University at Buffalo School of Management

22 Buffalo Business | BUSINESS ANALYTICS SOCIAL IMPACT OF MANAGEMENT BUSINESS OF CLIMATE CHANGE INNOVATION, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND LEADERSHIP Insights Didn't finish your daily to-do list at work? Don't dwell on it "By shiing our focus from 'why employees failed to achieve goals' to 'how employees react to unreal- ized goals,' we found that daily unattained goals can lead employees to develop strategies to cope with a cycle of negative thoughts of failure. These coping strate- gies that focus on the past may relieve some discomfort in the moment, but are oen disruptive and can make employees less productive." — Min-Hsuan Tu, assistant professor of organization and human resources, on her study that provides a comprehensive picture of how aer-work thought processes can impact day-to-day goals. Published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, the study offers practical insight for managers seeking to support and retain employees. Read more at tinyurl.com/ubmgttodo. Pension bailouts lead to opportunistic behavior "We find that the pension bailout increased plans' incentives to engage in risk-taking, opportunistic and self-serving behaviors. The potential of future bail- outs may actually incentivize institutions to take on more risk. It shis the consequences of increased risk-taking away from the companies sponsoring these under- funded pension plans and onto taxpayers." — Michael Dambra, associate professor and Kenneth W. Colwell Chair of Accounting and Law, in a new working paper that exam- ines how collectively bargained pension plans respond to cash bailouts. Particularly aer the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, the bailouts have negatively affected the management and administration of multi- employer pension plans. Read more at tinyurl.com/ubmgtpensionbail. Knowledge is power: Early disclosure of risks can reduce decline in stocks "This research supports the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulatory agencies' drive to increase disclo- sure. Enhanced disclosure can improve a firm's infor- mation environment, leading to better outcomes for firms and market participants alike." — Szu-Yin "Jennifer" Wu, clinical assis- tant professor of finance, on her research examining the impact of risk factor disclo- sures that the SEC has required since 2005, finding that practitioners can reduce large negative events, such as Enron's finan- cial collapse when management hid finan- cial losses, through early disclosure. The study was published in the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy. Read more at tinyurl.com/ubmgtdisclosure. The business value of IT investment "This phenomenon confused managers, policymakers and research- ers in the '80s, and was thought to have disappeared in the mid-'90s. While increased IT spending doesn't always increase productivity, IT investment can pay off when countries leverage available complementary resources, such as e-commerce, traditional capital and traditional labor." — Winston Lin, professor of operations management and strategy, on his study that analyzed the IT productivity paradox, a slowdown in productivity growth that occurred in the '70s and '80s despite rapid IT development, that remains in some developed countries. The research appeared in Asia Pacific Management Review. Read more at tinyurl.com/ubmgt-itspending.

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