Research Espresso | Aug 2023 Issue 22

ISSUE

22 AUG 2023

Research INSIGHT

Should you be your true self at work?

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Research INSIGHT

Should you be your true self at work?

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NEWS BizSpark ignites BBA students’ interests and abilities in research

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Research

EXCELLENCE

11 Upcoming

EVENTS

Research Espresso / AUG 2023

Research INSIGHT

Should you be your true self at work?

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Research Insight

Tang, Y., Xu, E., Huang X. & Pu X “When can display of authenticity at work facilitate coworker interactions? The moderating effect of perception of organizational politics” The Tavistock Institute, Human Relations 1-26, 2021

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RESEARC INSIGHT

Research Espresso / AUG 2023

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rom reality TV shows claiming to unveil what truly happens behind closed doors to the ubiquitous notion of “keeping it real” which permeates hiphop, authenticity is still seen today as a virtue worth pursuing. But does being true to one’s self can really help you thrive in the workplace? A recent paper explores whether authenticity can be as much of an asset in the office as it is in our personal lives.

Authenticity has long been celebrated as a moral imperative and many studies have shown that leaders seen as authentic can get staff to be more engaged and perform better. Indeed, by displaying traits such as clarity regarding priorities, owning up to mistakes, openly sharing thoughts, and behaving consistently, leaders like Steve Jobs and Robert Oppenheimer have been able to transform mere workers into ardent followers willing to do whatever it takes to make their firms succeed. But can such an authenticity-driven approach yield the same results for ordinary employees navigating an intrinsically political workplace, where one person’s gains can often equate to another’s losses?

After all, while no one at Apple ever dreamt of replacing Jobs, it is often the case that in most instances, only one person gets to be promoted and fly business class while previous peers suddenly become subordinates.

Applying the lens of social penetration theory — which states that authenticity plays a pivotal role in allowing an employee to effectively penetrate the interpersonal boundaries of a coworker – the researchers surveyed the dynamics between colleagues working as junior consultants and the interactions among teachers at

four schools in China. As they expected, the action of opening up about yourself helps breaking the glass.

Whether talking about your children or dissing the office bully, showing something real helps your fellow coworker feel more relaxed. Eventually your coworker also begins sharing her thoughts with you. The next thing you know, social inclusion occurs and you start joining events like having lunch together, until your coworker eventually starts helping you.

As the findings suggest, it does seem that being authentic at work can indeed be a potent strategy, not only for you to bond with colleagues but to get

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Research Insight

Still, it remains to be seen how much authenticity one can exhibit before triggering a negative reaction. If authentic displays of narcissism and arrogance can be tolerated from a visionary leader, they might not be so well received by a coworker. Strike the right balance if you want to get that lunch invitation!

their proactive support when needed. However, the effectiveness of authenticity diminishes significantly when coworkers perceive the office environment as being political, as such an atmosphere hinders authenticity’s ability to break interpersonal barriers.

Moreover, its impact varies depending on the dynamics between the specific pair of colleagues involved regardless of personality.

Interestingly, authenticity’s effectiveness does not appear to be contingent on coworkers being from a similar background or subject to an obligation of reciprocity, as it is sufficient by itself to build bridges.

Dr. Erica Xu Associate Professor Department of Management, Marketing and Information Systems

Research Espresso / AUG 2023

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NEWS

ignites BBA students’ interests and abilities in research The BizSpark Student Research Conference AY2022/23 was concluded on 3 June 2023. Eight finalists presented to the panel of judges and participating students from different BBA concentrations at the Final Conference.

In his welcoming remarks, Prof. Ed Snape, Dean of the School of Business, highlighted the purpose of the initiative. “The competition aims to provide an opportunity for undergraduate business students to showcase their business research work and to provide a platform to promote high quality research work at undergraduate level. We are glad to see many motivated students taking this first step into the academia.”

The competition accepted two streams of submissions: academic research papers and consultancy-based projects.

A total of 22 submissions were received this year from 40 Year 2 to Year 4 BBA students, covering a wide range of topics from Metaverse, NFTs and sustainability responsibility, to stagflation, social media advertising and in-shop donation.

Eight finalists were shortlisted to present their research to the judges at the Final Conference. The judges were impressed by the efforts that the students have put into the projects, as well as the in-depth observations and business acumen the students have displayed via their presentations. Diana LI and Karna WEI (BBA Information System and e-Business Management, Year 4) won the Gold Prize of academic research paper stream, and Aarusha BISTA (BBA Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation, Year 4) was awarded the Gold Prize of consultancy-based project stream.

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Joining the judging panels were: - Ms. Bonnie Chow, Founder & Managing Director, PlanB - Mr. Anthony Horekens, Managing Director, Love My Pearls Ltd. - Mr. Rudy Io, FCPA and Managing Director, Prime Consultancy - Dr. Lucia Fung, Associate Director, BBA (Hons), & Senior Lecturer, Department of Management, Marketing and Information Systems, HKBU School of Business - Dr. Jing Liu, Lecturer, Department of Accountancy, Economics and Finance, HKBU School of Business Visit https://bba.hkbu.edu.hk/student-life/business-competitions/bizspark for more details about this year’s projects and the BizSpark Student Research Conference.

NEWS

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Research Espresso / AUG 2023

Research EXCELLENCE

Dr. Zheng LIU Assistant Professor Department of Accountancy, Economics and Finance

The productivity effect of digital financial reporting Review of Accounting Studies

http://doi.org/10.1007/s11142-022-09737-6

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Upcoming Events

Upcoming EVENTS Date

Speaker

Topic

Centre for Business Analytics and the Digital Economy 6 Sep 2023 9:00 -10:30

Prof. Luis MARTÍNEZ

Zoom

University of Chicago

Bourbon Reforms and State Capacity in the Spanish Empire

Joint with CEIBS, NTU, and NUS

8 Sep 2023 9:00 -10:30

Zoom

Joint with NTU, NYU -Shanghai, Sinica, and SMU

29 Nov 2023

Prof. Gregory PHELAN, Williams College

9:15 -10:30

Prof Angus CHU,

Zoom

University of Macau

Joint with CEIBS, NTU, and NUS

6 Dec 2023 9::00 -10:30

Prof Lawrence BROZ

Zoom

University of California San Diego

Joint with CEIBS, NTU, and NUS

Fragility of Safe Asset Markets

Evolution from Political Fragmentation to a Unified Empire in a Malthusian Economy

Explaining Foreign Support for China’s Global Economic Leadership

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The Research Espresso, a bimonthly e-publication covering everything you need to know about the latest research developments at the HKBU School of Business, focuses on four key areas: Research Insights (the main research topic of the month), Research Excellence (recognition of faculty members’ research achievements), News (research-related updates), and Seminars (sharing research skills and knowledge).

The idea is to provide business practitioners with the most recent research findings from the School‘s faculty. We want to build links between research and practice and to ensure that the School's research has business and societal impact.

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