical …

Construction And Empirical Assessment Of An Employee Health Management Index System For Chinese Enterprises, Ming Dong

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Purpose: Employee health management is critical for enhancing corporate productivity, and scientific evaluation is core to effective health management practices. This study aims to construct an evaluation index system for assessing the employee health management effectiveness tailored to China’s national conditions (Hereinafter called “evaluation system”), and to empirically assess its differentiation, accuracy, and universality.

Methodology: (1) Grounded in literature and policy analysis, the study adopts the PDCA theory as a foundational framework and employs a modified Delphi method to finalize the evaluation system's structure. Indicator weights were determined using the Analytic Hierarchy Process, and a standard scale was created for …

Influence Of Artificial Intelligence (Ai) On Decision-Making For Market-Entry Strategies In Emerging Economies, Tejas Deshpande

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

International firms with growth-oriented business models face a complex array of factors when planning to enter emerging markets. These markets are characterized by dynamic socio-economic and geopolitical conditions, often resulting in limited market intelligence and a fragmented understanding of the business ecosystem. To succeed, firms must align their short-term objectives and long-term strategic goals with the specific characteristics of these target markets.

Decision-making in such environments is fraught with uncertainty and is critical in determining the success or failure of market-entry strategies. While business leaders rely on their cognition and heuristics to navigate these challenges, the complexity and volume of …

Ecosystem-Oriented Development Of New Energy Vehicle Industry And Its Spillover Effects, Jianli Li

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The vigorous development of the manufacturing industry, along with advancements in technologies such as the Internet, has propelled the growth of China's new energy vehicle (NEV) industry, and exhibited characteristics of ecosystem-oriented development, which has brought positive impacts on both China's economic and social development. Benefiting from China's policy environment and developmental foundation, the Chinese automotive industry has achieved a leapfrog development in the field of new energy, with China ranking first in global sales and the penetration rate of NEVs continuously increasing. As power batteries and other domains continue to improve and intelligent driving technologies make constant breakthroughs, NEVs …

Understanding The Governance And Inheritance Mechanism Of Fujian Merchants From The Perspective Of Modern Economics, Feiyan Zhang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Under the general background of globalization and market economy, Chinese enterprises are embracing advanced governance models around the world, and facing the challenge of effectively combining them with local culture. In the history of China, Fujian (Min) merchants formed a famous commercial group, leaving modern enterprises some precious enlightenment in its unique governance and inheritance mechanism. This research will extensively explore the governance mechanism of Fujian commercial group and assess its potentials and enlightenment for application in the system of modern enterprises. This research aims to provide theoretical and practical guidance for the development of a governance model matching with …

The Impact Of S2b2c Model On The Performance Of Chain Enterprises, Qingyang Zhao

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

As the economy is highly developed today, enterprises are studying how to improve channel efficiency, customer loyalty, and supply chain stability along the value chain to ensure their competitive advantages. By observing the development of key chain-operated enterprises in China over the past 20 years, this study proposes to examine the impact of constructing an S2B2C model on corporate performance. A foundational theory has been established, and a theoretical framework has been analyzed. Following a logical order from the abstract to the concrete and from theory to practice, a combination of case studies and empirical analysis is employed to evaluate …

Physical Frictions And Digital Banking Adoption, Hyun Soo Choi, Roger Loh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The behavioral literature suggests that minor frictions can elicit desirable behavior without obvious coercion. Using closures of ATMs in a densely populated city as an instrument for small frictions to physical banking access, we find that customers affected by ATM closures increase their usage of the bank's digital platform. Other spillover effects of this adoption of financial technology include increases in point-of-sale (POS) transactions, electronic funds transfers, automatic bill payments and savings, and a reduction in cash usage. Our results show that minor frictions can help overcome the status-quo bias and facilitate significant behavior change.

Do Women Receive Worse Financial Advice?, Utpal Bhattacharya, Amit Kumar, Sujata Visaria, Jing Zhao

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We arranged for trained undercover men and women to pose as potential clients and visit all 65 local financial advisory firms in Hong Kong. At financial planning firms, but not at securities firms, women were more likely than men to receive advice to buy only individual or only local securities. Female clients who signaled high confidence, high risk tolerance, or a domestic outlook were especially likely to receive this suboptimal advice. Our theoretical model explains these patterns as a result of statis-tical discrimination interacting with advisors’ incentives. Taste-based discrimination is unlikely to explain the results.

Insights From An Updated Personnel Selection Meta-Analytic Matrix: Revisiting General Mental Ability Tests’ Role In The Validity-Diversity Trade-Off, Christopher M. Berry, Filip Lievens, Charlene Zhang, Paul R. Sackett

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

General mental ability (GMA) tests have long been at the heart of the validity–diversity trade-off, with conventional wisdom being that reducing their weight in personnel selection can improve adverse impact, but that this results in steep costs to criterion-related validity. However, Sackett et al. (2022) revealed that the criterion-related validity of GMA tests has been considerably overestimated due to inappropriate range restriction corrections. Thus, we revisit the role of GMA tests in the validity-diversity trade-off using an updated meta-analytic correlation matrix of the relationships six selection methods (biodata, GMA tests, conscientiousness tests, structured interviews, integrity tests, and situational judgment tests) …