Ideas By Year 2011

Professor Brian Golden

Paying physicians more to get more - or to get less
Labour economics can provide a valuable perspective in addressing the supply of doctors and access to care, says an article in the December 6 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).

Professor Ramy Elitzur

How smart managers make dumb decisions and why shareholders encourage them: Rotman paper
From Enron in the United States to Satyam in India, there are plenty of examples of corporate managers lying about their companies’ earnings and ultimately hurting themselves and the businesses they work for. Why do they do it?

Professor Jacob Hirsh, Professor Chen-Bo Zhong

Drunk, powerful, and in the dark: The Paradox of the Disinhibited
Power can lead to great acts of altruism, but also corruptive, unethical behavior. Being intoxicated can lead to a first date, or a bar brawl. And the mask of anonymity can encourage one individual to let a stranger know they have toilet paper stuck to their shoe, while another may post salacious photos online.

Professor Lisa Kramer

Fall market jitters a SAD thing suggests paper from Rotman School of Management
It’s no surprise to researcher Lisa Kramer that financial market dips and crashes typically happen in the fall. Her most recent study shows that people who experience seasonal depression shun financial risk-taking during seasons with diminished daylight but are more willing to accept risk in spring and summer.

Professor Dilip Soman

Wanna save? Keep it simple, says paper from the Rotman School of Management
If one savings goal is a good thing, two or more should be great, right? Not really. Those who want to save are more apt to keep socking money away and more of it too, if they have just one goal in mind, shows work done in multiple countries by two researchers at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

Professor Lukasz Pomorski

Is Bigger Better? Size and Performance in Pension Plan Management
The health of the pension system is front page news in countries around the world with an ongoing debate on required contribution rates or minimum retirement ages. An equally relevant issue is how efficiently savings invested in pension funds are managed.

Professor Avi Goldfarb

Online advertising waters down impact of offline ad bans
Not allowed to advertise your booze or smokes on a billboard? That's okay. Research shows online advertising works especially well in places with government ad bans.

Professor David Zweig

Employees don't always share well with others, says new paper exposing "knowledge hiding"
Why isn't knowledge transfer happening more often in companies spending money on it? Maybe it's because their staff don't always want to share.

Professor Stéphane Côté

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: The Two Sides of Emotional Intelligence
People often assume that having good emotional intelligence makes you a better person. Not so, say the authors of a study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Emotional skills can be used for good or for evil—for the betterment of the group or for humiliating your coworkers.

Professor Nina Mažar

Greased Palm Psychology: Collectivism and Bribery
Bribery is condemned in most cultures; but it is more common in some countries than in others. Is poverty, political instability, or lax regulation to blame? A new study published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests a surprising contributor: Collectivism.

Professor Claire Tsai, Professor Min Zhao

How do consumers estimate a good time?
Consumers estimate they'll spend more time enjoying activities when the tasks are broken down into components, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. But using the same process for an unpleasant event decreases time estimates.

Professor Ole Kristian Hope

Improving financial reporting in private firms’ interest, new study of emerging markets suggests
Improved financial reporting at private firms benefits not only potential outside investors but will help the firm make better business decisions for itself too, says a new study.

Professor Andrew Ching

Speedy generic approval may not benefit consumers as much as expected
Faster approval times for generic drugs will get them into consumers' hands quicker, but may not make the price any better, a pricing and marketing researcher has found.

Professor Tiziana Casciaro

The Oscar Curse? Study Says that Oscar Win for Best Actress Increases the Risk of Divorce
Will Academy Award nominees Nicole Kidman and Annette Bening be at higher risk for a divorce if they win the Oscar for best actress next month? A long line of best actress winners including Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Halle Berry and Kate Winslet experienced the end of their marriages not long after taking home their awards.

Professor Geoffrey Leonardelli

"Vive la difference!" Seeing foreigners as foreign encourages local coworkers to assist them finds a Rotman study
Whether it's a company with local and ex-pat employees, countries in need of aid, or the elderly interacting with the young, a new research paper to be published in the journal Psychological Science says recognizing diversity can actually encourage people to help each other instead of sparking conflict.

Professor Partha Mohanram

CEOs rewarded for wrong kind of growth, Rotman paper finds
Growth is good, right? Not always. But compensation committees still tend to reward CEOs when their companies grow due to investments – even though that has been found to hurt long-term shareholder value – rather than only rewarding growth due to improved profitability, says a paper co-authored by a professor at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management.

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