Suzan Sim and A-Sung Hong, 2025, Organization Science, 36(6): 2061–2479. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2024.19031.
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"We show that, following the escalation of the US–China conflict, high-skilled Chinese immigrants in the US strategically increased their workplace efforts—including innovation and working hours—in response to career concerns."
Abstract: This paper shows that high-skilled immigrants strategically increase their workplace efforts in response to identity-based career concerns that intensify following national conflicts between their countries of origin and host countries. Leveraging the rapid escalation of the US-China conflict following the 2016 US presidential election in the difference-in-differences framework, we show that Chinese-descent inventors in the US significantly increased their workplace efforts compared to their Korean- and Japanese-descent counterparts. Consistent with our theory, this effect is more pronounced among Chinese-descent inventors more vulnerable to identity-based career concerns, including mid-career migrants, those with ethnically distinctive first names, corporate inventors more dependent on immigration sponsorship than academic counterparts, and those residing in counties with higher levels of Trump support. Furthermore, using a nationally representative survey, we find that Chinese-descent college-educated workers in the US reported working significantly more hours than their Korean- and Japanese counterparts following the conflict. This study contributes to our understanding of how high-skilled immigrants adjust their workplace efforts in response to geopolitical tensions.
Winner, 2024 SMS Annual Conference Best PhD Paper Prize (with S. Sim)
Beyond the Finish Line: How Losing in Patent Race Drives Post-Race Innovation
A-Sung Hong, 2024, Strategic Management Journal, 45(5): 968–993. DOI: 10.1002/smj.3574
"This paper finds that firms losing an innovation race are more likely to increase their subsequent innovation than the winners due to managerial concerns amplified by shareholders' pressure."
Abstract: Although patent races of leading technology firms have garnered significant attention in the prior literature, it remains unclear how the outcome of a patent race affects subsequent firm-level innovation. Drawing on agency theory, we propose that losing a patent race drives firms to pursue more technological innovation than winning due to managerial concerns. To investigate the mechanism, we hypothesize that the positive impact of a lost race on a firm’s innovation is more pronounced when more shareholders hold near-term investment horizons and when a CEO is less protected against the pressure of shareholders. By constructing a unique dataset of simultaneous patent applications, we find evidence consistent with the proposed theory.
Finalist, 2021 SMS Annual Conference Best Paper Prize
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