S&O Lunch Seminar on October 8th 2024: Ethics, Decision Making, and Content Creation in Organizations

The S&O Institute is delighted to invite you to a lunch seminar on Ethics, Decision Making, and Content Creation in Organizations on Tuesday, October 8th, 2024. at 12:00 PM in Room T001 at the HEC Paris campus.

For this session, we have the privilege of hosting two distinguished speakers:

Aluna Wang   Assistant Professor of Accounting at HEC Paris,will present her paper titled "Exploration vs. Exploitation: The Impact of Commercial Collaborations on Content Creation." (Abstract below.)	Roberto Weber   Professor of the Economics of Corporate Culture, Business Ethics, and Social Responsibility at the University of Zurich, will talk about  "Self-governance and Ethical Behavior in Markets." (Abstract below.)

The presentations will offer an opportunity to engage in discussions on these topics and their broader implications.

Abstracts

Title: Exploration vs. Exploitation: The Impact of Commercial Collaborations on Content Creation

Speaker: Aluna Wang
Abstract (Preliminary): This study investigates how commercial collaborations affect influencers' content strategies, specifically their tendencies toward topic exploration versus exploitation, using data from a major Q&A platform. As influencer marketing grows, questions arise about how these commercial partnerships shape content creation. Our research examines whether commercial collaborations encourage influencers to exploit familiar topics at the expense of exploring new ones, potentially reducing content variety. By analyzing influencers’ behavior on the platform, the study sheds light on the balance between exploration and exploitation in the context of commercial deals. The findings underscore the need for well-designed incentives that encourage influencers to maintain diversity in their content, even when commercially engaged.

Title: Self-governance and ethical behavior in markets

Speaker: Roberto Weber (joint project with John Hamman and Philipp Sternal)
Abstract (Preliminary): Unethical acts in organizations and markets are often committed by intermediaries, or “agents,” who face competitive pressure to take actions that are socially harmful but that benefit the “principals” who employ them. We investigate whether opportunities for collective organization among such intermediaries allow them to limit their unethical conduct. In an experimental market context, delegation of decision making to agents increases the production of goods that are profitable to principals but that create negative externalities. We introduce opportunities for agents to engage in “self-governance,” through binding or non-binding agreements to limit their production of harmful goods. Our findings reveal that self-governance can significantly impact the degree to which intermediaries engage in unethical conduct that primarily benefits others, suggesting an important role for professional codes of conduct.
 

To participate

A lunch will be provided for all the participants. For organizational reasons, please confirm your attendance by October 2nd 2024 by contacting Iiris Sacchet : sacchet@hec.fr

We look forward to reconnecting with you all!