PITT BUSINESS FACULTY RESEARCH NEWSLETTER

The 2024 Health Sciences & Business Conference, hosted by Pitt Business, explored how innovation at the intersection of healthcare and business can advance patient care. With over 25 expert speakers and 125 plus attendees, the event featured discussions on health equity, patient-focused technology, and collaborative solutions. BioForge CEO Ken Gabriel emphasized the power of diverse perspectives to tackle complex challenges, while panelists like Tracey Conti and Shandong Wu highlighted how these conversations are shaping their approaches to patient care and equitable solutions. Dive into the full story to see how these insights are making an impact.

In early October, Pitt Business faculty, researchers, and PhD students attended the first Coffee, Conversation, and Cool Research event. Associate Professor Leon Valdes presented “Using Experiments in Sustainable and Nonprofit Operations Management” and Associate Professor Arian Aflaki presented “Things We Pursue in Operations Management: Purpose and Profit.”

On November 1, Glenn Stinson Chair in Competitiveness, Esther Gal-Or, presented “Merchants of Vulnerabilities: How Bug Bounty Programs Benefit Software Vendors.” Professor Narayan Ramasubbu presented “Overview of AI Research & Possible Future Research Directions.”

For ideas, suggestions, or to secure a spot at an upcoming C3 event, please contact Associate Dean Vanitha Swaminathan at Vanitha@Katz.pitt.edu or select a slot here.

Upcoming C3 events include:

• December 6, 2024 – Associate professor Leming Lin will present “Expansionary Fiscal Policies and Unintended Housing Stimulu”
• February 7, 2025 – Professor Chris Kemerer will present “Why I rejected your paper – Reflections from an Editor” and Professor Sue Cohen will present “Reinventing the Business of Life Science one Slogan at a Time: The Transformative Capacity of Architectural Language”

• March 14, 2025 – will feature Professors Dave Denis and Prof. Carrie Leana

• April 2025 – will feature Professor Ravi Madhavan

Faculty Research Focus: Mark Ma

Return to office (RTO) mandates have been one of the most hotly debated issues around the world over the last several years. Since the COVID pandemic threat has receded, many companies, such as Amazon and Goldman Sachs, have imposed RTO mandates. Meanwhile, others, including Nvidia and Allstate, still allow employees to work from home. These policies impact millions of people and families, sparking significant disagreement between managers and employees about whether RTO mandates truly create benefits.

Some managers argue that RTO mandates increase employee productivity and improve firm performance. However, many employees feel that long commutes to the office harm their productivity and overall well-being. Motivated by this debate, we conducted a study to examine the determinants and consequences of RTO mandates.

Our research does not find evidence that RTO mandates benefit firm performance or stock price valuations. Instead, we find that employee job satisfaction drops significantly after such mandates, potentially harming firm performance in the long term. Additionally, these mandates are often implemented by firms as a reaction to negative stock market performance and are more prevalent in companies led by male and powerful CEOs. Our findings challenge the common managerial argument that RTO mandates are advantageous for firms.

In a follow-up study, we analyzed how RTO mandates in the largest finance and high-tech firms influence employee turnover and hiring. Results reveal that turnover rates significantly increase after RTO mandates, particularly among female employees, senior staff, and highly skilled workers. At the same time, these firms face longer hiring cycles and greater difficulty filling job vacancies. Even for the world’s largest employers, RTO mandates cause a considerable brain drain.

Based on our findings, we recommend that companies provide employees and teams with flexibility in choosing their workplace. Whether meeting in the office or at an offsite location, collaborative flexibility appears more beneficial. Across-the-board RTO mandates, on the other hand, fail to create meaningful advantages for either employers or employees.

The Center for Sustainable Business solicited submissions from around the globe to recognize the best sustainable business practices within any academic institution. This compendium was shared with senior leaders attending our Fall Sustainable Business Forum and published online.

The theme of the Fall Sustainable Business Forum was “Leading Change: Leveling up your organization to be Future Ready.” This theme was selected to bring attention to the crossover between the disciplines of strategy and change management.

“How do I support my workforce to bring my company into an unknowable future?”
“How can I take action if the future is unpredictable?”

“What is my role as a change agent, a leader, and a person to push business forward toward the Blue Ocean of opportunity?”

The event aimed to prepare leaders for leading in a world filled with societal, technological, environmental, and economic disruptions.

• The Behavioral Research Center in Posvar Hall offers faculty and PhD students a dedicated research environment. Contact Professor Eugenia Wu at ecwu@katz.pitt.edu or Tim Janney at tjanney@katz.pitt.edu for lab experiment assistance
• David Selman, Shared Services Research Administrator II, supports grant budget planning. He holds office hours Tuesdays (1-3 p.m.) and Thursdays (11 a.m. – Noon). Contact him at selman@pitt.edu.
• The Faculty Budget Policy Manual is available for review. Jodi Tamewitz and Sachiyo Connor can assist with reimbursements for Vincent Cards. Send inquiries to researchadmin@business.pitt.edu.
• Research datasets and databases are accessible through our subscriptions or Hillman Library. Contact Ash and Brian via researchadmin@business.pitt.edu or Chloe Dufour (Hillman) at chd84@pitt.edu. View subscription lists on Biznet (use your Pitt credentials to log in to biznet.katz.pitt.edu).
• Check out Pitt’s Research Concierge Program for support on your research endeavors.
• Send research administration queries to researchadmin@business.pitt.edu.

Pitt-Specific Funding

Dean’s Office Small Grants
For grants ($2,000-$10,000), submit a one to two page proposal to the Dean’s office with a research outline and budget. These funds support research projects but not conference travel. Email proposals to Associate Dean Vanitha Swaminathan at vanitha@katz.pitt.edu.

PB2030 Research with Impact Grants
The PB2030 grants support research in health and life sciences, digital transformation, and business and society. Submit proposals (max of six pages) by February 1, 2025, to Associate Dean Vanitha Swaminathan at vanitha@katz.pitt.edu and Karen Hitchens at karen.hitchens@pitt.edu with the subject title “PB2030 Research with Impact Grants.”

Pitt Momentum Funds
Pitt Momentum Funds offer opportunities for research funding through Priming and Teaming grants. The next cycle’s deadline will be Fall 2025. Contact for more info here. Recent grant recipients include Assistant Professors Ricky Burgess and Ashley Gomez. Congrats Ashley and Ricky!

EXTERNAL

External funding opportunities can be accessed through federal funding agencies such as NSF, NIH (https://www.nih.gov/grants-funding), DOD, DOE, and specific foundation grant opportunities. For example, NSF offers funding for social, behavioral, and economic research: https://new.nsf.gov/sbe

A few examples:

• Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
• Russell Sage Foundation Research Funding
• Meta is funding research on AI (Meta’s Llama 3.1 program)

Share your good news with us at goodnews@pitt.edu!

• Associate Dean Sharon Alvarez (President of the Academy of Management) gave a presidential address at the Academy of Management this past year. Congrats to Sharon!
• Assistant Professors Ricky Burgess and Ashley Gomez won the Pitt Momentum grants. Congrats to Ashley and Ricky!
• Professor Jeff Inman was awarded the 2025 Distinguished PhD Alumnus Award from University of Texas, Austin. 
• Peggy Liu’s article “Does Company Size Shape Product Quality Inferences? Larger Companies Make Better High-Tech Products, but Smaller Companies Make Better Low-Tech Products” published in the Journal of Marketing Research was selected as the winner of the American Marketing Association CBSIG Research in Practice Award for 2024-2025. The award will be presented at the American Marketing Association Conference in Phoenix, AZ in February 2025. Congrats to Peggy!
• Associate Dean Vanitha Swaminathan was appointed as AMA Fellow by the American Marketing Association. Congrats to Vanitha!
• The combined College of Business Administration and Katz Graduate School of Business faculty garnered nearly 2,900 media placements during the past Fiscal Year, from July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2024. This includes the New York Times, The Toronto Star, The Washington Post, ABC News, NBC News, Forbes, Fortune, National Geographic, and Time.
  • Top contributors include:
    • Mark Ma – 157 placements
    • Vanitha Swaminathan – 170-269 placements (including foreign language)
    • Peggy Liu – 65 placements
    • Dave Lebel – 22 placements