Although organizational hierarchies are often viewed from the assumption that people seek upward mobility and compete with one another, new research indicates there is more action going on between peers than might be imagined. Highly-competitive organizational cultures do exist, but even within those, "lateral deference" takes place. Management Professor John Sumanth of SMU Cox and co-authors reveal a new twist on communications in the workplace, where protecting and saving one's status is more prevalent than jockeying for position.

When advertising on the Internet don't be too pushy, according to findings from new research. We all understand that search engines drive website traffic on the Internet and that many firms pay for top listings and search engine optimization. But very little meaningful research exists on the subject. Marketing Professor Jacquelyn Thomas of SMU Cox and co-author help fill the significant void regarding the relative effectiveness of search engine versus offline marketing communications.

The findings about venture debt by Finance Professor Indraneel Chakraborty of SMU Cox School of Business and co-author Michael Ewens provides new insights into the nature of debt in an entrepreneurial or VC-backed firm.

The Internet has evolved from static web pages to e-commerce — and now to identity play — according to Professor Ulrike Schultze of SMU Cox. Through researching how people use their avatars and operate in Second Life, "one of the richest social media environments," Schultze finds new insights into how our on- and off-line identities are increasingly entangled—and how social media is evolving.

According to evidence from new research by Finance Professors Swaminathan Kalpathy and Amar Gande, U.S. Federal Reserve emergency financial assistance ("bailouts") is higher among firms whose CEOs have stronger risk-taking incentives. In “CEO Compensation at Financial Firms,” the authors disentangle whether the incentives inherent in CEO compensation contributed to the financial crisis.