On the morning of April 25, 2024, Professor Yu Yangxin from the Department of Accounting at the Business School of City University of Hong Kong was invited by the School of Management to give an academic report titled "Managerial Sentiment on Firms’ Cost Stickiness" in Room 214 of the college. The lecture was chaired by Feng Hua, a faculty member from the Department of Accounting, and was attended by more than 30 students and 10 teachers from the Department of Accounting and the Department of Business Administration.

During the meeting, Yu Yangxin used exogenous shocks as a driver for changes in managerial sentiment and explored the causal impact of managerial sentiment on corporate cost stickiness. The research found that in the first two fiscal quarters following the occurrence of negative exogenous shocks, the cost stickiness of companies located in the metropolitan areas affected by the shocks significantly decreased. Moreover, this effect was more pronounced in companies where the CEO lacked experience, confidence, or foresight. Yu Yangxin pointed out that the impact of exogenous negative events not only affects the emotions of managers but also shapes their actual business decisions.

After the academic report, teachers and students actively participated in the discussion, making the atmosphere lively and enthusiastic. This report was the 6th session of the overseas lecture series for the year 2024, bringing new insights to the research on corporate governance and corporate social responsibility for the faculty and students present.

Introduction to the Speaker:

Yu Yangxin is currently a professor in the Department of Accounting at the College of Business of City University of Hong Kong. After obtaining his Ph.D. in Accounting from the Department of Accounting at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Yu served as a faculty member at the Australian National University before joining the Department of Accounting at City University of Hong Kong. Professor Yu is currently the Director of the Doctoral Program at the College of Business, an editorial board member of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, and a former member of the editorial review board of the Journal of International Business Studies. His research interests include corporate disclosure, executive compensation, and corporate social responsibility. His work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Accounting and Economics, The Accounting Review, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Strategic Management Journal, and Journal of Corporate Finance, covering accounting, finance, and management fields.

(Written by Feng Hua, Reviewed by Zhang Shuang and Shao Jing)