In description
Managers of supplier firms often dedicate substantial resources and attention towards maximizing the level of the business they capture from their existing buyers. But can there be downsides to deepening these B2B relationships? In related prior research on client-led diversification, John Mawdsley, assistant professor of Strategy at HEC Paris, explained how deeper relationships with existing clients lead to law firms following their clients’ expansion into new lines of business. Now, in a study with Deepak Somaya of the University of Illinois, Professor Mawdsley asks whether the strength of the relationships between a supplier and its existing buyers influences the rate at which the supplier can grow its business. In this interview, Mawdsley reveals an important trade off of deepening existing B2B relationships.
By John Mawdsley
Is the GameStop Affair a collective action revolting against major hedge funds, or is it just another form of speculation by amateur investors also aiming to become rich? In the course of one week, GameStop’s stock value had catapulted to an impressive 1600% rise from its previous value. This situation had Wall Street trembling, and had hedge funds and individual investors at attention. As GameStop’s stock value continues to fluctuate towards a lower price, its initial steep climb up raises questions on stock market behavior, the actions of hedge fund investors, and the trading technique of short selling. HEC Paris professor of Finance Johan Hombert explains the mechanics behind the GameStop affair and Robinhood trading application.
Social entrepreneurship is characterized by a deep commitment to a social cause and the desire to develop new business models with economic, social, and ecological impacts. But can people be trained to become better at social entrepreneurship? HEC Paris Professors Thomas Åstebro and Florian Hoos found that social entrepreneurship training works, but only if carefully designed.
By Thomas Åstebro , Florian Hoos
Are the efforts of transparency by the pharmaceutical industry sufficient to regain the trust of the world population? The COVID-19 pandemic has taken the world hostage since March 2020, yet there is hope that this health crisis may be vanquished this year, thanks to the approved vaccines by Pfizer/BioNtech and Moderna. While there are ongoing campaigns encouraging vaccination, there are nonetheless doubts about these newly-developed vaccines. This reticence compromises the effectiveness of vaccination drives already underway. HEC Paris Professor Vedran Capkun tells us why transparency is critical in this current context. He explains what the outcome of the production of these vaccines represents for the pharmaceutical industry.
Denis Gromb, Antin I.P. Chair Professor of Finance at HEC Paris, and HEC Paris EMBA graduate François Sauvageot present their business case study “Midas in Brazil”. Midas is a global chain of auto repair and maintenance centers, and the case connects several key themes such as franchising, the automotive aftermarket, valuation and joint ventures in a country renowned for its challenging business environment.
Today’s major societal challenges – such as climate change, migration and inequality - urgently call for new ideas and approaches that can create both economic growth and social value. Recent years have seen a surge of support programs targeted specifically at nascent social entrepreneurs - new actors on the innovation scene -, widely thought to be invaluable for bringing forth and inspiring such ideas. It is essential, now more than ever, for organizations to understand how they can motivate and manage teams or nascent entrepreneurs to innovate for the public good. An interview with one of the scholars at the forefront of research on innovations for the public good, HEC Paris Professor Marieke Huysentruyt, Academic Director of the Inclusive Economy Center at the Society & Organizations Institute (S&O), on her experimental approaches and results.
By Marieke Huysentruyt
The 2020 Nobel Prize in Economics recognized Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson of Stanford University for their research on auctions. In this interview, Jean-Edouard Colliard, Associate Professor of Finance at HEC Paris and author of "Les Prix Nobel d’Economie", explains their research, and its role in the economy, society, and the perception of economists.
New research analyzes how activist short sellers’ “research reports” convince investors that the companies they target are overvalued. Professors Luc Paugam and Hervé Stolowy of HEC Paris and Yves Gendron of the Université Laval found that the share price of companies targeted by major activist short sellers drop by 11.2%, on average, over three days. Target firms are also more likely to be subsequently delisted, suspended from stock exchanges, or to go bankrupt. Who are activist short sellers and how do they police financial markets?
By Luc Paugam , Hervé Stolowy
What should we get for our kids this holiday season? As children get older, giving them something they can experience (live through) instead of material things makes them happier, according to new research published by HEC Paris professors Tina M. Lowrey and L. J. Shrum.
By Tina M. Lowrey , L. J. Shrum
The idea of issuing perpetual debt to combat the Covid crisis has recently been floated by prominent public figures such as hedge fund manager George Soros (The EU Should Issue Perpetual Bonds), economist Luis Garicano and former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt (Toward a European Reconstruction Fund). A perpetual bond is a bond that pays an annual coupon forever and whose principal is never repaid. Conceptually, a perpetual bond is a coupon-paying bond with an infinite maturity.
