Benjamin Kessler

A pair of accounting professors at George Mason University’s Songdo (South Korea) campus discovered that CEOs with formative Korean War memories reacted differently to perceptions of downside risk.

George Mason University management professor David Lucas finds that the rising generation of entrepreneurs are far more likely to build mission-driven businesses than their over-30 counterparts. But the differences don’t end there.

The inescapable “negotiator’s dilemma”—i.e., whether to take a competitive or cooperative stance—is less vexing if one remembers that the long-term relationship between the counterparties is often more valuable than the stakes of any one negotiation, says George Mason University management professor Einav Hart.

Zhechao Yang, assistant professor of information systems and operations management at Costello College of Business at George Mason University, has helped develop a machine learning framework that can sift through the online buzz to identify the social media posts most likely to drive product purchases.

It’s good PR for banks to tout their tight relationships with borrowers in their local community. But do they put their money where their mouth is? George Mason University finance professor Stephen Karolyi sheds light on how lenders weigh the value of future relationships against concrete payoffs in the here and now.

Companies with a serious commitment to social impact can be designated as such by state governments and/or certified by B-Lab, a global NGO. Those that do both are not just seeking twice the acclaim; their redoubled commitment is measurable using AI-assisted quality frameworks employed by David Lucas, a management professor at George Mason University.

Given today’s short attention spans, how much could it really hurt a business to get caught attempting to manipulate their reputation on a platform like Yelp? George Mason University accounting professor Yi Cao has done the math, and it isn’t pretty for businesses willing to cross ethical lines.

When crowdfunding platform Kickstarter started allowing creators to put environmental pledges front and center, George Mason University accounting professor Yi Cao saw a unique opportunity. His co-authored research shows how “going green” turned out to be an impactful business choice with financial, operational and, yes, environmental implications for entrepreneurs and customers.

How fast is too fast to reply to a prospective employer? Wrong question, argues George Mason University management professor Einav Hart. Across several settings and contexts, Hart and her co-authors found that once a hiring manager is interested enough to reach out, even the slightest delay in responding could harm your chances.

The best way to resolve a consumer’s doubts about electric cars is to let them drive one for a day or two. But Ioannis Bellos and Hang Ren, professors in the information systems and operations management area at George Mason University, argue that extended test drives can sometimes do more harm than good, for both profits and the planet.