Recently in Research Category

Research ideas are sparked in unlikely places, which is why our faculty always have their antennae sharply tuned.

For instance, Frank Selto, an accounting professor at the Leeds School of Business, was traveling in Costa Rica when he met a number of American and European managers who were there to put out fires caused by global outsourcing relationships. This spurred his recent research on the factors that make or break global outsourcing partnerships. Global outsourcing is when an international business contracts another company to provide a service, like human resources or accounting. While it's increasingly popular, its success depends on many factors.



Frank found that corporate culture actually trumps national culture as a predictor for success in these relationships.  While language and tradition are certainly important, it's more important that two companies have compatible goals, visions, and plans for innovation. Thanks to an enterprising attitude during vacation, Frank pinpointed a problem that affected many growing firms. His results? Lessons for navigating a globally integrated economy.
 
Meg Campbell, a marketing professor at the Leeds School, also shows how digging deeper into common observations can yield fascinating research. She recently published an article in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin that explores how our society stereotypes materialism. Not only do we judge people who act materialistic, we also dislike them.



This kind of thinking keeps our faculty producing timely, value-added research that impacts the future of business.

Lots of important research that takes place in academia never reaches the public. At the Leeds School, our faculty are attacking critical problems facing business leaders, policymakers and everyday people. And our mission is to disseminate this research to the world, answering today's biggest problems with rigorously tested solutions.  

Recently, we've published video interviews with researchers investigating topical issues like pollution control, overpriced gasoline and maximizing your retirement fund. For example, accounting professor Naomi Soderstrom recently studied how to measure the value of permits used in pollution trading, one federal policy posed to curb carbon emissions. In this interview below she discusses the market value of permits and how managers can reduce carbon cost-effectively.



Energy prices are another defining issue of our time.  Finance Professor Chris Leach asks why retailers are overcharging consumers for mid-octane gasoline after uncovering an arbitrage profit margin that shouldn't exist in a competitive market.  His insights can help drivers save money and protect the market from potential collusion.



Leach also puts himself in investors' shoes to determine whether or not converting your individual retirement accounts (IRAs) to ROTH IRAs is a good idea, depending on your tax liability, income volatility and many other factors. These are only a few examples of research from the Leeds School that targets relevant problems and touches the lives of our community.  

There have been several recent studies linking higher education to a higher quality of life for not only individual graduates, but their communities. In a recent New York Times blog post by Harvard economics professor Edward L. Glaeser, research showed that not only does a higher level of education help an individual's career prospects, but that a community of such people multiply the effect for the entire community, educated and not. So a higher degree becomes an engine that drives a community's overall economic resilience and growth. As Glaeser states, "teach your neighbors well" and reap benefits that far outweigh just one individual's success.

Here at the Leeds School, we know that we help drive the success of our community and state through a variety of programs and pathways:

• Our faculty engage in research and research-based teaching to address current relevant issues ranging from green business innovation to the economic meltdown and recovery.
• Our energetic graduates, both undergrad and MBA who contribute their passion and knowledge and dreams to all levels of Colorado and national businesses spanning roles from C-level executives to entrepreneurs to a variety of positions in management, marketing, accounting and finance.
• Our Deming Center for Entrepreneurship and CU Real Estate Center which bring the best of real-world experience and cutting edge academic research to our students and the business community. 
• Our newly named Center for Education on Social Responsibility which rounds out our "whole person" values to deliver critical thinkers who are grounded in business fundamentals as well as in ethics.

And as University of Colorado President Benson has stated repeatedly:

"Higher education is not only good for an individual, it's also a societal good. Colleges and universities, particularly research universities like CU, create jobs, start companies, provide an educated work force and have a significant economic impact on a state (some $7 billion annually in CU's case, including the University of Colorado Hospital)."

I encourage you to share your thoughts on the value of higher education. For in these tough financial times, higher education and the Leeds School are here to help point the Colorado economy in a positive direction