Business Commons^™

New-Media Advertising And Retail Platform Openness, Jianqing Chen, Zhiling Guo

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We recently have witnessed two important trends in online retailing: the advent of new media (e.g., social media and search engines) makes advertising affordable for small sellers, and large online retailers (e.g., Amazon and JD.com) opening their platforms to allow even direct competitors to sell on their platforms. We examine how new-media advertising affects retail platform openness. We develop a game-theoretic model in which a leading retailer, who has both valuation and awareness advantages, and a third-party seller, who sells an identical product, engage in price competition. We find that the availability of relatively low-cost advertising through new media plays …

Still Doing What “Nintendon’T”: The Saga Of The Sega Master System In Brazil, Philippe Chauveau

Publications

Brazil is a large and established video game market. In 2015, it was the 5th largest gaming population globally (DiChristopher, 2014), and Brazilians game an average of 1:17 per day (on par with the United States; Clement, 2021). These numbers are encouraging for game developers, who see Brazil as a lucrative gaming market (“The Brazilian Gamer,” 2017). Home console sales in the country have been rising since 2015 (Nogueira, 2020), mostly dominated by Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft (Vailshery, 2021). However, unique to Brazil is the lasting success of SEGA, a company that despite not producing a new model console since …

E-Commerce Governance: Back To Geneva?, Henry S. Gao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is no stranger to e-commerce governance. It launched its first initiative to regulate e-commerce1 at its second Ministerial Conference in May 1998, a few months before Google was founded. At the Ministerial Conference, WTO members adopted the Declaration on Global Electronic Commerce, 2 which recognized the “new opportunities for trade,” and directed the General Council to “establish a comprehensive work programme to examine all trade-related issues relating to global electronic commerce, including those issues identified by Members.”

Developing Socio-Ecological Scenarios: A Participatory Process For Engaging Stakeholders, Andrew Allan, Emily Barbour, Robert J. Nicholls, Craig Hutton, Michelle Mei Ling Lim, Mashfiqus Sale-Hin, Md. Munsur Rahman

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Deltas are experiencing profound demographic, economic and land use changes and human-induced catchment and climate change. Bangladesh exemplifies these difficulties through multiple climate risks including subsidence/sea-level rise, temperature rise, and changing precipitation patterns, as well as changing management of the Ganges and Brahmaputra catchments. There is a growing population and economy driving numerous more local changes, while dense rural population and poverty remain significant. Identifying appropriate policy and planning responses is extremely difficult in these circumstances. This paper adopts a participatory scenario development process incorporating both socio-economic and biophysical elements across multiple scales and sectors as part of an integrated …

Short Selling Etfs, Frank Weikai Li, Qifei Zhu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We provide novel evidence that arbitrageurs use exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as an avenue to circumvent short-sale constraints at the stock level. Using a large sample of U.S. equity ETF holdings, we document that shorting activity on ETFs rises with the difficulty of shorting underlying stocks. Stocks heavily shorted via their holding ETFs underperform those that are lightly shorted. The return predictability of ETF shorting is distinct from stock-level shorting measures and is concentrated among stocks that face severe arbitrage constraints. These findings suggest that ETFs allow arbitrageurs to target overpriced stocks that are otherwise difficult to short.

Decentralizing Money: Bitcoin Prices And Blockchain Security, Emiliano S. Pagnotta

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We address the determination of bitcoin prices and decentralized security. Users forecast the transactional and resale values of holdings, pricing the risk of systemic attacks. Miners contribute resources to protect against attackers and compete for block rewards. Bitcoin's design leads to multiple equilibria: the same blockchain technology is consistent with sharply different price and security levels. Bitcoin's monetary policy can lead to welfare losses and deviations from quantity theory. Price-security feedback amplifies fundamental shocks' volatility impact and leads to boom and busts unconnected to fundamentals. We characterize how viability versus fiat currency depends on bitcoin's relative acceptability and inflation protection.

The Impact Of Single Versus Multiple Narrating Voices In Persuasive Videos, Hannah H. Chang, Anirban Mukherjee, Amitava Chattopadhyay

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Broadcast videos often visually depict a product with one or more narrators providing the voice-over to discuss its features and benefits. Examples of broadcast videos include product videos and video advertising, which have become increasingly prevalent and important in consumer decision making in today’s marketplace (Think with Google 2019). Despite the importance of sound and voice on people’s behavior, existing research has placed relatively little emphasis on understanding the influence of narrator’s voice in effective communications (cf. Dahl 2010).

Describing Rosé: An Embedding-Based Method For Measuring Preferences, Anirban Mukherjee, Hannah H. Chang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In this paper, we present a novel preference-measurement method for experiential products and develop a novel embedding-based utility model to value product attributes and attribute-levels from participant choices between products described in (unstructured) prose.

To Buy Green Or Not To Buy Green: Do Structural Dependencies Block Ecological Responsiveness?, Simon J.D. Schillebeeckx, Teemu Kautonen, Henri Hakata

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Despite the significant increase in interest in sustainable business practices, decisions on switching to more environmentally friendly input materials are understudied. In a conjoint experiment, we presented 267 Finnish manufacturing firms with an opportunity to acquire an alternative, more ecological input material and investigated their willingness to switch to that material. We find that in general, firms are willing to substitute their current principal input with a more ecological alternative under conditions of functional parity. However, such willingness is contingent on the firm’s value creation structures. Specifically, if the products and processes driving the firm’s value creation rely more on …

Flight To Bitcoin, Gloria Yang Yu, Jinyuan Zhang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper uncovers an overlooked motivation of Bitcoin investment: investors hold Bitcoin as an asset on which government authorities have limited influence. Consistent with this motivation, we document a flight-to-Bitcoin (FTB) phenomenon whereby local demand for Bitcoin increases with local economic policy uncertainties and Bitcoin ownership shifts from centralized exchanges to decentralized wallets amid such turbulence. FTB is driven by investors’ lack of confidence in government as FTB is stronger in countries where the confidence in government is low and corruption incidents surge. Finally, a comparison with safe-haven assets further differentiates FTB from flight-to-safety.

Impact Assessment And Measurement With Sustainable Development Goals, Hao Liang, David Fernandez, Mikkel Larsen

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

With the rapid growth of sustainable and responsible investment and widespread adoption of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting and integration by organizations, how to assess and measure ESG impact has become a critical issue. Although the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a useful framework for investors and organizations globally to align their standards, the SDGs are vague on how to implement them at an organizational or activity level. Current practice relies heavily on third-party ESG rating providers, whose scores mostly apply to public equities only. They also suffer from biases, inconsistencies, and a lack of sufficient disclosure. …

Designing Persuasive Voiceover Narration In Crowdfunding Videos, Hannah H. Chang, Anirban Mukherjee, Amitava Chattopadhyay

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Across four studies (real-world datasets and controlled experiments), we find that consumers who heard a persuasive message voiced by multiple narrators (vs. one narrator) would be more receptive to the new product in crowdfunding videos and video ads.

A Constraint Programming Approach To Load Capacity Planning In Container Vessels, Byung Kwon Lee, Joyce M. W. Low

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

A container vessel carries containers of various characteristics, in terms of size, weight, and contents. The cargo load of a container vessel, being subjected to a set of operational conditions and restrictions regarding ship stability and safety, is a fundamental element in decision-making when a shipping line provides logistics services to clients. This study presents a constraint programming-based model for the capacity planning of a container vessel under various operational conditions. The proposed model generates base solutions and is complemented with a rich scenario-based analysis that utilizes real-life ship data of a container vessel operated by a liner shipping company …

Race And Hedge Funds, Yan Lu, Narayan Y. Naik, Melvyn Teo

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We find that minority operated funds deliver higher alphas, Sharpe ratios, and information ratios than do non-minority operated funds. Moreover, minority fund managers attended more selective schools, worked at higher status investment banks, and are more likely to hold post-graduate degrees. Yet, minority managers raise less start-up capital and attract lower investor flows. Racial homophily fuels investors' appetite for non-minority funds. To address endogeneity, we leverage on an event study of minority manager fund transitions and an instrumental variable analysis that exploits racial imprinting during childhood. The results suggest that minorities face significant barriers to entry in the hedge fund …

Why, How, And When Divergent Perceptions Become Dysfunctional In Organizations: A Motivated Cognition Perspective, Zhanna Lyubykh, Laurie J. Barclay, Marion Fortin, Michael R. Bashshur, Malika Khakhar

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Decades of research has demonstrated that people can arrive at starkly different perceptions in the same social situations. Divergent perceptions are not inherently dysfunctional. However, if divergent perceptions are not managed effectively, they can have deleterious effects that can undermine functioning in the workplace. Drawing on a motivated cognition perspective, we outline why divergent perceptions may emerge as well as overview the benefits and drawbacks of divergent perceptions in organizational contexts. Next, we highlight the complexities associated with divergent perceptions in the workplace, including why, how, and when divergent perceptions may become dysfunctional. We also showcase theoretical insights from a …

Consumers' Willingness To Pay For Second-Generation Ethanol In Brazil, Teresa Cristina Garcia, Alvaro Durand-Morat, Wei Yang, Michael Popp, William Schreckhise

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Faculty Publications and Presentations

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of a low-cost solar collector to pre-heat ventilation air in commercial broiler buildings on supplemental heating demand and air quality during the cold season. Six black fabric-based solar collectors of 36 m(2) each were installed on the south-facing rooftop of a broiler house. The solar collectors provided fresh warm air into the house during the ON cycle of minimum ventilation and during the OFF cycle of minimum ventilation when the temperature under the collectors met certain criteria. The daily cumulative duration of solar collectors in operation averaged 125 and 133 …

2022-January-31-Acclaimed Storyteller Will Present At Etsu, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 31, 2022) – The East Tennessee State University Storytelling Program is proud to present internationally-acclaimed storyteller Charlotte Blake Alston for two evenings of solo performance on Feb. 8 and 10 at 8 p.m. in the Mathes Recital Hall in Mathes Hall on the ETSU main campus. Each evening will feature a talkback – a time for the audience to engage with Alston. Both events are free and open to the public.

 “Six-Triple-Eight” is the story of the African American 6888th Battalion of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps in World War II – the first female battalion …

2022-January-31-Etsu Offers Free Services To Help With Financial Aid, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 31, 2022) – February is Financial Aid Awareness Month, and the East Tennessee State University community wants current and potential students to know about the resources available to them.

“The financial aid process may seem intimidating,” said Catherine Morgan, director of the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships at ETSU. “Here at ETSU, we have dedicated experts, as well as online tools, to help you succeed.” 

Filing the 2022-2023 Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as the FAFSA, is the critical first step, officials said. The FAFSA is a student’s gateway to all …

2022-January-31-Nursing Receives Grant For Etsu Health Community Health Centers, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY (Jan. 31, 2022) – East Tennessee State University’s College of Nursing recently received a $569,025 grant that will allow the ETSU Health Community Health Centers to increase and improve services at clinics in Hancock County and Johnson City.

The Health Resources & Services Administration grant is part of the American Rescue Plan funding.  

“These funds will help our health centers accomplish our mission by providing much-needed upgrades and repairs to some of our facilities,” said Silas Tolan, executive director, Office of Practice. “In particular, these funds will allow us to expand our reach to the community in Hancock …

The Effects Of Team Surface-Level Diversity On Creativity & Innovation, Roman Mitchell

Faculty Publications

During the last 20 years, the global marketplace has become more competitive due to increased globalization, aggressive market competition, and changing customer demands. This has forced organizations to assemble teams with diverse knowledge, skills, and abilities to remain competitive. However, previous meta-analytic investigations examining the relationship between team surface-level diversity (i.e., race or gender identity), creativity, and innovation have indicated a small negative relationship. Despite the said positive effects of team diversity, theory and empirical evidence suggests that increased surface-level team diversity leads to decreased team collaboration, team cohesion, and diminished creativity and innovation (Bell, 2007).

This study explores the …

Unveiling The Impact Of Covid-19 And The Policy Implications On Indonesian Small Businesses: Where Do They Hurt The Most?, Sri Wahyuni, Novita Ikasari

BISNIS & BIROKRASI: Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi dan Organisasi

The catastrophic impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) is well-presented across countries featured on a helicopter view. However, studies on business activities as proxies to business functions that are exclusively affected by the pandemic are scarcely found, which in turn might cause ineffective recovery policy. Using Indonesia as a case in point, this study aims at codifying the particular business activities to proxy the functions that have been impacted across the sectors and business owners’ perception on the government’s policy. The study uses indicators for three business functions that are qualitatively constructed from previous studies …

Uncertainty And Banks’ Security Holdings, Van Dan Dang, Hoang Chung Nguyen

The Indonesian Capital Market Review

The paper enriches the existing literature on financial intermediaries’ operations in the face of uncertainty by empirically examining the impact of banking uncertainty on banks’ security holdings. Using bank-level data in Vietnam during 2007–2019 to compute a micro uncertainty proxy based on the dispersion of bank shocks, we document that banking uncertainty tends to enhance total security holdings at banks. Decomposing aggregate securities into disaggregate components, we find that safer investments (including government bonds and financial institution bonds) dominate the overall impact of banking uncertainty on security holdings, which completely offset a drop in the volume of riskier investments (including …

The Impact Of Geopolitical Risk On Corporate Investment: Evidence From Turkish Firms, Omer Faruk Tan, Hakan Cavlak, Yasin Cebeci, Necati Güneş

The Indonesian Capital Market Review

This study analyzes the effects of geopolitical risk on the corporate investment of 164 Turkish manufacturing firms listed in Borsa Istanbul (BIST). The time covers the period from 2005 to 2019, applying the system Generalized Methods of Moments (GMM) estimator. The results indicate that geopolitical risk hurts corporate investment in Turkey. Under uncertainty induced by geographical risk, firms prefer to decline their investment. Additionally, financially constrained (non-dividend, small, young) firms are more negatively affected than financially unconstrained firms. Our findings are robust under alternative measures of geopolitical risk. Overall, this study reveals that geopolitical risk is a significant uncertainty affecting …

Cash Flow And Accrual Anomalies: Evidence From Borsa Istanbul, Emine Kaya

The Indonesian Capital Market Review

This study aims to determine the persistence of earning and its components and whether investors accurately evaluate the information related to the earning and its components. The study covers the firms operating in Borsa Istanbul between 2005-2017 time period. We sort the accruals and cash flows into five portfolios. Then, we employ linear regression and Mishkin test estimations. Moreover, we compare the asset pricing models with nine metrics in explaining the cash flow and accrual anomalies. Linear regression and Mishkin test estimations show that the persistence of earning is high. The other finding is that cash flow and accrual do …

The Analysis Of The Roles Of Bitcoin, Ethereum, And Gold As Hedge And Safe-Haven Assets On The Indonesian Stock Market Before And During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Carla A. Wijaya, Maria Ulpah

The Indonesian Capital Market Review

The uncertainty due to the COVID-19 outbreak has encouraged investors to look for value hedging instruments to minimize risk, which can be in the form of hedging assets or safe-haven assets. In response to it, this study aims to find out whether Bitcoin, Ethereum, and gold can behave as hedging and safe-haven assets before and amid the pandemic in Indonesia. The strategy is by observing the effects of volatility and return of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and gold on the Indonesian stock market. This study employed both quantile regression and simple linear regression models on data of daily closing price taken before …

Monetary Policy And Herding Behavior: Empirical Evidence From Indonesia Stock Market, Retno Puspita K. Wicaksono, Telisa Aulia Falianty

The Indonesian Capital Market Review

This study aims to analyze the role of monetary policy, including the spillover of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy, in the existence of herding behavior in the Indonesian stock market. We used beta herding to measure the level of herding behavior and analyze the relationship between monetary policy and beta herding using the VECM model, as well as IRF and FEVD. This study shows that monetary policy plays a role in the existence of herding behavior in the Indonesian stock market. Although the effect of monetary policy on herding behavior is relatively small, Fed monetary policy shocks have …

Study Abroad Opportunities: The Impact Upon Learning, Jacob K. Tingle

School of Business Faculty Research

Sport businesses continue to grow beyond their borders. As a result, sport management programmes must prepare students to be more globally aware and culturally sensitive. This chapter presents an overview of the learning possibilities associated with short-term study abroad classes for sport management students. The importance of framing study abroad as a form of experiential learning is described. The chapter also includes a rationale for how short-term study abroad classes can provide access for student-athletes, students in tightly prescribed academic programmes, students for whom equity and access are important considerations, and others for whom a full semester programme might not …

Managing Value Added Tax Issues In Indonesian Business Entities Post-Ifrs 15 Adoption, Prianto Budi Saptono, Ismail Khozen

BISNIS & BIROKRASI: Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi dan Organisasi

This study analyzes challenges related to value-added tax (VAT) transactions in Indonesia following the convergence of International Financial Reporting Standards 15 (IFRS 15) into Statements of Financial Accounting Standards 72 (SFAS or "PSAK" 72). This study took a qualitative method, combining document abstraction from the literature with in-depth interviews with key informants selected purposively. This study provides an overview of the characteristics of transfer of control under PSAK 72 and the time of supply under the VAT Law. It is unavoidable that the two approaches go different paths. This study suggests that businesses in Indonesia revise the contract terms with …

Analysis Of Regional Tax Potential Of Pamekasan Regency, Damas Dwi Anggoro, Indriani Indriani, Wilopo Wilopo

BISNIS & BIROKRASI: Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi dan Organisasi

Fiscal decentralization is a critical element in the implementation of regional autonomy where the central government gives authority to local governments to manage their finances independently. Pamekasan regency is one of the region that has succeeded in increasing the ratio of local own-source revenue (Pendapatan Asli Daerah/PAD) by rising the potential of its regional tax sector. However, several problems arising may cause inaccuracies in collecting local tax revenues. This study aims to analyze the potential loss of local taxes in Pamekasan regency. A qualitative approach sourced from primary data (interviews or filling the questionnaires) and secondary data (obtained and recorded …

Learning Abroad In Action: A Case Study Of Sport In England, Jacob K. Tingle

School of Business Faculty Research

Many universities have moved towards the faculty-led short-term study abroad model to maximise the student experience and also to be intentional about including student populations who may not study abroad because of some hesitation or barriers. Specifically, these programmes are an effective way to provide students an opportunity to explore international learning in a way that is more accessible. This chapter presents a case study of a successful short-term study abroad model and includes syllabus language and recommendations for faculty who want to create a short-term class. Specifically, information is presented about four distinct elements a short-term class should include: …