UConn Today – If you graduated from the School of Business a decade or more ago, you probably wouldn’t recognize some of the curriculum today.
“Our students are exploring newer areas of study, including entrepreneurship, data analytics, and financial technology, as they prepare to enter a rapidly changing workforce,’’ said Dean John A. Elliott. “This is a remarkable and exciting time at the School of Business and I’m eager to talk about what has changed and why.’’
John Lynch, Rafael Becerril Arreola, Rebecca Hamilton, and Robert Lawless
The Marketing Department at the UConn School of Business hosted its 11th annual Voya Financial Colloquium on the topic of “Consumer Financial Decision Making.” The event, held on Oct 13th, 2023, brought together researchers from across the country to discuss how consumers respond to a changing financial landscape, the challenges they face in navigating financial systems and how their interactions within a broader social context influence their financial decisions.
“The study of consumer financial decision making explores how consumers accumulate and use financial resources over time and is a fast-growing area of research within the field of marketing,” said UConn Marketing professor Christina Kan in opening remarks.
Professor Kan, who organized the event, went on to discuss how financial decision making is also of interest to many other disciplines, noting “Our goal for this colloquium was to look at the topic of consumer financial decision making from a variety of different perspectives, and we’re delighted to have a panel of speakers from diverse backgrounds.”
The colloquium featured four distinguished speakers – Professors John Lynch, Rafael Becerril Arreola, Rebecca Hamilton, and Robert Lawless – each of whom approached the topic from different perspectives – including marketing and law – as well as different methodologies – including experimental, econometric, and ethnographic approaches.
The colloquium fostered an energetic discourse between speakers and participants, including marketing and law faculty and doctoral students from UConn, UMass and URI.
Below are profiles of the guest speakers and an abstract of their presentations:
John Lynch, Distinguished Professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder, delved into the complex relationship between financial knowledge, financial behavior, and financial well-being. Lynch highlighted two prevalent approaches to improving consumer financial well-being: financial education and behavioral interventions, often referred to as “nudging.” He introduced the concept of “just in time” financial education, positioning it between these two approaches.
Lynch used these concepts as a springboard for discussion on his recent research into a pressing issue – employees cashing out their 401(k) retirement savings when changing jobs. In a comprehensive study covering 162,360 terminating employees, Lynch and his coauthors found that over 40% of individuals leaked their 401(k) savings, cashing out at job separation, with employer contribution proportions influencing the likelihood of leakage. The findings underscored the unintended consequences of well-intentioned employer matches, revealing the delicate balance between supporting employees and inadvertently encouraging financial decisions that undermine long-term well-being.
Rafael Becerril Arreola, Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina, focused on the impact of product price rankings on consumer choice. His research addressed Veblen effects and counter-effects, investigating how product prices signal consumer wealth. Using a quasi-experimental approach, Becerril Arreola’s approach addresses potential identification threats. His analysis capitalized on a rich dataset on automobile rentals to demonstrate that consumer sensitivity to local rankings of selling-prices is highly heterogeneous, often negative, and comparable in magnitude to consumer sensitivity to rental fees. The study highlights the role that prices play in wealth signaling effects and suggests that conspicuous consumption may be more significant than previously estimated.
Rebecca Hamilton, the Michael G. and Robin Psaros Chair in Business Administration at Georgetown University, explored the challenges families face in responding to resource scarcity. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 30 diverse families, Hamilton developed a framework illustrating how multi-dimensional, concurrent and/or consecutive life events (such as job changes, house moves or child birth) create mismatches between available and required resources, triggering situational resource scarcity. The study identified various patterns of adjustments in consumption and resource investment over time, and how they are influenced by families’ chronic resource constraints and availability of support networks. Hamilton notes that that the flexibility afforded by multiple family members is constrained by collective goals, domains of control, tensions, and negotiations within families.
Robert Lawless, the Max L. Rowe Professor of Law at the University of Illinois, provided a thought-provoking presentation on the bankruptcy system and the experiences of individuals navigating financial distress. Using data from the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, a long-running study of persons who file bankruptcy, Lawless highlighted the prevalence of personal bankruptcy in the U.S., noting that roughly one in ten Americans have filed bankruptcy at some point during their lives. His presentation focused on two themes. The first centered around the legal and economic consequences of filing bankruptcy and how legal services are marketed just like everything else. The second theme illustrated life in the “sweatbox,” shedding light on the financial precarity and distress that individuals endure in the years leading up to bankruptcy filing.
UConn Today – The University of Connecticut unveiled an inaugural, student-created beer on Tuesday, with a celebration that drew more than 350 alumni, friends, and other brewmasters, all eager to sample BrewConn, a double dry hopped hazy IPA.
The event, at Kinsmen Brewing Co. in Southington, capped off a semester of hard work for nine students, mostly chemical engineering majors, who learned the craft of brewing, literally from the ground up.
UConn Today – Ticking up the thermostat a degree or two is going to cost anyone more money, but a new study from UConn researchers suggests Black households pay more to keep their homes comfortable, in part due to increased cold sensitivity.
The finding, published this fall in Energy Economics, spans the socioeconomic spectrum and also states Black people who can’t afford those couple extra degrees end up seeking medical attention more often than white counterparts.
WalletHub – Q; Do you think Liberty Mutual’s tagline about customizing insurance to customers’ needs really distinguishes it from other insurance companies?
A: The “only pay for what you need” campaign is supported by several humorous vignettes with established characters, building familiarity and trust. The storylines are attention-getting, memorable, and pleasant. This is the strength of this campaign.
Students Aria Penna (left) and Luis Quisumbing (right) pose for a photo with donor Toni Boucher ’02 MBA (Nathan Oldham / UConn School of Business
Luis Quisumbing’s eyes light up as he talks about his membership in the student-run UConn Formula SAE race car organization. The latest car took first place for acceleration in a recent college competition, beating more than 100 other entries. The technology and innovation it incorporates might also be applied to other fields, including the defense industry.
Aria Penna is developing expertise in investing, and is particularly intrigued by companies developing technology that can make the world more green. She has become more knowledgeable about sustainability, and can quickly identify promising startups.
Although five decades separate the two business students from UConn alumna Antonietta ‘Toni’ Boucher ’02 MBA, their perspective is the same: Who better than UConn students and alumni to create, support, bolster and lead companies that are going to change the world?
“When I talk to these students, I see my own children, I see my own grandchildren. The School of Business is a place of innovation. There is wonderful talent here,’’ said Boucher, a former Connecticut state legislator who served for 22 years. Continue Reading
Hartford Business Journal – Ever-evolving technology and near-limitless information storage capabilities mean massive amounts of data are available for companies and other organizations to analyze. That’s created a significant need for business and data analysts and similar positions at companies large and small that are in search of a competitive edge.
Hartford Business Journal – Ever-evolving technology and near-limitless information storage capabilities mean massive amounts of data are available for companies and other organizations to analyze. That’s created a significant need for business and data analysts and similar positions at companies large and small that are in search of a competitive edge.
UConn Today – OPIM professor Chen Liang, a prolific researcher who is always willing to mentor students, has received a prestigious award, recognizing her as a promising young scholar who is likely to make outstanding contributions to the field.
Hartford Business Journal – With thousands of cybersecurity job openings around the state — and entry-level positions that can command a six-figure starting salary — training the next generation of security engineers is a key challenge for Connecticut.
Colleges around the state say the fast-changing curriculum, difficulty of retaining expert faculty, importance of linking closely to industry, and looming challenge of AI make cybersecurity one of the most dynamic fields in education right now.