Research excellence rewarded

If your image of business researchers is one of lone souls spending years drilling deep into a single question, the recipients of Queen’s School of Business research achievement awards for 2014 present a very different picture.

Honoured with the Research Excellence Award is Jean-Etienne de Bettignies, Associate Professor and Commerce'64 Fellow in Managerial Economics. Recipients of the New Researcher Achievement Awards are Bertrand Malsch, Assistant Professor and Distinguished Faculty Fellow in Accounting, and Veikko Thiele, Assistant Professor and Distinguished Faculty Fellow of Business Economics.

The three were selected by an ad hoc committee of QSB professors who consider the research achievements of their peers. In addition to the recognition, the honourees receive grants to support their research.

Jean-Etienne de Bettignies

Jean has been making his mark on QSB ever since arriving in 2007 from UBC's Sauder School of Business. Most of his research focuses on applications of contract theory to the economics of organizations; to entrepreneurial and corporate finance; and to public policy. He is particularly excited about his new work in the area of corporate social responsibility (CSR). He is applying economic modeling to better understand why firms engage in CSR, particularly when doing so reduces their profits.

Jean has also been a prime mover in two annual QSB conferences. In 2008, he co-founded with three colleagues the Economics of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Conference, which brings top researchers in North America to Queen’s. It has grown into a highly successful and anticipated event. In 2011, he initiated the Economics of Organization Workshop, which has also grown to become a respected event.

Bertrand Malsch

Bertrand joined QSB in 2013 from HEC Montréal. He specializes in conducting interdisciplinary studies that view accounting from sociological, psychological, organizational and other perspectives beyond economic and finance theory.

Bertrand’s research interests include how shame can shape shareholder activists’ perceptions of accountability, the politicization of the accounting profession in the area of corporate social responsibility, and how journal rankings affect early-career academics.

Veikko Thiele

Veikko began his QSB career in 2009, after three years as a postdoctoral fellow at UBC's Sauder School of Business. His current research focuses on innovation and start-up financing, primarily the financing of entrepreneurial ventures. He looks at how start-up companies secure external financing from angel investors or venture capitalists, and how different forms of financing affect a firm’s longterm performance and survival. He also takes a firm-level view, such as how equity is allocated among founding partners and what safeguard provisions founders use to prevent dysfunctional teams from developing.