Does earnings management matter for strategy research?
Strategic management research often uses accounting data, despite well-known concerns that earnings management could obscure the link between actual and measured performance. We apply methods from the econometric literature on bunching to estimate that around 15 percent of firm-year observations in Compustat manipulate accounting earnings to achieve profitability.
Smith Students Gain Graduate-Level Edge in Data-Driven Decision Making
University of Maryland professors Dave Waguespack and Evan Starr developed “Making Better Business Decisions with Data,” a course teaching undergraduates causal inference and AI-aided data analysis for strategic decision-making, preparing them for graduate studies, internships, and data-driven careers.
Strong Showing of Smith Scholars at Annual Academy of Management Meeting
Twenty-six scholars from Maryland Smith’s Management and Organization department participated in 22 presentations at the 2024 Academy of Management Meeting in Copenhagen. Three faculty members—Rajshree Agarwal, Hui Liao, and Alyssa Tedder-King—received prestigious awards recognizing their research and teaching excellence.
Summer Reading List 2025
Get ready for summer with the 22nd Annual Summer Reading List for Business Leaders—featuring Smith School faculty picks on investing, neuroscience, human connection, and more, including a novel inspired by a radio show turned TV series.
Viewer Discretion Advised: How Gender Enters the Picture When Audiences Rate Movies
Professor David Waguespack warns against relying solely on average ratings when choosing a movie, particularly if it stars a woman. In groundbreaking research, he reveals how gender affects movie ratings, shedding light on biases in audience perceptions and their impact on box office revenues.
Fragmenting Audience: The Feel-Good Hit of the Film Industry?
Small-budget movies like 'Parasite' and 'Nomadland' are gaining recognition as streaming services continue to ramp up content. They're signs of the times that production funding across the industry is changing.
The Center for Global Business Announces Winner of Its First Data Grant Competition
Ha Le, a second-year MBA student at Maryland Smith, writes about the PhD international research award. The Center for Global Business (CGB) at the Robert H. Smith School of Business announced the winner of its first annual data grant competition — David M. Waguespack, associate professor of management and organization at Maryland Smith.
Social Influence Creeps into Movie Reviews
New Smith research might alter your perspective on the next movie review you read online. Film critics sometimes react not just to the film itself, but also to one another, says Associate Professor of Management Dave Waguespack and Smith PhD Daniel Olson. When this happens, it can alter the critics’ rating of the film and content of the review.
New Research Finds Bias in Hollywood’s Parental Guidance Ratings for Movies
College Park, Md. – March 1, 2010 – New research from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and Yale University School of Management finds films from well-known producers and directors receive more lenient parental guidance ratings by the Motion Picture Association of America than those produced by independent distributors or unknown producers and directors, an advantage that can lead to wider distribution and higher revenues at the box office.