I’m pleased to present recent faculty research published in top academic journals:

Ken Kelley, Edward F. Sorin Society Professor of IT, Analytics, and Operations
Sample size planning for replication studies: The devil is in the design. (Psychological Methods)
This paper presents a novel sequential approach for determining optimal sample sizes when testing equivalence or noninferiority of a linear contrast under cost constraints. The method iteratively updates sample size estimates without requiring pre-specified population variances or distributional assumptions. Through theoretical development and simulation studies, the authors demonstrate that their approach effectively allocates resources while maximizing statistical power. The method outperforms existing approaches, particularly in estimating optimal sample sizes and minimizing variance under budget constraints.

Stephannie Larocque, Notre Dame Associate Professor of Accountancy
Analysts’ EPS-decreasing Exclusions and Target Price Forecasts (forthcoming in Management Science)
The research finds that analysts’ EPS-decreasing exclusions (i.e., exclusions that result in lower street EPS forecasts than GAAP EPS forecasts) are associated with more optimistic target prices. Analysts’ EPS-decreasing exclusions contribute to the optimism in their target prices by enabling analysts to project higher earnings growth. The relation between analysts’ EPS-decreasing exclusions and target price optimism is attributable, at least in part, to analysts’ strategic incentives for issuing favorable valuations.

Johnathan Loudis, Assistant Professor of Finance
Stock Price Reactions to the Information and Bias in Analyst-Expected Returns (The Accounting Review)
Returns implied by analyst price targets are biased but contain useful pricing information. When price targets are announced, market prices react to both components. However, the reaction to bias is much weaker than that to information. Thus, market participants are able to partially “debias” price targets. Additionally, prices reverse their reaction to bias but drift in the direction of their reaction to information. This study provides novel evidence on how market participants incorporate biased but informative signals into prices.

Shijie Lu, Howard J. and Geraldine F. Korth Associate Professor of Marketing
Within-Category Satiation and Cross-Category Spillover in Multi-Product Advertising (Journal of Marketing Research)
This study examines how privacy-preserving policies, such as reduced consumer data retention, affect consumer behavior, advertiser profits, and platform revenues in the context of multiproduct ads (MPAs). While enhancing privacy, these measures lower ad variety, reducing consumer engagement and ad effectiveness due to intensified within-category satiation and weakened cross-category complementarity. The findings underscore the challenge for ad platforms in balancing privacy with consumer interest and advertiser profitability.

Dean Shepherd, Ray and Milann Siegfried Professor of Entrepreneurship
I Go Where You Go: Imitation Behavior and Social Proof in Early-Stage Investments (Academy of Management)
The paper explores the dynamics of imitation behavior in angel investments. The researchers investigate the impact of external and internal social proof on investment decisions. Their findings, based on an analysis of 77,312 decisions by 469 angel investors and an experiment involving 1,092 investor assessments, show that inexperienced investors largely depend on easily accessible but less useful external social proof, whereas experienced investors largely rely on more difficult-to-obtain but also more valuable internal social proof. Moreover, they show that reliance on internal social proof correlates with superior investment returns, but external social proof only produces irrational herding behaviors.

My thanks and congratulations to Ken, Stephannie, Johnathan, Shijie and Dean.

Also, as a reminder, please submit your nominations for the Mendoza Mission Research Awards to Hether Graham by March 14. These special annual awards recognize Mendoza research papers published within the past two years that exemplify the College’s imperative to “Grow the Good in Business.” Self-nominations of one or more papers are most welcome!

In Notre Dame,

Martijn

Martijn Cremers
Martin J. Gillen Dean
Bernard J. Hank Professor of Finance

Hello, Mendoza Colleagues,

The Marketing & Brand Strategy team has made great progress toward our goal of elevating Mendoza's reputation and impact through innovative marketing and strategic communication. I invite you to watch this short video to learn more about what we've been up to! It highlights several of our campaigns, exciting new initiatives and upcoming resources to support your programs and projects.

We appreciate your partnership in this important work. As always, please don't hesitate to contact me to discuss how we can better serve you!

Go Irish!

Jen Wade

Senior Director
Marketing & Brand Strategy Team

Please Watch the Video Here:

Welcome to February! We’ve made it through the Monday of the year (January), and for that I’m grateful.

I’m excited to share an update on the University’s Undergraduate Academic Advising Initiative launched this past August. As background, the current campus undergraduate academic advising model dating back decades consisted of an Office of First Year Advising for first-year students. The office operated separately from the academic advising and administration that the colleges and schools provide to sophomores, juniors and seniors. 

Rising demands on college and school advisors and changes in advising philosophies made this long-standing model unsustainable. In summer 2024, the Office of the Provost advanced a two-year plan to transition all undergraduate academic advising on campus to a four-year model.

To this end, the Mendoza Office of Undergraduate Studies advising team will consist of nine academic advisors and two administrative support staff devoted to advising all Mendoza students from matriculation to graduation. An immediate benefit to our current Mendoza first-year advisors will be that their 500-plus summer introductory Zoom meetings with incoming Mendoza students will be shared between nine advisors instead of four. Likewise, an immediate benefit to our current staff of four Mendoza college advisors will be a reduction of their student cohorts from approximately 475 to about 260 — only 10 more than the national standard. The new model will also allow all advisors to cultivate relationships with students across four years.

Though their duties will not change until this summer, as of February 1, the following first-year advisors have become official staff members of the Mendoza College of Business. My current team and I couldn’t be happier that our suitemates Drew Espeseth, Kevin McNulty, Kristy Patterson and Sarah Priebe are now full members of our Mendoza advising team. Robyn Centilli will be joining us in person from the Keough School and School of Architecture in May. Their bios can be found below or feel free to stop by 101 Mendoza to greet them in person!

In closing, Dean Martijn Cremers and I have advocated for this change since I became assistant dean in 2022. We are grateful that the University is now providing what Vice President and Associate Provost Rev. Dan Groody, C.S.C., has called much-needed “deferred maintenance” for academic advising. I am also grateful for the ongoing collaboration with my advising dean peers in the other colleges and schools and with Elly Brenner, the assistant provost for advising. 

And last, but certainly not least, I want to thank my now 11 undergraduate advising team colleagues — Robyn Centilli, Drew Espeseth, Laura Glassford, Lisa Heming, Kevin McNulty, Jessica Noffsinger, Kristy Patterson, Sarah Priebe, Amy Radvansky, Gina Shropshire and Taylor Thomas — for undertaking a lot of extra work (and countless committee meetings!) this academic year in preparation for a smooth transition this summer and beyond. Their efforts will lay a solid foundation on which to add many enhancements to the educational experience of our future Mendoza undergraduates.

Cordially,

Andrew Wendelborn
Assistant Advising Professor
Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Studies

Robyn Centilli

Robyn has a background in student support and previously served in roles at the Center for Career Development focusing on discernment, and in the Office of Student Enrichment, where she worked with first-generation and/or low-income (FGLI) students. As a first-generation college graduate, she understands the unique challenges these students face and remains dedicated to their success through academic advising and campus collaborations. Robyn earned a bachelor's degree in Sociology and a master’s in education in clinical mental health counseling. 

Drew Espeseth

Prior to joining Notre Dame's Office of First Year Advising, Drew served as the honors program coordinator at the University of South Dakota, an academic advisor and lecturer at North Dakota State University and assistant director of the Academic Support Center at Minnesota State University Moorhead. He earned a B.S. in journalism and public relations (2010) and a master’s degree in educational leadership (2012) from North Dakota State University. 

Kevin McNulty

Kevin previously taught English and mass communication classes at Penn High School and managed the school’s television studio. His professional interests include best practices in writing instruction, exploring and managing educational technology, and helping students develop showcase portfolios. He graduated from Indiana University with a B.A. in English and earned his master’s in English at Middlebury College.

Kristy Patterson

Kristy previously served for eight years as the tutorial services administrator at IU South Bend. She earned her B.A. in psychology from Indiana University in 2013 and her master of professional studies in publishing with a concentration in editing from George Washington University in 2019. Her interests include promoting confidence, passion and reflection in students so they may continually find enrichment in and out of the classroom. 

Sarah Priebe

Prior to starting with First Year Advising, Sarah worked as a care and wellness consultant at Notre Dame from 2016-2019. In this role, she provided support and resources to students in what was previously the College of the First Year of Studies and the Graduate School. As a care and wellness consultant, Sarah co-chaired the Care Team, which was awarded the Presidential Team Irish Award in November 2017. She has worked in higher education in various capacities such as admissions, academic advising, counseling and consulting for more than 15 years. She earned a B.A. in communications from the University of Dayton (2004) and a master’s in counseling and human services from Indiana University (2015).