Research

Contracting for Innovation and Innovating Contracts

Posted on by Nancy White

Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation (2016)

Thomas D. Barton, Gerlinde Berger-Walliser, Helena Haapio

This special issue of the Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation (JSCAN) is devoted to “contracting for innovation and innovating contracts.” From the inception of planning for the issue, the co-editors hoped to attract contributions from a full range of professionals engaged in contract theory and practice: research academics, contract managers, corporate executives, and legal counsel, plus what JSCAN Editor-in-Chief Tyrone Pitsis told us are called “pracademics:” those who straddle research and commercial environments, making concrete contributions through collaborative projects, experiments, interviews, software development, or theory-building. JSCAN is a natural publication outlet for such partnerships, since so many of the 40,000 worldwide members of the International Association of Contract and Commercial Management (JSCAN’s parent organization) are thought-leaders in every aspect of commercial contracting. Full article.

Subtle Bias Can Derail Results

Posted on by Claire Hall

crowdsourcing

If Not Well Managed, Crowdsourcing Contests Produce Undesirable Results, UConn Researchers Discover

Crowdsourcing firms and platform designers may need to revisit their strategies, according to UConn School of Business researchers, because the competitive nature of the work, eager newcomers trying to promote themselves, and subtle biases in presentations may be skewing the outcomes. Continue Reading

Myopic Views

Posted on by Claire Hall
Research by UConn management professors David Souder, left, and Greg Reilly confirms that businesses focusing on short-term results are 'leaving profits on the table.' (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Research by UConn management professors David Souder, left, and Greg Reilly confirms that businesses focusing on short-term results are ‘leaving profits on the table.’ (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

UConn Professors Find Evidence that Short-Sighted Business Planning Costs Companies Money

When executives are committed to the long-term viability of their corporation, and invest money in future growth and technology that will not pay off right away, does that give the company a strong competitive advantage?

For years conventional wisdom said yes, even as many companies seemed focused on short-term results instead. New research by UConn management professors David Souder and Greg Reilly, and their colleagues, offers evidence that longer payoff horizons are indeed more profitable. Continue Reading

A Little White Lie – or Worse?

Posted on by Claire Hall

Lying?

UConn Researcher Discovers that Retail Execs Downplay, Mislead Outlook in Reports to Stockholders

Many CEOs from major U.S. retailers tend to soften, possibly even distort, their company’s financial standings and offer stakeholders pessimistic predictions about the future, even when their companies are thriving.Continue Reading

A Fast Track to Economic Growth?

Posted on by Claire Hall
Jeffrey Cohen, who specializes in real estate and finance, has received a $194,000 grant from the state Department of Transportation to start investigating economic changes along the CTfastrak bus route. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Jeffrey Cohen, who specializes in real estate and finance, has received a $194,000 grant from the state Department of Transportation to start investigating economic changes along the CTfastrak bus route. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

Real Estate Professor Jeffrey Cohen Eager to Study Impact of New Transit System on Central Connecticut

Will the state’s new bus rapid-transit system – CTfastrak – which has already carried 4 million riders since its inaugural trip in March 2015, also spur growth in housing, restaurants, and other businesses along its route in central Connecticut?  Continue Reading

PROMESA and Puerto Rico’s Pathways to Solvency

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation – Facing a self-declared “death spiral” of public debt, the Governor of Puerto Rico announced a debt moratorium earlier this year, halting payments to bondholders. A series of missed payments followed, including a landmark default on constitutionally guaranteed bonds in July. At the same time, Congress passed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA or “promise” in Spanish), which combines a debt restructuring system with federal controls over the island’s finances. But enacting PROMESA is only a first step. Coordination and engagement with creditors is the next step—and an even more complicated one—in Puerto Rico’s long journey towards solvency and fiscal stability.

Business Law Professors Honored for Research

Posted on by Claire Hall

Two UConn business law professors received prestigious research awards over the summer.

Professors Stephen Park and Robert Bird received the Hoeber Memorial Award for Excellence in Research for their article, “The Domains of Corporate Counsel in an Era of Compliance.” The Hoeber award, given in memory of prominent business law professor Ralph C. Hoeber, is awarded by the editors of the American Business Law Journal to recognize excellent research. Continue Reading

New Product Seeks to Prevent Premature Labor

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

UConn Today – When Dr. Courtney Townsel sees an expectant mother with a rare, but serious condition called cervical insufficiency, she only has a few treatment options. Despite steady advances in how we treat mothers and their unborn babies during high-risk pregnancies, none of her options are ideal. In fact, the procedure most commonly performed to treat cervical insufficiency has remained largely the same since the 1950s.