Fall 07A
Project Title
“Are You Ready for Some Football?”: Undrafted Rookie Free Agent Employment Decisions and Outcome
Description
Interested in business and professional sports? Interested in the NFL in particular? This is the project for you! This exciting research project involves looking at the employment decisions of undrafted NFL rookie free agents (i.e., How do these players decide which team to sign with?). Specifically, we’ll examine what factors these players consider and how much they weight them. Overall, the research project will allow us to test the upper limits of “rational” managerial decision making models. We’ll be using a 2007 NFL draft prospect database to identify players, their affiliations and their performance data (e.g., 40 yd dash time, ranking by roster position and probable draft position). We’ll then investigate how these and other factors might impact a player’s propensity to sign with a specific team. Finally, we’ll analyze the payoff of such decisions.
Responsibilities
The primary responsibility of the research assistant will be to assist the faculty member in data collection through web searches and specialized database searches. This will require the research assistant to take disparate “pieces” of information from a variety of sources and link them together. Sharp investigative skills are needed! This information will then be combined in a comprehensive database.
Approximate Number of Hours
Flexible. Anticipate 7-10 hours per week (up to a total of 100 hours).
Student Qualifications
There are no major requirements for this position. Candidate should be skilled in conducting web searches and have experience using MS Excel. This project would be a good fit for a candidate interested in management and/or economics. Interest in professional football is obviously a plus!
Fall 07B
Title of research project:
A Model of Brand Values: Cross-Cultural Differences in the Preferences for the Values Embodied by Brands
Description of the project:
Consumers frequently think about brands as entities associated with a set of human characteristics (Aaker 1997, 1999), and as relationship partners with whom they establish and maintain social interactions that resemble in many respects those between social partners (Aggarwal 2004, Fournier 1998). Frequently, consumers show preferences for brands associated with a set of personality traits congruent with their own (Kassarjian 1971). Past research has identified a set of personality dimensions that seem to capture the different traits that U.S. consumers attach to brands (e.g., sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness, Aaker 1997) and used these dimensions to identify the kind of people who prefer brands with different traits (Aaker 1999). In a globalized world, it is of paramount importance to uncover the brand preferences of consumers from different cultures. However, attempts to develop a universal model of brand personality applicable across cultural boundaries have found limited success as consumers attach culturally-specific traits to their brands (e.g., “peacefulness” in Japan and “passion” in Spain, Aaker et al. 2001). This research tries to develop a universal model of brand values that can be used globally. It will borrow from research about the universals of values (Schwartz & Bilsky 1987) to identify a set of dimensions that capture the values embodied by brands across cultural boundaries. In addition, it will try to identify preferences for brand values among consumers with different cultural backgrounds. To develop the model, surveys will be conducted in multiple countries (the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Turkey, and China) to collect data at the individual level. A cross-country study of advertisements in magazines and websites will also be conducted to provide additional data for the model. The model developed in this research will greatly help global marketers to devise optimal brand positionings in different cultural settings.
Student Responsibilities: Students will get hands-on experience to conducting marketing research as they will:
1. Help in preparing the surveys that will be administered in the different countries. This will include researching about consumer brands in different countries to select a set of comparable brands to be included in the studies.
2. Help in conducting the study of advertisements in magazines and websites. For this purpose, the student will compile a database of advertisements from different company’s websites and classify these advertisements according to specified criteria.
3. Support in data collection and data analysis. This will involve survey preparation, handling of questionnaires, data entry, and basic data analysis using statistical packages (e.g., SPSS).
4. Research the literature. This will include searching for articles related with the topic in electronic journals.
Approximate # of Hours per week:
3 hrs per week
Student Qualifications:
Business-related major and/or knowledge of basic statistical software packages would be desirable.
Fall 07C
Title:
“Correspondence and Coherence Theory: Individual Differences in Cognitive Supply Chain Inventory Planning in the Newsvendor Problem”
Project description
Managers, buyers and inventory analysts regularly make difficult decisions on how much to purchase in preparation for the seasonal demand of an item. If they buy too much, the inventory left at the end of the season must be discounted. Conversely, if they buy too little customers are unhappy and revenue is lost. This is called the “newsvendor problem” in the research literature. Previous research has found that individuals often made order quantity decisions that deviate from the optimal solution to the newsvendor problem. Drawing on the literature from behavioral economics, cognitive science, and behavioral operations, this research posits that correspondence theory and coherence theory can explain behavioral deviations of individuals. In other words, this research will test if measurable psychological attributes can be used to predict bias in solving the newsvendor problem. We will conduct behavioral experiments to test our hypotheses.
Student responsibilities
This student will work with our research team Specifically, the student will be asked to help with the following activities:
· Meet weekly with the research team.
· Collect and organize the research literature related this subject.
· Develop and pre-test survey instruments.
· Recruit undergraduate students to take the pre-test and the experiments. [1]
· Collect and analyze the experimental data.
· Work with local firms such as Best Buy and Target to run additional experiments.
· Write up the results and begin to write the research paper.
Approximate number of hours per week
Approximately 1-5 hours per week. We can be flexible with the student’s class schedule.
Student qualifications
· Ability to use Excel and Word.
· Ability to think and communicate clearly.
Fall 07D
Title of research project--Development of the “Getting Ready for Your Next Job” Inventory for Unemployed Individuals
Description of the project
This project has two components. One component will involve surveying unemployed job seekers to develop an inventory for job seekers for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (MDEED). The inventory will be used by the State of Minnesota to help unemployed job seekers self-identify areas which may potentially hamper their reemployment success, defined as reemployment speed and reemployment quality. The other component will involve surveying unemployed job seekers to learn more about how job search changes over time during the duration of their unemployment spell.
Student Responsibilities
The project will involve three large surveys of unemployed job seekers. The student will help manage the survey mailing and reminder processes, as well as to prepare completed surveys for scanning and send out participant payments and communications.
Approximate # of Hours per week
Hours won't exceed 8-10 a week; some weeks will be zero or 1. We will not exceed the 100 hours noted. We will work around the students' schedule.
Student Qualifications: Any major
Fall 07E
Title of research project
Strategic Responses to Uncertainty by Firms: The Relative Importance of Network and Internal Resources under Different Levels of Uncertainty
Description of the project
Based on past research, we know of two things that help firms perform well. One is to possess valuable assets or resources, either tangible or intangible, that are hard to copy by other firms—such as recognizable brands or patented products or innovative capabilities (such as 3M’s). An alternative strategy is to develop formal linkages with other firms and rely on growth and learning through collaboration in a network of relationships—such as forming alliances to jointly sell two complementary products (e.g. drinks and fast food). What complicates matters is that managers are not sure which strategy will work best in the marketplace and under what conditions will one be more profitable than the other.
In this research, we will try to understand when each of the two approaches—developing hard-to-copy resources or participating in a network—will yield higher profits for the company. We suspect that the answer depends on how predictable (or unpredictable) market conditions are. We plan to study this issue in two important but different industries—computer hardware and processed foods. Each industry is different from the other, allowing us to assess our predictions on a wide range of circumstances. This represents an exciting research opportunity because it can help managers better understand how to emphasize different approaches to competition depending on the characteristics of the market. The project provides a great opportunity to become familiar with academic research and cutting edge business concepts.
Student Responsibilities:
The research assistant will help gather data from multiple sources and organize it into spreadsheets (Excel) for several companies in the computer and foods industries. The data-gathering process will focus on three areas: the firm’s assets, the firm’s alliance network, and the firm’s board of director network. The Honors Research Assistant will work with Professor Aks Zaheer of the Strategic Management and Organization Department and with Ph.D. Student Exequiel Hernandez.
Approximate # of Hours per week
The work will take 10-15 hours per week. The schedule is extremely flexible in terms of when and where the student works.
Student Qualifications
Proficiency in Excel and Internet search - possession of a laptop is a plus
Fall 07F
PROJECT TITLE: What is the Psychology of the Consumer?
PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND QUALIFICATIONS OF THE STUDENT: The Vohs lab in the Marketing Department is looking for a research assistant to aid in consumer psychology research on the self. Specific skills or abilities that the student need have are an interest in the psychology of the consumer (including emotions, decision making, self-control, self-esteem, and so on) and a commitment to conducting scientific research. The experiments that will be some of the focus of the students’ work will include possessions as extensions of the self; what enables people to continue to work on activities that are good for them but are not enjoyable; how do consumers resist temptation; and the effects of money on the self. Dr. Vohs’s work centers on experiments conducted in the lab, which entails recruitment and signing up subjects for research, running the experiments themselves, and entering data -- essentially overseeing the entire experiment. Hence this student should be strong and independent in his or her work ability. Number of hours per week will vary according to the stage of the research project, but on average 12 hours per week will be needed.
Fall 07G
Title of research project:
Product Bundling of Digital Music
Description of the project
Our research is directed generally at understanding buyers' behavior in the bundling of digital goods, specifically our focus is currently on music. A common finding with other types of goods (e.g., food) is a behavior of variety seeking in choosing among product bundles (e.g., choosing various flavors of soup when buying several cans all at once). However, digital information goods have unique features that are expected to impact the effects of product bundling, e.g., they have low or no marginal cost of production, they can be updated, edited, modified, and flexibly packaged and repackaged with no loss in quality, and they are a non-consumable commodity. In this context we are interested in answering the research question: What factors impact variety seeking when creating a custom product bundle of digital goods? The studies involve manipulating various features of the choice task and having individuals make choices among songs under individual-song and bundled-song conditions.
Student Responsibilities
The project will give the student a good grounding in various aspects of an experimental research study. The project involves: (1) design of the study materials for web-based administration of the study, (2) collection of the data, and (3) help with the analyses.
Approximate # of Hours per week
5-10
Student Qualifications
Experience with web programming is needed.
Fall 07H
Description of the project
I have recently signed a contract with Harvard Business School Press to publish my book on timing. I am still in the process of writing the book and could use a student to help with tracking down literature needed to develop some of the ideas.
The book focuses on three kinds of questions.
· WHEN: When is the right time to act? When is it too early, and when is it too late? Should I act now, or wait?
- HOW: The choice of temporal design. Should I do everything at once or proceed step by step? If the latter, what’s the right sequence of steps? How can multiple activities going on at the same time be coordinated with each other? What must lead or lag, and by how much? I call these decisions the choice of temporal design. Sometimes we have no choice. Higher authority or circumstances may dictate what we must do. But often we have at least some degree of freedom. Then we need to think through a whole series of time related parameters that together define how to proceed.
- RISK: How can I anticipate timing related risks and opportunities? When might a market change over night? When might two projects or ventures unexpectedly interfere with each other? What might be delayed, and for how long? These risks occupy a space not unlike the terra incognita of ancient maps, the large ill-defined and unknown territory where serpents and sea monsters lie in wait for the unwary traveler (executive).
Student Responsibilities
The student and I would meet about once a week. I would describe the kinds of ideas I was working on, and point the student in the direction of some literature that I think would be helpful. The student would track down the literature, enter it in a database, and come back prepared to discuss its relevance to the ideas I was working on.
Hours per week
5 – 10 hours per week.
Qualifications
I need someone who is bright, who can track down material and think about in a creative way. Since the ideas in the book are multi-disciplinary, I need someone who has wide ranging interests.
Fall 07I
Project Title
Experimental analysis of decision support systems for bidders in multiattribute & combinatorial auctions
Description of the project
In many businesses, the secret to lower costs, higher profits, and a more competitive operation lies in effective supply chain management. Today, many organizations are reevaluating their procurement activities and adopting a process called “strategic sourcing” in order to save money, minimize risks, and improve supplier performance. Strategic sourcing consists of a holistic process that automates all components of procurement – from order planning to order execution. With the flexibility afforded by the Internet and the computational power of new technologies, much of the strategic sourcing process can now be automated through advanced negotiation mechanisms.
Multiattribute auctions represent one such mechanism that is expected to eventually provide an important medium for automated sourcing. These auctions allow bidding on multiple characteristics of the product, including price as well as non-price attributes. Combinatorial auctions, where bidders can bid on combinations of assets in addition to individual assets, is another sophisticated mechanism that provides advantages over the classical single-item auctioning of multiple items.
We have developed several feedback mechanisms to aid bidders participating in multiattribute and combinatorial auctions. Of interest is how supplying this information to bidders influences their bidding behavior and, as a result, auction outcomes.
Student Responsibilities
A part of the research project consists of conducting laboratory experiments with human bidders participating in simulated auctions. Different types of feedback will be provided to the bidders, and the effects of feedback will be monitored. The student will assist the researchers in conducting these experiments. The student will then load the data collected from the experiments to spreadsheets and simple databases. Following this the student will be required to perform some analysis of the data using basic statistical tools.
Approximate Number of Hours per week Needed
On average 4-5 hours per week, up to a total of 100 hours. The exact number of hours will depend on the schedule of the experiments; the examination (midterm, etc.) schedule of the student will also be given due consideration.
Student Qualifications
Knowledge of Microsoft Excel is a requirement, and introductory knowledge of databases, such as Microsoft Access, is a plus.
Fall 07J
Project Title: Social Entrepreneurship
Description of Research:
A new breed of entrepreneurs is creating new companies that are, from inception, dedicated to improving the human existence by addressing pressing social causes. These social entrepreneurs appear to vary in their motivations (i.e., why they create companies) and approaches (i.e., how they assemble and organize these companies). But, given the recency of research into these issues, we do not know a great deal about the process by which social entrepreneurs define and pursue opportunities.
This research will entail identifying and interviewing several local social entrepreneurs, document how they identified opportunities for new firm creation, and how they organize their new companies. The research will provide a foundation for understanding why these ventures come into existence and why some of them fail (or succeed).
Responsibilities of the Student:
1. Help in contacting local companies to participate in the study.
2. Conduct reviews of the literature on social entrepreneurs.
3. Interview local entrepreneurs.
4. Assist in data entry and verification of the accuracy of data.
Approximate number of hours / Schedule:
The student may choose the hours that are most convenient for him/her. The work-plan is for one research assistant working during the spring semester for a total of 100 hours.
Qualifications:
- Knowledge or experience with web-based surveys.
- Familiarity with database programs, such as Microsoft Excel, since the database is currently in Microsoft Excel.
- Interest in entrepreneurship.
- Strong organizational and planning skills.
- Excellent writing skills.
Fall 07K
Project Title: Innovation and its Effects across Countries
Description of Research:
This is an ongoing research program that is being conducted in 14 countries that include the US, Germany, UK, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, China, Argentina and South Africa. This research focuses on 20 industries (10 high tech and 10 low tech) in each of these countries.
This research program (a) documents the product, process and administrative innovations companies undertake, (b) links these innovations to different measures of company performance, and (c) establishes whether the effect of innovation on performance varies across the countries and industries examined. More important the research also identifies key sources of variations in the types of innovations and the payoff that companies gain from them.
Data collection is already underway in several countries, using a combination of interviews, mail surveys, web surveys and archival data. We are also collecting case studies that represent best and worst practices in each industry, in each country. The objective is to gain a thorough understanding of the subtle differences that exist among companies, industries and countries. This information can enrich managerial practice.
Responsibilities of the Student:
1. Help in contacting local companies to participate in the study.
2. Conduct reviews of the literature on measuring and evaluating different types of innovation.
3. Assist in field interviews with local managers.
4. Collect archival data on companies’ innovation and financial performance.
5. Assist in data entry and verification of the accuracy of data.
Approximate number of hours / Schedule:
The student may choose the hours that are most convenient for him/her. The work-plan is for one research assistant working during the spring semester for a total of 100 hours.
Qualifications:
- Knowledge or experience with web-based surveys.
- Familiarity with database programs, such as Microsoft Excel, since the database is currently in Microsoft Excel.
- Interest in international business.
- Interest in innovation and entrepreneurship.
- Strong organizational and planning skills.
- Excellent writing skills.
Fall 07L
Valuing the Cheapest-to-Deliver Option in Bond Futures
The student will use a modern interest rate model to simulate realizations of the yield curve and determine the value of the cheapest-to-deliver option in long-dated bond futures.
The ideal candidate should have completed Finance 4541 (Derivatives) and have excellent computer skills. The student should expect to spend 10 hours per week on this research project
Fall 07M
Title: Economic Implications of Embedded Information Technology
Description: Much of the interest in Information Technology (IT) in the last few decades has been about how IT transforms business processes. However, reports indicate that over 99% of the microprocessor production is being used in products that are not any form of computer. A quiet revolution is underway whereby a variety of physical products (e.g., cars, homes, shoes, etc.) have embedded microprocessors (henceforth, EIT). Firms are using EIT in traditional products to add features that improve convenience, performance, and safety and security of these products. A modern car, for instance, has over 50 microprocessors that control operations of various systems. EIT also facilitates the capture of real-time information about the operation of products that enables firms to build direct relationships with consumers. Car manufacturers, for instance, can remotely diagnose a car and offer different downstream services (e.g., GM with OnStar). Thus, EIT is affecting firms’ vertical and horizontal boundaries as firms build direct relationships with customers and sell a broader range of services.
The research in the Information Systems (IS) area has, however, largely ignored the impact of IT on products. The objective of this research is to explore the implications of EIT. This research will investigate: (i) what are the characteristics of environments that make EIT important e.g., does competition affect the use of EIT, (ii) how does one compete in industries where EIT is important, e.g., what capabilities are required to compete in such environments, (iii) how is the nature of products affected by EIT, e.g., do firms develop more modular or more integrated products with EIT, and (iv) how does EIT affect the vertical and horizontal scope of firms’ activities. Taken together this research will examine: how EIT affects competition, and how firms structure their products and choose the range of their value activities, to take advantage of the opportunities presented by EIT.
Student Responsibilities: Research to identify how different firms are using EIT, and develop testable hypotheses.
Approximate # of Hours per week: 5
Student Qualifications: Marketing or Information Systems majors.
Fall 07N
Project Title: Creating a Behavioral Science Lab
Project Description:
The Carlson School of Management is creating a new Behavior Science Laboratory. A Behavioral Science Lab is a facility where Carlson School Professors conduct their research (i.e., run experiments & simulations). This project entails working closely with a Faculty Advisor and Behavioral Science Laboratory Manager to build a new Behavioral Science Laboratory at the Carlson School. This is an exciting opportunity for undergraduates who are interested in getting exposure to a wide array of behavioral science research topics in the different disciplines at Carlson (i.e., Marketing, Strategic Management, Operations, Information and Decision Sciences, Human Resource Management, Accounting and Finance). Specifically, students will learn how to conduct different types of research (quantitative, qualitative, experiments, simulations, survey, and interview), how to recruit subjects, how to manage large databases, and how to manage the IRB process (institutional review board). This is a great starting point for students interested in getting a well rounded view of the different facets of research conducted at Carlson. After getting a better understanding of the facilities and projects conducted in the Lab, students will be paired with a faculty member using the facility to get more in depth exposure to an area of interest.
Student Responsibilities:
Students will assist in the recruitment and management of our new subject pool. Students will work with the Faculty member and Lab manager to come up with creative recruitment strategies to tap into the undergraduate population in Carlson and the University of Minnesota in general, as well as the general population in the Twin Cities. Students will also gain experience in facilitating research experiments. Additionally, students will interview faculty utilizing the lab to gather information about the different types of research projects being conducted at the Carlson School and how the lab helps facilitate these projects.
Approximate Hours:
Flexible time frame, 100 hours of work.
Student Qualifications:
No experience is necessary, but a strong interest in behavioral science research (i.e., consumer behavior, decision making, and group process) is recommended. Students will receive on the job training as needed.
Fall 07O
Project Title:
Career Selection Decisions of Internal Medicine Residents:
The role of specialty attributes individual differences and social factors
Project Description:
Career selection decisions in the field of medicine have tremendous impact on the composition of the physician work force and the ability of the field of medicine to deliver care to the general population. The current trends in this industry segment are troubling. There is a marked decline in interest in fields such as family practice and general surgery. In 2002, only 47% of the family practice positions and 75% of the general surgery positions were filled by senior US medical students. In contrast, dermatology and radiology have witnessed a relative surge in popularity. Research to date investigating career choice decisions in medicine has focused on macro level specialty attribute factors and micro level individual difference factors. Indeed, the research findings indicate that controllability of life style (time away from work and control over work hours), potential income, years of training, prestige of profession, intellectual content, gender, age, amount of debt and personality factors all contribute to career choice decisions in medicine. However, most of the studies have only examined specialty attributes and individual differences in isolation. Thus, it is unclear which is a dominant driver of this decision, or if they interact to predict career choice decisions. Additionally, social factors long proven to have an impact in individual decision making are conspicuously absent from this line of work. This project will integrate social information processing and network literature from the field of organizational behavior with the existing career choice literature in the field of medicine to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the simultaneous role of specialty attributes, individual differences and social factors in the career choice decisions in medicine.
Student Responsibilities:
Students will assist in data collection, data entry, preliminary data analysis, and literature reviews.
Approximate Hours:
Flexible time frame, 100 hours of work.
Student Qualifications:
No experience is necessary, but a strong interest in organizational behavior or medicine is. Students will receive on the job training as needed.
Fall 07P
Project Title: Taking the future into account in decision-making.
1. Brief description of the Research Project
For a broad variety of decisions and choices, people have to make decisions in the present considering the longer-term. Examples include: deciding to start saving for retirement; trying to resist procrastinating on a project; failing to redeem product rebates; choosing to exercise, eat a healthy meal, visit the dentist or take other preventive health measures to enjoy good health in later life. Research by psychologists, marketers and economists has demonstrated that in such decisions, where the benefits of the decision are delayed and where there are costs in effort, time or money in the present, people often act in a short-sighted manner, failing to invest sufficiently for retirement, procrastinating at work or failing to take adequate care of their health. The present research uses psychological experiments and surveys to explore and understand such short-sighted behavior and decision-making. This research is conducted with different demographic groups, including students and senior citizens.
2. Research Assistant’s Responsibilities
Involvement at all stages of the research process: including planning and building experiments with the faculty member; organizing data collection opportunities; conducting surveys and experiments with participants at Carlson and elsewhere on the U of M campus or in the Twin Cities; entering data and some analysis (if desired).
3. Approximate number of hours/weeks required
5-10 hours a week
4. Student Qualifications:
a. Year: any
b. Major: Marketing, psychology (or an interest in these).
c. Any special course work or characteristics required or preferred? Some psychology or consumer behavior coursework preferred. Organized. Responsible. Hard working. Enjoys interacting with a broad range of people, including senior citizens.
Fall 07Q
Temporary Price Trends in Efficient Securities Markets: Examining Short-term Direction Indicators
Description of research:
Adherents to the Efficient Market Hypothesis conclude that the aggregate impact of investors upon securities prices leaves securities very efficiently priced at any point in time, making it nearly impossible for portfolio managers to consistently "beat the market" and thereby outperform their competitors. It is obvious, however, that investors’ actions result in strong temporary movements in major market indices that often cancel each other in producing the more stable long-term results. This research project is designed to examine these very short term daily and weekly price adjustments that make the market as a whole as efficient as it is. The purpose is to determine the degree to which temporary price patterns are extended by speculators attempting to "join" more fundamentally motivated investors whose buy and sell orders usually initiate the short term price trends.
Responsibilities of the student:
This study will have the student use data from ten years of history for the S&P 500 Stock Index to examine the nature of short-term price changes. The student will use existing price files to locate points in the Index's price patterns when minor adjustments have developed. Price movements that appear to precede significant changes in the Index’s direction will be recorded and then tested for consistency and outcomes. This research can be expected to reinforce the Hypothesis to some degree while testing assertions that short-term opportunities develop as prices move to new levels of equilibrium. The student will work with several combinations of decision filters to assess their value. Records of the study’s findings will be maintained to support a written report of conclusions drawn from the research.
Hours and schedule:
The student will average ten hours of design and research work each week for ten weeks. This includes at least one hour of contact with the faculty advisor each week to reinforce the validity of the research methods applied and to assure steady progress in accomplishing the objectives of the study.
Student qualifications:
Student will need Excel spreadsheet filtering skills and an ability to direct processed output into templates to facilitate analysis. Course work in calculus and statistics will be beneficial
Fall 07R
Scoring the Likelihood of Investment Success Based Upon Past Performance
Description of research:
Long-standing evidence shows that superior past investment performance is no guarantee of similar future performance. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission requires this caveat to be included in marketing materials provided by all investment management institutions. In reality, however, such past performance is the primary criterion used by investors to choose from among the thousands mutual funds and other investment alternatives. This research is intended to quantify the chances of success investors and their advisors can expect when they ignore the mandated warning and rely upon conventional selection procedures.
Responsibilities of the student:
This study will have the student draw data from a 20-year Morningstar database of mutual fund returns to develop a probability-of-superiority score. This score will be derived by testing the hypothesis: Fund X is superior to its benchmark index. From various dates, several time periods preceding and following those dates will be used to calculate the probability of future investment success, based upon the degree of past apparent superiority or inferiority.
Hours and schedule:
The student can expect to average ten hours of design and research work each week for ten weeks. This includes no less than one hour of contact with the faculty advisor each week to assure the design and research methods are academically sound and on schedule to accomplish the objectives of the study. The schedule is flexible to accommodate other time demands.
Student qualifications:
Student will need spreadsheet and database management skills. Some course work in statistics and decision theory is also preferred.
Fall 07S
Project Title: In-Sync Preference (Research in Organizational Behavior).
Description of the project:
In this research, my collaborator and I are looking at the fact that people differ in the extent to which they are willing to synchronize their pace with that of others. For example, imagine you are going for a run with a friend and you realize that your friend is running at a slower place than you. Do you slow down to stay with your friend during the run or do the two of you decide to meet at a specific place so that you can run at your own pace? In this research, we explain why some people prefer to adapt their pace to that of others, while other people prefer to follow their own pace.
We have collected a lot of data, through both surveys and experiments, showing this individual difference and the fact that it has behavioral implications for the workplace. We are in the process of writing up the results and improving our theory. A final draft of the paper will be submitted for publication by the end of the Fall semester or early Spring.
Student responsibilities:
- Help with the literature review:
- Look for research articles that address how we interact with other people
- Read some of these articles to make sure that they are relevant
- May have to summarize the main points of key articles (if needed).
- Create tables to report the results of our research
- Add citations and references to the existing manuscript
What you will learn:
- Will see how we use existing literature for the development of new theory and will be exposed to theory writing
- Will learn how to report the results from survey data and experiments
- Will see the finished product (i.e. paper ready for submission) from a multiple year research project
Number of hours per week:
Availability needed mainly for the Fall semester with an average of 1 to 3 hours a week.
Specific Qualification:
General interest in Organizational Behavior or Psychology.
Fall 07T
Project Title: Experimental Studies in Organizational Behavior
Description of the project:
Two projects are currently in a development phase.
Project A looks at how people stop thinking about a prior task or event, even when that task or event is unfinished or unresolved.
Project B looks at how people experience working on multiple teams at the same time and how it affects their stress level.
Student responsibilities:
- Help write the applications to be submitted to the Internal Review Board (which grants approval to conduct research involving research subjects).
- Will become familiar with the experimental studies and how they are designed to be able to describe them in the application.
- Look for scales or questionnaires to be included in the experiments.
- Once approved, will help recruit participants and run experiments.
What you will learn:
Will be exposed to how we create, develop, and run experiments in the field of organizational behavior. Great exposure to experimental research.
Number of hours per week:
Availability needed at the end of the Fall semester and mostly during the Spring semester with an average of 2 to 5 hours a week.
Specific Qualification:
Good writing skills.
Good interpersonal skills to run experiments.
Responsible and conscientious.
General interest in Organizational Behavior or Psychology.
Fall 07U
Project Title: Identifying Mutual Funds that Outperform
Description of Research:
In the United States more than 8,000 mutual funds manage almost $10 trillion of assets. Investors can chose between actively management funds, where fund managers attempt to outperform the market, and or index funds, that simply track a benchmark index (e.g. the S&P 500). Most actively managed funds underperform index funds after fees and taxes. What are common characteristics of fund managers that do outperform?
- Compile a review of the academic literature on mutual fund performance
- Use Nelson Marketplace, FAKTIVA, Morningstar and Bloomberg to gather information on mutual fund managers
- Help to identify the characteristics of successful mutual funds and their managers
The student may choose the hours that are most convenient for him/her. However, some of the work may have to take place on a dedicated computer at the Carlson School that contains research data and programs. The work-plan is for one or two research assistant(s) working during the fall 2007 semester for a total of 100 hours (each).
Qualifications:
- Interested in financial research.
- Interested in reviewing the existing academic literature on mutual fund performance.
- Very detail-oriented.
Fall 07V
Project Title: Social Network Analysis
Description of Research:
This project will identify and characterize the social network of finance researchers who study mutual funds. It aims to identify and quantify the strength of the relation between researchers as well as their relative “importance”. For a simple introduction to the topic see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networks
- Familiarize yourself with the key concepts of social network analysis
- Develop an understanding of the relevant characteristics of an academic network such as universities (degree-granting organizations, current and past employers), publications, citations, co-authors, editorial boards, etc.
- Identify the members of a social network based on their research topic.
- Help to develop a database that contains names, affiliations and characteristics of network members.
- Examine various social network software tools commonly used to analyze and graph relations between members of the network.
- Use the software tools to analyze the database of mutual fund researchers.
Approximate number of hours / Schedule:
The student may choose the hours that are most convenient for him/her. However, some of the work may have to take place on a dedicated computer at the Carlson School that contains research data and programs. The work-plan is for one or two research assistant(s) working during the fall 2007 semester for a total of 100 hours (each).
Qualifications:
- Strong quantitative background.
- Ability to create a database of members of a social network.
- Able to explore different software packages (UCINet, Pajek, the “network” package in “R”) and identify the tools most suited for a specific task.
Fall 07W
Project Title: Natural Language Processing of Annual Reports
Description of Research:
I need a student experienced in using a scripting language (e.g., PERL, Python) to automate the analysis of the management discussion section of companies’ annual reports. These annual reports are available on the website of the Securities and Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov).
Responsibilities of the Student:
- Familiarize yourself with the structure and content of the SEC’s webpage.
- Familiarize yourself with the structure and content of management discussion section.
- Develop a script that downloads all management discussion sections into a database.
- Develop a script that analyzes these management discussion sections and characterizes the content.
- The student’s analysis and input will help me develop a classification scheme.
Approximate number of hours / Schedule:
The student may choose the hours that are most convenient for him/her. The work-plan is for on research assistant working during the fall 2007 semester for a total of 100 hours.
Qualifications:
Experienced in using a scripting language.
Fall 07X
Project Title: Brand Extension Strategies for Stretching a Brand
Description of Research:
This project focuses on understanding how brands can leverage their equity to stretch beyond the core areas associated with their image/representation, and when it might be meaningful to do so. Data collection will be primarily based on surveys administered to (and experiments run with) human subjects (typically undergraduate students).
Responsibility of Student:
Assistance in administering the surveys and running experiments, coding the data and library research on the project.
Approximate number of hours:
5-8 hours/week during the Fall, and 10-12 hours/week during the Spring
Qualifications:
- High level of familiarity with the following:
- Conducting library research
- Excel
Fall 07Y
Title of the Project: Construal Level and Perceived Variety
Description of the Project:
Perceptions of variety are not solely determined by the number and type of items in an assortment. Variety judgments rely on heuristic cues such as whether the favorite item is present, or the physical space the items occupy. Variety perceptions also depend on how easily people notice the variety. Perceived variety increases when the items are arranged to make the different types more apparent, or organized to match how natural categories people use.
This prior work has established that variety perceptions depend on the composition and organization of items. We explore instead how the specificity of consumers’ mindsets affects variety perceptions and expected satiation. In particular, we care about whether people see more variety when they think about things broadly (e.g., a bunch of candy), or narrowly (e.g., chocolate, jellybeans, suckers). We suggest that consumers in an abstract mindset who think more broadly will perceive one general category and thus perceive more variety under that category. However, consumers in more detailed, concrete mindsets are more likely to categorize the assortment in smaller subgroups, decreasing the perceived variety of categories.
Several behavioral experiments will be conducted to test these predictions. The following sentences provide an example typical of the setup that will be used. People sort a list of household items into either 3 or 9 different categories to encourage a broader or narrower mindset respectively. In a second, supposedly unrelated task, people rate the variety of snacks eaten in a given scenario. We predict that people will perceive greater variety in the snacks when encouraged to adopt a broad versus a narrow mindset.
Student Responsibilities: The student aiding this research is expected to help mainly with the data collection. (s)he would help design the studies, assist data collection and entry, and observe data analyses. If the required empirical evidence is obtained, the student can also participate in the writing of the associated manuscript.
Approximate # of Hours per week: The work load is expected to be variable depending on the data collection opportunities throughout the semester. On a given week, the work load can vary from 2 to 10 hours.
Student Qualification: A student with prior understanding of behavioral sciences in general and philology or consumer behavior in specific is strongly preferred. Although not being a necessary condition, having experience with experimental research is highly desirable.
Fall 07Z
Project Title
Mapping Global Supply Chains from End-to-End:
Identifying the Enablers and Barriers of Supply Chain Integration and Performance
Project Description
Systemic thinking is a key attribute of top business leaders. With increasing globalization of economies, industries and markets, systemic thinking necessitates an ability to conceptualize global supply chains from end to end. This project will entail process mapping of global supply chains. Specifically, the focus will be on two supply chains critical to the global economy: health care and energy.
Health care is conceptualized as a portfolio ranging from diet and exercise to drugs to medical devices (e.g., pacemakers and stents) to invasive procedures (e.g., coronary bypass surgery) to new biologics (e.g., gene therapy). The health care supply chain links the development of care (e.g., medical device, pharmaceutical and biotech companies) to the delivery of care (e.g., hospitals and clinics), including how the delivery of care will be paid for (e.g., insurance firms).
Energy is conceptualized as a portfolio ranging from renewable (e.g., wind and solar) to non-renewable (e.g., oil, natural gas and coal) resources. The energy supply chain links the sources of energy supply (e.g., exploration and drilling for oil and gas) to the points of energy consumption (e.g., gas stations).
Project Work and Student Responsibilities
In this project, we will collect data and information on health care and energy supply chains that span national boundaries. The data collection exercise will be like peeling an onion – i.e., at each subsequent stage of data collection we will delve a bit deeper into conceptualizing the two global supply chains. We will execute the project following the steps outlined below:
First, we will review publicly available data sources from websites and publications of the relevant industry associations as well as firms/organizations from upstream to downstream of the health care and energy supply chains. The purpose of this exercise will be to identify and physically map the specific features and overall configurations of the global health care and energy supply chains.
Second, we will identify key technologies and best practices that enable effective integration of the health care and energy supply chains from end to end – i.e., from the upstream to the downstream.
Third, we will identify secondary case studies that shed light into how technologies and best practices enable effective supply chain integration, and in turn, impact supply chain performance.
Fourth, we will write a report documenting pictorial maps that help to conceptualize physical configurations of global health care and energy supply chains and frameworks that identify the key barriers and enablers of health care and energy supply chain integration and performance. This will be the deliverable of the project.
Value of the Project Experience to a Student
The project will provide an opportunity to develop systemic thinking, a key attribute of top business leaders; an outstanding experience in substantively understanding two critical global supply chains; and learning how to conduct rigorous research on structuring complex business problems – i.e., (i) collecting, organizing and analyzing relevant data and information, and (ii) presenting the findings in a report such that it can inform and enlighten the readers of the report.
Approximate # of Hours per week
4-5 hours per week during the Fall and Spring Semesters of the academic year, 2007-08.
Student Qualifications
Junior or Sophomore with interests and motivation to learn about global supply chains.
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