20 Buffalo Business |
BUSINESS ANALYTICS SOCIAL IMPACT OF MANAGEMENT BUSINESS OF CLIMATE CHANGE INNOVATION, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND LEADERSHIP
Insights
N E W S A B O U T FA C U LT Y A N D T H E I R R E S E A R C H
In business, all
losses are not alike
"Even as the economy
boomed in 2019 following
a decade of growth, about
half of all public compa-
nies reported losses, despite initial success,
because accounting rules force them to. This
is just another indication of how broken
accounting is. We need to treat intangible
investments as real economic assets."
— Feng Gu, chair and professor of
accounting and law, on his study that
found that Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles mask the true value of compa-
nies by marking investments in intangi-
bles like technology, brands and human
capital as losses. The research appeared in
Review of Accounting Studies. Read more at
tinyurl.com/ubmgtlosses.
Take the plunge and invest in weird
"People tend to draw conclusions about those who are non-normative. A
person's willingness to violate norms, or their inability to follow them, can
enhance their creativity; yet at the same time, weird entrepreneurs are
perceived to have diminished competence."
— Emily Grijalva, associate professor of organization and human resources,
on her study that explores the link between investor funding and perceived
weirdness, using pitches given by entrepreneurs from the five most recent
seasons of the popular television show "Shark Tank." The study finds that being unapologeti-
cally weird can be both an advantage and a liability, and interpersonal warmth is key to leverag-
ing advantages and disadvantages. The study appeared in Personnel Psychology. Read more at
tinyurl.com/ubmgtweird.
Servant leaders are better for the bottom line
"We gave employees a decision-making test and were able
to show a relationship that we had theorized: Those who were
more 'other-oriented' made smarter, more well-thought-out
decisions. Other-orientation gives you experience looking at
problems from perspectives beyond your own."
— James Lemoine, associate professor of organization and
human resources, on his research that found that moderate
increase in servant leadership can have a significant effect on an organization's
revenue: A one-point increase in servant leadership scores (on a seven-point
scale) resulted in $11.3 million in additional revenue for the company, about a 6%
increase. The research appeared in Personnel Psychology. Read more at tinyurl.
com/ubmgtservant.
