Recent Stuart Faculty Publications and Presentations
Faculty at Stuart School of Business engage in dynamic, collaborative research that is both relevant and valuable to the daily work of business and industry professionals, and that advances theoretical understanding.
Weslynne Ashton
Featured speaker at Leaders Who Make a Difference 2024, a live virtual event sponsored by Harvard Business Review on April 9, 2024. Ashton will present a mini-masterclass on “The Promises, Pitfalls, and Trade-offs of the Circular Economy.” The annual conference brings together top executives and management thought leaders to discuss ways that businesses can create positive change in response to some of today’s most significant social, political, and environmental challenges.
Leader of Community Food Mobilization in Chicago, a research project awarded a $1 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) in collaboration with the National Science Foundation to investigate how to harness the power of food procurement by large, public institutions in order to shift food production and distribution systems toward greater racial equity, sustainability, and resilience. The award is part of the NSF’s Civic Innovation Challenge program. Co-principal investigators are M. Zia Hassan Endowed Professor Elizabeth J. Durango-Cohen at Stuart and Associate Professor of Civic and Community Design Maura Shea at Institute of Design. Read more in Illinois Tech news.
Named by Thinkers50 to the Thinkers50 Radar Class of 2024 in recognition of her work “designing systems and generating solutions to make the world a more sustainable, and equitable, place.” January 2024
Delivered the keynote address, on the topic of improving food security through the circular economy, at the second annual Sustainability Symposium at University of Wisconsin-Madison on October 25, 2023.
Podcast about “Addressing the Surge in U.S. Food Waste: Investing in Food Waste Reduction Strategies,” on MarketScale, posted September 20, 2023.
“Measuring the Adoption of Circular Economy at the Company Level: Usefulness and Applicability of the OCE Index,” published in the Journal of Industrial and Production Engineering, August 2023.
“Three Research Priorities for Just and Sustainable Urban Systems: Now Is the Time to Refocus” published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology, December 2022.
“Lessons, Narratives, and Research Directions for a Sustainable Circular Economy” published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology, December 2022.
Awarded a 2022 Civic Innovation Challenge planning grant of $50,000 from the National Science Foundation as leader of Community Food Mobilization in Chicago. The project investigates how “Good Food” public procurement policies can be used to shift food systems towards greater racial equity, sustainability and resilience. Read more in Illinois Tech news.
Co-author of “Justice, Equity, and the Circular Economy,” the introduction to a double special issue of Local Environment, October 2022. The authors of the 14 articles in the special issue engage the circular economy both conceptually and through case study analyses, and represent a range of approaches and perspectives on the intersection and challenges of justice and social equity in the circular economy.
“Measuring the Adoption of Circular Economy in Manufacturing Companies: the Proposal of the Overall Circularity Effectiveness (OCE) Index” published in Circular Economy and Sustainability, July 2022.
Participant in a national research network that will receive $15 million in funding over five years from the National Science Foundation to address the challenge of reducing wasted food. The project, Multiscale Resilient, Equitable and Circular Innovations with Partnership and Education Synergies (RECIPES) for Sustainable Food Systems, includes researchers at 14 universities and institutions, led by American University. The NSF grant was announced in October 2021. Read more in Illinois Tech news.
- View profile: Professor of Environmental Management and Sustainability Weslynne Ashton
Liad Wagman
Liad Wagman has been conducting groundbreaking research that gathers empirical evidence to shed light on the effects of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity by the largest tech companies. In much of this work (see the papers and articles listed below) he has collaborated with Professor of Economics Ginger Zhe Jin at the University of Maryland. Read more about Wagman’s research in the Illinois Tech Research Magazine.
- “The Draft Merger Guidelines Risk Reducing Innovation,” published by ProMarket on October 18, 2023.
- “Cost-Benefit Analysis Without the Benefits or the Analysis: How Not to Draft Merger Guidelines,” accepted for publication in Southern California Law Review, forthcoming.
- “How Do Top Acquirers Compare in Technology Mergers? New Evidence from an SP Taxonomy,” published in the International Journal of Industrial Organization, July 2023.
- “M&A and Technological Expansion,” published in the Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, June 2023.
- “M&A and Innovation: A New Classification of Patents,” published in AEA Papers and Proceedings, May 2023.
- “Towards a Technological Overhaul of American Antitrust,” an article published in the American Bar Association (ABA) Antitrust Magazine/Magazine Online in December, 2022.
- Awarded a $75,000 grant from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth for a project titled “The Effect of Tech M&As on Innovation Incentives.” Wagman’s co-researcher and co-awardee of the grant is Professor of Economics Ginger Zhe Jin, University of Maryland.
- Project leader for Non-HSR Reported Acquisitions by Select Technology Platforms, 2010–2019: An FTC Study, a report released by the United States Federal Trade Commission in September 2021.
Co-author of Brief of Economists Ginger Zhe Jin, Steven Tadelis, Liad Wagman, and Joshua D Wright as Amici Curieae in Support of Respondent, submitted to the Supreme Court of the United States for the case of Reynaldo Gonzalez, et al, Petitioners v. Google LLC, January 2023. The case was argued before the Supreme Court on February 21, 2023.
“State Versus Federal Wiretap Orders: A Look at the Data” published in the International Review of Law and Economics, June 2022.
- View profile: John and Mae Calamos Dean Endowed Chair and Professor of Economics Liad Wagman
Siva K. Balasubramanian
“Mitigating Healthcare Supply Chain Challenges Under Disaster Conditions: A Holistic AI-based Analysis of Social Media Data,” published in the International Journal of Production Research, February 2024. Read more in Illinois Tech news.
“AI: The Land of Lingering Fear and Emergent Hope,” commentary in The Well News, August 30, 2023.
“Leaders or Followers? A Temporal Analysis of Tweets from IRA Trolls,” published in Proceedings of the Sixteenth International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media 2022 (ICWSM 2022). Among the co-authors are Illinois Tech faculty members Professor of Political Science and Stuart Affiliate Professor Matthew A. Shapiro and Associate Professor of Computer Science Mustafa Bilgic.
- View profile: Harold L. Stuart Endowed Chair in Business Siva Balasubramanian
Li Cai
“R&D Premium: The Intangible Side of Value” published in the Journal of Investing, August 2023. Co-authors are Associate Professor of Finance Ricky Cooper and Di He (Ph.D. MSC ’20), Postdoctoral Research Center of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in Beijing.
“Socially Responsible Investing and Factor Investing, Is There an Opportunity Cost?” published in The Journal of Portfolio Management, Quantitative Strategies: Factor Investing Special Issue, January 2022. Associate Professor of Finance Ricky Cooper and Di He (Stuart Ph.D. MSC ’20), Postdoctoral Research Center of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in Beijing, are co-authors.
- View profile: Associate Professor of Finance Li Cai
Ricky “Rick” Cooper
“R&D Premium: The Intangible Side of Value” published in the Journal of Investing, August 2023. Co-authors are Associate Professor of Finance Li Cai and Di He (Ph.D. MSC ’20), Postdoctoral Research Center of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in Beijing.
“A ‘Quality’ Quality Factor” published in the Journal of Portfolio Management, April 2023. The co-author is Senior Associate Zixuan Jiao (Stuart Ph.D. MSC ’22), Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
“Competitive Advantage in Algorithmic Trading: A Behavioral Innovation Economics Approach” published in Review of Behavioral Finance, January 2022. Associate Professor of Finance Ben Van Vliet is a co-author. The paper was featured in Quantpedia and LinkedIn’s Electronic Trading Group (48,000 members).
“Socially Responsible Investing and Factor Investing, Is There an Opportunity Cost?” published in The Journal of Portfolio Management, Quantitative Strategies: Factor Investing Special Issue, January 2022. Associate Professor of Finance Li Cai and Di He (Stuart Ph.D. MSC ’20), Postdoctoral Research Center of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in Beijing, are co-authors.
- View profile: Associate Professor of Finance Ricky “Rick” Cooper
Sang Baum “Solomon” Kang
“Promoting Financial Stability of Oil Producers: Operational vs. Financial Hedging,” published in the Journal of Financial Stability, August 2023. Co-authors are Associate Professor of Finance Yiwei Fang and Assistant Professor of Finance You Lu (Stuart Ph.D. MSC ’20), Soochow University, China.
“Model-free Analysis of Real Option Exercise Probability and Timing,” published in Quantitative Finance, August 2023.
“What Information Variables Predict Bitcoin Returns? A Dimension-Reduction Approach,” published in the Journal of Alternative Investments, March 2023. Co-authors are Associate Professor of Quantitative Management Jailin (Jolene) Zhao (Stuart Ph.D. MSC ’17), St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, and Associate Quantitative Analyst Yao "Jason" Xie (Stuart M.S. Finance ’15, Ph.D. MSC ’21), Morningstar Inc. Read more in Illinois Tech news.
Co-author of Seven Economic Justifications for ESG Investing, an e-textbook available for use by Illinois Tech faculty. The book is written to instruct engineering, entrepreneurship, and sustainability students who are interested in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) or energy investing about the economic justifications for ESG investing. The co-author of the book is Professor SukJoon Byun from the College of Business, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
- View profile: Associate Professor of Finance Sang Baum “Solomon” Kang
Yiwei Fang
“Promoting Financial Stability of Oil Producers: Operational vs. Financial Hedging,” published in the Journal of Financial Stability, August 2023. Co-authors are Associate Professor of Finance Sang Baum “Solomon” Kang and Assistant Professor of Finance You Lu (Stuart Ph.D. MSC ’20), Soochow University, China.
- View profile: Associate Professor of Finance Yiwei Fang
Benjamin E. Van Vliet
“From Decision Optimization to Satisficing: Regulation of Automated Trading in the U.S. Financial Markets” published in Information & Management, December 2022.
Co-editor of “Digital Transformation as Geo-Political, Organizational and Technological Nexus,” a special issue of the Journal of Information Technology, forthcoming. The issue focuses on how industry sectors and societal domains are reshaped by the geo-political, organizational and technological nexus that is digital transformation.
“Competitive Advantage in Algorithmic Trading: A Behavioral Innovation Economics Approach” published in Review of Behavioral Finance, January 2022. Associate Professor of Finance Ricky Cooper is a co-author. The paper has been featured in Quantpedia and LinkedIn’s Electronic Trading Group (48,000 members).
- View profile: Associate Professor of Finance Benjamin E. Van Vliet
Elizabeth J. Durango-Cohen
“Characterizing the Determinants of Alumni Giving in Heterogeneous Populations: A Mixture Regression Model,” accepted for publication in Philanthropy & Education, forthcoming.
“Analysis of Factors Influencing Recurring Donations in a University Setting: A Compound Poisson Mixture Regression Mode” published in the Journal of Business Research, November 2022.
- View profile: M. Zia Hassan Endowed Professor and Associate Professor of Operations Management Elizabeth J. Durango-Cohen
Joanne E. Howard
Editor of Handbook of Research on Transforming Government, Nonprofits, and Healthcare in a Post-Pandemic Era published by IGI Global, 2022. The roster of more than three dozen contributors to the volume includes Associate Dean and Professor of Public Administration Roland Calia, Stuart Assistant Dean for External Relations and Career Management Helen Ezenwa, and seven alumni of the Stuart Master of Public Administration program. Read more in Illinois Tech news.
View profile: Industry Associate Professor of Public Administration Joanne E. Howard
Smriti Anand
“Marriage Equality for Everyone? The Business Case for Same Sex Marriage Legislation” published in the Journal of Business Research, September 2022. Co-authors include: Assistant Professor Jianrong Wang (Stuart Ph.D. MSC ’20), East China Normal University; Stuart Ph.D. student Hui Li; and Associate Professor of Finance Wei Du (Stuart M.S. Finance ’10), West Chester University.
“You Can Stay Home, but We Can’t: Invisible ‘Dirty’ Work as Calling Amid COVID-19 Pandemic” published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior, February 2022. The paper has been selected by the World Health Organization for inclusion in the WHO COVID-19 Research Database. Read more in “Called to Work” in the Illinois Tech Research Magazine.
Co-editor of Idiosyncratic Deals at Work: Exploring Individual, Organizational, and Societal Perspectives (2022) from Springer International Publishing. Chapters contributed by prominent scholars from around the world cover the latest research on idiosyncratic deals (i-deals), which are individualized work agreements negotiated between an employee and employer. Anand’s co-editor is Professor of Organizational Psychology and Human Resources Management Yasin Rofcanin at University of Bath School of Management.
Presentation on “Effectively Negotiating and Managing Personalized Work Arrangements” at the annual conference of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE21), held in Indianapolis on October 21–23, 2021.
- View profile: Professor of Management Smriti Anand
Haizhi Wang
“Social Capital and Regional Innovation: Evidence from Private Firms in the U.S.” published in Regional Studies, February 2022. Bo Wang (Stuart Ph.D. MSC ’21), Assistant Professor in Finance at Kean University, is a co-author.
“The Role of Social Capital in Private Placement: Evidence from Rule 144A Debt Issuances” published in Managerial Finance, February 2022. Jianrong Wang (Stuart Ph.D. MSC ’20), Assistant Professor at East China Normal University, is a co-author.
“Affiliated Bankers on Board and Firm Environmental Management: U.S. Evidence” published in the Journal of Financial Stability, December 2021. Stuart Ph.D. student Hui Li is a co-author.
- View profile: Professor of Finance Haizhi Wang
Michael J. Fagel
Co-editor of Principles of Emergency Management and Emergency Operations Centers (EOC), 2nd edition, published in both print and digital formats by CRC Press in September 2021 (copyright year 2022). Co-editors are Rick C. Mathews and J. Howard Murphy. Read more in Illinois Tech news. In August 2022, ASIS International, the world’s largest association for security management professionals, selected this book as its 2022 ASIS Security Industry Book of the Year.
- View Profile: Adjunct Faculty Michael J. Fagel
Areas of Faculty Research Focus
Current areas of faculty research focus at Stuart include, but are not limited to:
- High-frequency finance
- Sustainable enterprise and the circular economy
- Product placement and marketing communications
- Privacy
- Corporate social responsibility
- Effects of non-compete agreements
- Ethics in automated financial markets
- Hedging and risk management
- Leader-member exchange (LMX) in management
- Diversity in the workplace
For more details on Stuart faculty research interests, see the individual faculty profiles.
