Research
THE IMPACT OF SCHOLARLY RESEARCH
Faculty members continued to deepen the school’s reputation for international business research while also leading new work on corporate use of digital technologies, workplace inclusion, and the effect of disruptions — such as a global pandemic — on organizations. Their thought leadership garnered the attention of media around the globe and kept the school well represented in premier research journals.
“We have a No. 1 international business program and global business is interwoven throughout the school, including in our research efforts,” said Vanessa Perry, associate dean for faculty and research. “We remain strong in international business research, and we’re also becoming a source for research in new and interesting areas.”
The school’s emerging scholarship — which carries far-reaching implications for policymakers — included work by Associate Professor of Information Systems Yi-Chun Ho on digital technologies, such as cash-back online shopping, crowdfunding, membership-based shipping by e-tailers, and digital marketing. Professor of Management Katina Sawyer grabbed prominence for her work on transgender employee experiences, challenges faced by the LGBTQ workforce, and issues around women in the global workplace.
Other research touched on issues unfolding in real time. Luis Ballesteros advanced understanding on how COVID-19, natural disasters, political upheaval, terrorist attacks, and other shocks impact business. Ballesteros, an assistant professor of international business, looks at the way disruptions influence organizations’ innovation, philanthropy, entrepreneurship and risk assessment.
Perry, a marketing professor, authored a groundbreaking report on Black home ownership and barriers to home-owning. Her research also addressed intergenerational wealth building and home-buying during COVID-19. At the same time, the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC), directed by University Professor of Economics and Accountancy Annamaria Lusardi, produced a series of reports examining the financial literacy fragility of women, Blacks, and Hispanics and the implications of that vulnerability during the pandemic. Lusardi also helped author a high-profile Fearless Woman study on why women shy away from stock market investment.
GFLEC also created a webpage to help people manage their finances during the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the many examples of how the school puts research into action for positive social impact.
In other research related to the pandemic, Professor of Management James Bailey, the Hochberg Professorial Fellow of Leadership Development, published work in the Harvard Business Review on the hidden benefit of long work commutes, something that was lost during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The April 2021 relaunch of the Global Business Languages journal positioned the GW School of Business to claim dominance in another research area. The Center for International Business Education and Research (GW-CIBER) resuscitated the peer-reviewed journal, which is the only U.S. academic publication focused on cutting-edge scholarship in the field of business language studies. The journal, launched at another university in 1996, had ceased publication in 2014.
The Institute for Corporate Responsibility continued to work with corporate partners and government entities on environmental, social, and corporate governance — another area where GWSB research is linked to social innovation. The Growth Dialogue, directed by international business professor Danny Leipziger, provided thought leadership on global economic and development issues. And the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis, chaired by Professor of Real Estate Elaine Worzala, the Charles Bendit Distinguished Scholar, not only continued its research but also offered professional courses on current real estate topics.