FCBE Research Groups

Applied Economics and Policy Analysis

Applied economics uses methods, including theoretical, quantitative, and qualitative tools, to study policy-related issues in labor, public, urban, international, and macro-economics.

Faculty Affiliates

Drs. Carmen Astorne-Figari, Carl Bjuggren, Jamein Cunningham, Andrew Hussey, David Kemme, Joonhyung Lee, Joaquin Lopez, Albert Okunade, Jamin Speer.

Auditing and Governance

Study of the role of audit in corporate governance and financial reporting quality, audit fee, audit quality, audit committees, auditor independence, auditing standards and PCAOB rules, corporate governance, business sustainability, ethics, and forensic accounting.

Faculty Affiliates

Drs. Damon Fleming, Steve Lin, Joanna Golden, Kevin Kim, Zabihollah Reezaee, Hannah Smith, Kate Sorensen, and Joseph Zhang.

Business Analytics

Business analytics (aka analytics, data analytics, data sciences) focuses on the use of data-driven and fact-based decision making in practice and on the relevant underlying data. Analytics is considered as a complete business problem solving and decision-making process and a broad set of analytical methodologies that enable the creation of business value.

Faculty Affiliates

Drs. Ali Adeli, Mehdi Amini, Orrin Cooper, George Deitz, Mark Gillenson, Mike Racer, Nirmalee Raddatz, Srikar Velichety, Chen Zhang.

Business Sustainability Performance, Reporting and Assurance

Study of business sustainability performance in all dimensions of economic, governance, social, ethical and environmental as well as sustainability reporting and assurance on all financial and nonfinancial dimensions of sustainability performance.

Faculty Affiliates

Drs Joanna Golden, Kevin Kim, Zabihollah Rezaee, Joseph Zhang.

Business Taxation

Study of tax planning, tax aggressiveness, tax avoidance, book-tax differences, and tax compliance

Faculty Affiliates

Drs. Kevin Kim, Nirmalee Raddatz, and Hannah Smith.

Customer NeuroInsights Lab (C-NRL)

The Consumer NeuroInsights Research Lab (C-NRL) is a behavioral research and teaching facility founded in 2013 at The University of Memphis. C-NRL features a wide range of technologies and methods associated with consumer neuroscience, including: EEG, eye tracking, automated facial expression recognition, GSR, pupilometry, heart rate and heart rate variability (HR/HRV), and implicit testing. Modern neuroscience suggests the vast majority of our decision making (upwards of 90%) is driven by mental processes that are occurring below the level of consciousness. This means that the results of traditional research methods, such as surveys and focus groups, may sometimes be misleading, as they can provide only a partial picture of what is actually driving buyer behavior. Working in partnership with organizations and researchers from a wide range of disciplines, the C-NRL lab seeks to provide novel insights by integrating research methods and data from areas such as neuroscience, Big Data, computational linguistics, and consumer research.

C-NRL Director

Dr. Subhash Jha oversees research and training programs associated with the lab. Affiliated faculty and doctoral students come from a diverse range of disciplines, including marketing, consumer behavior, advertising, organizational behavior, economics, operations management, MIS, linguistics, political science, and psychology.

Enterprise Sustainability

Study of the process of creating shared value for all stakeholders whereby organizations with purpose pursue business strategies that focus on the ethical, social, environmental, governance, cultural, and economic dimensions of doing business.

Faculty Affiliates

Drs. Mehdi Amini, Zabi Rezaee, Jeff Thieme, Joseph Zhang.

Entrepreneurship and Family Business

Entrepreneurship accounts for the majority of job growth and economic activity across the globe. The entrepreneurship and family business research group focuses on the study of new ventures, including the firms, the human capital within them, and their founders. The group also focuses on the study of all aspects of family-owned businesses.

Faculty Affiliates

Drs. Frances Fabian, Steve Lanivich, Jessica Kirk, Caitlin Porter, James Vardaman.

Members

Mike Hoffmeyer

Financial Accounting and Reporting

Study of financial accounting and reporting issues, earnings quality, earnings management, accounting standards and regulation, analysts' forecasts, and the role of financial accounting information in capital markets. Includes issues in an international context, IFRS adoption, comparison of IFRS and US GAAP, cross listing.

Faculty Affiliates

Drs Joanna Golden, Kevin Kim, Steve Lin, Zabihollah Rezaee, Hannah Smith, Kate Sorensen, and Joseph Zhang.

Financial Infrastructure Stability and Cybersecurity (FISC)

Interdisciplinary research that entails big data analytics, cybersecurity, blockchain technology, and FinTech to identify systemic threats to financial infrastructure stability and market resiliency. FISC's research projects include economic and business impact of regulations, market design, technology and its risks, social media, big data and analytics, Bayesian and non-Bayesian statistical modeling, illiquidity and loss-spirals, and institutional ownership and trading.

Faculty Affiliates

Drs. Pat Burlison, Dipankar Dasgupta, E. Olúṣẹ́gun George, PK Jain, Tom McInish, Robin Poston, Nirmalee Raddatz, Zabi Rezaee, Konstantin Sokolov, Leah Windsor.

Financial Market Microstructure

Study of the trading process, design of markets, behavior of traders, transaction costs, execution quality, and related rules and regulations. Insights and discoveries from microstructure have affected the way stock and futures exchanges operate and the regulation of financial markets. Use of large data bases comprising every trade and quote from more than a dozen inter-linked markets.

Faculty Affiliates

Drs. Jeff Black, Allen Carrion, PK Jain, Tom McInish, Vivek Sharma, Konstantin Sokolov, Robert Wood.

Healthcare Innovations

Health economics applies economic theory and econometric methods to understand behavior in, and to inform policy about, health markets.

Faculty Affiliates

Drs. Andrew Hussey, Albert Okunade, Nirmalee Raddatz.

Real Estate

The group focuses on high-quality research covering various topics spanning the field of Real Estate. Topics include real property market fundamentals, sustainable urban development, urban blight, property tax equity and administration, valuation, and real estate investment performance.

Faculty Affiliates

Drs. Ronald W Spahr, Department of Finance, Insurance & Real Estate, Fogelman College of Business & Economics, Mark Sunderman, Department of Finance, Insurance & Real Estate, Fogelman College of Business & Economics, Velma Zahirovic-Herbert, Department of Finance, Insurance & Real Estate, Fogelman College of Business & Economics, Reza Banai, Department of City and Regional Planning, School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy.

Security Markets

The Cook Analytics and Trading Lab in Fogelman College of Business and Economics hosts the security microstructure data sets, servers, and 12 Bloomberg terminals with real-time and historic information on a variety of markets including equities, fixed income, government securities, commodities, and foreign currency markets.

Faculty Affiliates

Drs. George Deitz, Rajiv Grover, Al Carrion, Quentin Chu, David Kemme, Mr. Nap Overton, Joseph Zhang.

Supply Chain Management

Study of integrated network of organizations engaged in design, sourcing, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of innovative products and services for end-customers.

Faculty Affiliates

Drs. Mehdi Amini, Jason Liu, Satish Mehra, Ernie Nichols.

Systems Testing Excellence Program (STEP)

STEP is interdisciplinary research on the science of systems testing which is conducted under the umbrella of the FedEx Institute of Technology on the UofM campus. STEP's agenda addresses research on testing excellence, a world-class testing training and education center through quality industry certification training and academic curricula, and the creation of a hub for testing by providing an international forum for learning and dissemination of testing knowledge; testing of business systems including hardware testing, software testing, requirements testing, and the testing of business rules; and encompasses validation and verification of business applications using a systems thinking approach to ensure the successful development and application of technology in business.

Faculty Affiliates

Drs. Jasbir Dhaliwal, Mark Gillenson, Jong Lee, Ted Lee, Robin Poston, Sajjan Shiva, Chen Zhang.

TechEcon and Economic Analytics

The study of economic systems, organizations, incentives, and the design and functioning of markets applied to the digitized economy; use of big data requiring advanced skills in economic theory, computer programming; econometrics, and machine learning; and, focus on labor and applied microeconomics.

Faculty Affiliates

Drs. Carmen Astorne-Figari, Andrew Hussey, David Kemme, Joaquin Lopez, Jamin Speer.

Workplace Diversity and Inclusion

Study of (a) employee differences based on factors such as their age, race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, social class, physical ability or attributes, religious or ethical values, national origin, and political beliefs; and (b) work environments and treatment of employees with fairness, respect, equal access to opportunities and resources, and enabling employees to contribute to the organization's success. Focus on subtle and overt discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, stigmas and sexism, ethnic identity, LGB identity, disabilities, sexual harassment, employee diversity training, mentoring.

Faculty Affiliates

Drs. Kristen Jones, Jessica Kirk, Kurt Kraiger, Alex Lindsey, Caitlin Porter, Zabi Rezaee, Enrica Ruggs, Kathy Tuberville.