BUS News

The HKBU School of Business held the fourth “Research Happy Hour” on 21st November 2024, aiming to share diverse research ideas and foster interdisciplinary learning. 20 internal and external business scholars participated, engaging in lively discussions on various research topics. This round included a new initiative to invite PhD students to nurture them in their research journey, providing valuable exposure and learning opportunities. Attendees also had the opportunity to network and enjoyed light refreshments throughout the evening.

Dr. WANG Wenqian from the Department of Management and Marketing Information Systems (MMIS) began by discussing internal contracting within firms, motivated by his interest in contractual relationships. While most studies focus exclusively on transactions between two independent firms, he explored transactions within a firm. He explained the theoretical rejection of internal contracting due to the conflict between authority and market incentives, citing theories that suggest inefficiency. Despite these theoretical objections, Dr. WANG observed that many large corporations engage in internal contracting for transactions. He questioned the missing elements in current theories and sought to explain this phenomenon.

To gain deeper insights, Dr. WANG travelled to Beijing and conducted a series of interviews with several large corporations, including state-owned enterprises in China, with numerous subsidiaries and varying hierarchies. He later emphasized the importance of partner selection in internal transactions, as conflicts are resolved by the corporate headquarters. He highlighted the unique aspect of internal contracting: the existence of authority and the role of the corporate headquarters in resolving conflicts, underscoring the strategic importance of partner selection due to potential conflicts.

Shifting the spotlight, Dr. Ting CHEN from the Department of Accountancy, Economics, and Finance (AEF) introduced her research on the economic costs of political polarization in a divided world. She referenced a finance paper linking the 2016 U.S. election to a decline in innovation output among Democrat inventors, attributing it to sentimental distress. Dr. CHEN presented her project idea to quantify the economic costs of political polarization by analysing collaboration patterns among patent owners, planning to match voter registration data with patent data to observe changes after the 2016 election. She discussed the challenge of quantifying the economic cost of reduced collaboration due to political polarization. Dr. CHEN plans to incorporate election data and policy preferences to model the economic costs of political misalignment, acknowledging the complexity of the issue and the need to control for other factors.

She also introduced a second project idea related to migration patterns influenced by political ideology, proposing to model political ideology as an amenity that influences migration decisions. Using state-level election data and labour market data, she aims to observe migration patterns and their economic implications. When asked about the economic benefits and costs of political actions where it further emphasizes the complexity of the issue, Dr. CHEN explained the potential for long-term economic benefits of political actions despite short-term costs and addressed questions about the role of non-economic factors, such as social security and hate crimes, in migration decisions. She acknowledged the challenges of quantifying non-economic factors but emphasized their importance in understanding economic outcomes.

The event concluded with an invitation to continue the discussion over drinks, allowing attendees to mingle and delve deeper into the presentations. The Research Happy Hour provided a platform for stimulating discussions and fostered connections among participants. This event continues the School's tradition of promoting a multidisciplinary research environment, offering scholars a supportive platform to foster collaborations and enhance their academic pursuits.