Eric W. K. Tsang

Explanation versus Prediction in Management Research: A Comment on Zhang and Chen

This study investigates the factors affecting corporate misconduct by examining the transformation of corporate governance in Japan. We hypothesize that the traditional Japanese business system, which adheres to stakeholder logic, is less prone to misconduct, whereas the infusion of shareholder logic by foreign institutional investors increases the likelihood of corporate misconduct. We test our hypotheses using a sample of Japanese firms from 2009 to 2013. The results indicate that foreign ownership is positively associated with corporate misconduct. Furthermore, under stakeholder logic, long CEO tenure mitigates the effect of foreign ownership on misconduct while, under shareholder logic, stock options intensify this effect. This study highlights that incompatible corporate governance practices may have negative consequences for corporate behavior.

Scholars have long debated the merits of advocacy-based research versus research considered from the quest for objective truth. Building upon reflections from multiple sources, a set of 11 brief reflections on three posed questions are presented. Tsang concludes our discussion with additional insights on how moving beyond the “interestingness” advocacy will be beneficial to the continued professional development of the management discipline.

This study focuses on the phenomenon of using superstition as a decision heuristic in strategic decision-making. We introduce the construct of superstitious heuristic , which is defined as a decision shortcut based on superstitious beliefs. The superstitious heuristic is commonly used in strategic decision-making in various cultures and can lead to seemingly puzzling decisions that have strategic consequences for the firm. It is also distinctly different from other major decision heuristics (i.e., heuristics-and-biases, fast-and-frugal heuristics, expert intuition, and simple rules) and can be used over the latter, especially under high uncertainty. Nevertheless, this heuristic type has not yet received much attention in the strategy literature, presumably because its usage in strategic decision-making is less prevalent in Western contexts where most heuristics research takes place. In this study, we initiate an inquiry into this phenomenon through two objectives: (1) introducing the construct of superstitious heuristic with conceptualization and measurement and (2) probing the executive antecedents to the superstitious heuristic. Our study not only brings the superstitious heuristic to the attention of strategy scholars but also lays the conceptual and empirical foundation for advancing strategy research on this heuristic. By delineating the profile of executives who are prone to employing this heuristic in making strategic choices, our study also contributes to upper echelons research on the use of heuristics in strategic decision processes.

Investing in a distant industry, an agent in a network consisting of directional ties may suffer a decline in performance due to its lack of industry-specific knowledge. We argue that not every con...

Brain electrical stimulation has shown the capability to modulate neural activities in a variety of ways. Compared with transcranial direct current stimulation(tDCS), transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) may affect brain activities differently through a frequency-based mechanism. This pilot study applied tACS to the scalp following the meridian (Jingluo) of traditional Chinese medicine to explore its potential neural modulation effect. A wearable electroencephalogram (EEG) device was used to measure the frontal activity in a female participant before and after tACS longitudinally. A combined method of singular spectrum analysis (SSA)-independent components analysis (ICA) was applied to separate potential artifacts from ocular and other irrelevant sources. The results demonstrated that SSA-ICA could effectively separate signals from different sources especially the ocular artifact. EEG spectrum analysis showed that short-term tACS could increase the power of delta waves. This study has good implications for the use of tACS and SSA-ICA method for the study of brain activities. Future research is needed to refine more optimum parameters of tACS and SSA-ICA to make the evidence more solid.Clinical Relevance— tACS may influence the brain wave oscillations through the frequency-based mechanism. SSA-ICA method helps to broaden the use of wearable EEG devices for various clinical applications.

Davis's (1971) article “That's interesting! Towards a phenomenology of sociology and a sociology of phenomenology” is regarded by many management researchers as a classic work and a basis for guiding management studies; in the wake of its publication, an interesting research advocacy gradually emerged. However, from the perspective of scientific research, Davis's core argument that great theories have to be interesting is seriously flawed. Interestingness is not regarded as a virtue of a good scientific theory and thus has little value in science. Moreover, obsession with interestingness can lead to at least five detrimental outcomes, namely promoting an improper way of doing science, encouraging post hoc hypothesis development, discouraging replication studies, ignoring the proper duties of a researcher, and undermining doctoral education.