Spring 2025
In this issue, research from members of the Wake Forest School of Business faculty ranges from an exploration of how “Jekyl and Hyde” leadership can corrupt a corporate environment to how technology can enhance outcomes from the healthcare industry.
Bettering Judgement
Anna Cianci’s education isn’t typical of most accounting professors.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Villanova University and a doctorate in accounting from Duke University. But she also earned a master’s deg…
Practicing Practicality
Broadly speaking, Ajay Patel’s research for the past three decades has focused on corporate decision-making. As he explains: “Why have people made certain decisions? What are the incentives behind those decisions? What was the information content of those decisions?”
But whether examining cross-border mergers and acquisitions, the impact of security offerings on valuations and firm performance, or factors affecting CEO compensation, Patel wants all his work to have p…
Improving Outcomes
As an associate professor of management information systems, Jennifer Claggett is firmly rooted in the Wake Forest University School of Business, where she studies “how we can use technology to improve organizational outcomes.”
“But the majority of my research is specifically in health care settings, looking at how we can use technology to improve health outcomes,” Claggett says. “Health care has so much potential impact and is complex. If you can figure out an issue in…
Leading Ethically
Second job. Side hustle. Part-time gig. Whatever you call it, School of Business professor Sherry Moss says increasing numbers of people hold multiple jobs, sometimes as many as three or four jobs. And her research has found that, under the right circumstances, rather than being a drain, job juggling can be beneficial beyond the extra money.
“What our research shows is that if you have multiple jobs and you identify with them (i.e. you believe you are expressing an i…
Evolving Accountability
Wake Forest University’s teacher-scholar model is ideal for Ya-wen Yang, who enjoys delving into a research question but also wants to share her findings with those who can benefit from the knowledge.
“I’m a naturally curious person and I like to learn new things,” says Yang, who is the Thomas C. Taylor Faculty Fellow and an associate professor of accounting at the School of Business. “So, on one hand, I can do research. If I’m curious about something, I can learn mo…
Examining Leadership
Sometimes one moment can change the course of a person’s career and life in unexpected ways. Wake Forest School of Business James Farr Faculty Fellow in Leadership and Organizational Development John Sumanth certainly knows that truism well.
After earning a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Miami (cum laude) and an MBA in marketing and management from the University of Florida, Sumanth took a job as a management trainee for Norwegian Cruise Line,…
Enhancing Education
Growing up in an entrepreneurial family with parents who owned several McDonald’s franchises, Mark Johnson received early exposure to the ins and outs of the business world. Along with owning a restaurant business, Johnson’s father also worked as a certified public accountant, and he always made sure to iterate the value of continuing education.
“Business and finance were instilled in me at a very young age,” he says. “My parents always focused on academics, and they…
Leveraging Analytics
Philip Howard has always been fascinated by mathematics. As an undergraduate at UNC-Chapel Hill double-majoring in math and statistics, Howard thought he would pursue a career as an actuary upon graduation. But the more he learned, the more he wanted to learn, and Howard made the decision to earn a master’s in statistics with a Ph.D. in the discipline to follow.
But during his master’s degree studies, Howard took a finance class. Suddenly, his trajectory changed.
“Tha…
Evaluating Ethos
After serving for nearly three decades in the United States Army, Sean Hannah knows exactly what makes an effective leader. During his years of active duty as an Army infantry officer, Colonel (Retired) Hannah served in four different combat and contingency deployments, as well as in strategic positions in the Pentagon, received 44 military decorations and was inducted into the Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame.
During his tenure with the Army, Hannah was selecte…
Optimizing Decisions
One of the most unexpected lessons learned by many Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic was the importance and vulnerability of supply chains.
As factory shutdowns and material shortages had people scrambling for everything from toilet paper to disinfecting wipes, the complexity of supply chains they’d likely never thought about became top of mind for many.
But Pelin Pekgün, Thomas H. Davis Professor in Business and Professor of Analytics, was unsurprised. Pekgü…
