Research

In contrast to previous research documenting negative effects of political and policy uncertainty, we show that uncertainty has a bright side. It motivates companies to increase their investment in research in development. This is due to the growth option effect - investing in more R&D now gives firms the option to invest even more in the future if the uncertainty resolution is favorable. Additional results support our conjecture. We find that firms that are more politically sensitive and operate in high-tech industries are more likely to benefit from this growth option effect.

This paper develops novel econometric techniques to estimate and conduct inference on a seller’s expected revenue in first-price auctions, one of the most popular auction format used in practice, providing valuable tools for auction design and policy evaluation.

Fostering inclusion in the workplace can be challenging, but we find that the key might be having supervisors who act with integrity. In three complementary studies, we find that employees hesitate to advocate for diversity due to not feeling empowered. Our research reveals that when supervisors act with integrity, employees feel more empowered to step up and champion diversity, especially in problematic climates.

This research uncovers three distinct types of marketing organizations, challenging the common debate about their role. While some believe marketers control all marketing decisions, others see them as simply promoting work done by other departments. The authors reveals three categories: Growth Champions (17%), which actively drive business growth, aligning with the traditional view of marketing's influence; Service Providers (43%), primarily focused on supporting other departments, reflecting a more limited scope for marketing; and Marcom Leaders (40%), which excel at branding and communication, shaping the company's image. This framework provides a clearer understanding of the diverse roles marketing can play in different companies. It offers valuable insights for businesses to optimize their marketing functions and address long-standing questions about marketing's true impact.

This work examines how a shock that affects an entire unit influences the pattern of collective turnover. It introduces the importance of accounting for a potential delay in the turnover response and a disruption phase characterized by abnormal turnover, and it studies how the pattern of collective turnover changes because of characteristics of the shock and its context. This work is important for better pinpointing events that spur collective turnover and understanding and making predictions about how and when shocks affect collective turnover in the unit – not just the total turnover expected in the unit.

This research considers the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated government policies on the global trading system and its ability to deliver food to impoverished people. Income and price shocks are considered as they impact the ability of low-income households to acquire food. We estimate the impact of the pandemic on food security in 80 countries. We find increased food insecurity predominantly driven by income rather than price shocks.