Finance in Organization Theory: Events at the 2018 Academy of Management Conference

If you are attending this summer’s Academy of Management Conference in Chicago, here’s three events that I have organized, and which explore topics on finance within organization theory.

Financial crisis

First, a symposium titled “Organizational Lessons, One Decade After the Financial Crisis.” The year 2018 marks the one-decade anniversary of the global financial crisis. In the ten years that elapsed since the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, research in economics and finance has developed a robust literature that informs public policy. Conversely, this symposium considers the body of organizational research published on the financial crisis: what have organizational scholars learnt about the crisis by now? What managerial implications and conclusions stem from such lessons? What are organizational scholars missing? This symposium addresses this question with presentations on the use of models in organizations, the intersection between politics and derivatives, wellbeing in investment banks, bank culture, and the institutional dimension of the crisis.

It will do so through four presentations:

“Regulating through Culture? Cultures of Culture in the UK Retail Banking Industry,” by Simon Parker, Nottingham U. Business School, and Andre Spicer, City U. London.

“Embodying the Market,” by Alexandra Michel, U. of Pennsylvania.

“The crisis that won’t go away: Retrospective commentary on institutional analysis of the crisis,” by Suhaib Riaz, U. of Massachusetts, Boston.

“Financial innovation as tool of statecraft: implications for organization theory,” by Andrea Lagna, Loughborough U.

“A Village on Wall Street: From Models to Norms in a Derivatives Trading Room,” Daniel Beunza Ibanez, Copenhagen Business School and City U.

When and where: Monday, Aug 13 2018 1:15PM – 2:45PM at Marriott Chicago Downtown – Magnificent Mile in Clark Marriott Ballroom

Securities analysts

Second, a symposium titled, “The Future of Analysts’ Work: Importance and Challenges Ahead.” This event aims at promoting debate on the analyst profession by bringing several leading scholars in the study of equity analysts. Our symposium shares papers that highlight the role of analysts as information intermediaries but also as self-interested individuals performing careers, the significant part of which is providing insight and guidance to investors. We do not propose to solve the debate on whether or how analysts can be useful for understanding publicly traded firms and financial markets; rather, we hope to use the symposium as a platform to examine different ways in which the work of equity analysts can provide insight into important organizational phenomena. Each scholar studies analysts from a unique perspective, which combined with our discussant creates an opportunity for lively debate on the role, power, and importance of analysts in modern organizational and strategy research. It will do so through four presentations, and the discussion by Todd Zenger, of the David Eccles School of Business.

It will include four presentations:

“Two sides to the story? Positive and negative aspects of securities analysts,” Mary J. Benner, U. of Minnesota and Daniel Beunza, Copenhagen Business School and City U.

“Analysts’ intertemporal evaluations of firms’ resources during radical technological change.” Ram Ranganathan, U. of Texas, McCombs and Wei Yang, The U. of Texas at Austin.

“Organization’s Centrality in the Employee Mobility Network and Individual Performance.” Matteo Prato, USI (Lugano) and Pino G. Audia, Dartmouth College

“Does playing to type make you a star? Gender and gender-based categories in analyst research.” Anne Bowers, U. of Toronto and Matteo Prato, USI (Lugano)

“When do employees pursue firm goals versus their career concerns?” Viktorie Sevcenko, London Business School and Sendil Ethiraj, London Business School

When and where: Tuesday, Aug 14 2018 9:45AM – 11:15AM at Marriott Chicago Downtown – Magnificent Mile in Clark Marriott Ballroom

Derivatives exchange

Finally, Andrea Lagna and I have organized a tour of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) as an OMT off-program event during the next AOM Annual Meeting. Cboe is one of largest options markets in the world. It was the first exchange to list standardized options in 1973 and, since then, it pioneered several financial innovations such as the Cboe Volatility Index and, more recently, Bitcoin futures. This visit is a great opportunity for OMT scholars to experience the fascinating world of derivatives trading in Chicago.

It includes:

1. a) 1 hour tour of the Cboe trading floor during active trading.
2. b) 1/2 hour Q&A session
3. c) Cboe souvenir trading badges.

http://www.cboe.com/education/educational-tours

When and where: The tour will take place on 10 August 2018, 2-3.30pm. It is full already, but if you’d us to put you on the waiting list, please get in touch with me at dbe.ioa@cbs.dk