Media Coverage: March 2007

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 03/25/2007—Timothy Pollock, associate professor of management, comments on the decision by Delta's CEO to decline his bonuses. "I like it," Pollock said. "Our own low expectations about CEO self-interest make the gesture that much more powerful." (Delta Chief Stands Out For Sacrifice). This article also appeared in Canada's National Post.

Freakonomics.com, 03/22/2007—Article on weather prediction-markets research being conducted by the Laboratory for Economics Management and Auctions. "Pennsylvania State University has set up a prediction market for the weather, letting two groups of students bet against professional forecasting services like AccuWeather in trying to predict the temperature in different locations." (Betting The Weather).

The Motley Fool, 03/20/2007—Article on Penn State alumni in the business world includes a mention of Smeal College. "Frank Smeal, a Goldman Sachs partner and highly regarded muni-bond trader, was a very generous PSU alumnus, and the business school is his namesake." (Investing With Your Alma Mater: Penn State University).

B to B, 03/12/2007—Article on a conference held by the Institute for the Study of Business Markets.  "'The challenge we have as b-to-b marketers is to lead our firms to really understanding the left brain impact of what we do—the emotional contact we have with customers, the emotional impact of our brand, how to measure that and make it better and stronger,' said Ralph Oliva, ISBM’s executive director." (Emotional Connection With Brand Is Important).

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 03/11/2007—Article on research by Guojin Gong, Henock Louis, and Amy Sun, assistant professors of accounting, on earnings management and stock repurchases. "Three professors at Penn State's Smeal College of Business are putting a new perspective on the conventional wisdom about repurchases. ... Their conclusion: The superior returns stocks experience after repurchase plans are announced have a lot to do with the way companies 'manage' their earnings in advance of the announcement." (PSU Study Finds Buybacks Work For A Reason).

CFO.com, 03/09/2007—Article on research by Guojin Gong, Henock Louis, and Amy Sun, assistant professors of accounting, on earnings management and stock repurchases. "Observing data from 1,720 companies from 1984 until 2002, the authors show that the appearance of improved profitability after a buyback is not necessarily the result of better performance, but rather the effect of weak earnings reports before the buyback is announced. The paper asserts that managers stand to gain by holding onto shares with rising values, and earnings are more heavily managed if the CEO holds more shares and has more to gain." (Are Buybacks Really A Bargain?).

The Economic Times (India), 03/06/2007—Article on research by Timothy Pollock, associate professor of management. "Just as the celebrity status of our cricket stars provides them greater financial opportunities than, say, our hockey players, Rindova, Pollock and Hayward find that celebrity firms have greater economic opportunities available to them." (Autonomy Is The Key As Star Value Shifts From Man To Firm).

National Mortgage News, 03/05/2007—Austin Jaffe, chair of the Department of Insurance and Real Estate, comments on the Pennsylvania real estate economy. "Pennsylvania real estate markets, on average, follow the peaks and troughs of national price changes," said Jaffe. "Pennsylvania housing markets tend to follow, rather than lead, national trends. The good news is that prices in Pennsylvania have not declined as much as in some markets around the country." (PA Home Prices Lag U.S. Trend). This article also appeared in several newspapers and on several Web sites.

Entrepreneur, March 2007—Anthony Warren, director of the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation, comments on how companies can maximize innovation. "'Everybody can contribute all the time,' says Anthony Warren, director of the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Penn State. Most of all, focus on innovation from Day One. 'Then,' Warren says, 'you'll have more ideas than you can deal with.'" (Big Ideas).

Entrepreneur, March 2007—Fariborz Ghadar, director of the Center for Global Business Studies, comments on technology that could possibly replace the computer mouse. "I think the pen is going to take off because we're all used to writing with pens and pencils," says Ghadar. "The tablet allows you to bypass the keyboard to a certain extent." (Input Evolution).