The International Conference for Graduate Education 2025 (ICGE 2025) was held on 8 December 2025 under the theme "Enhancing Collaboration for Inclusive and Sustainable Futures: From Business to Policy Perspectives.” SMU Dean of College of Graduate Research Studies and Janice Bellace Professor of Strategic Management Heli Wang delivered a keynote on Firm Responses to China’s Digital and Environmental Pilot Policy. Prof Wang outlined how China’s dual-goal pilot policies have prompted varied responses from domestic and foreign firms.
On the topic of social media being a primary resource for many people, SMU Assistant Professor of Marketing Shilpa Madan said that influencer and user-generated content is a powerful driver of discovery and purchase, drawing on the consumer psychology cues of social proof and parasocial relationships.
SMU Associate Professor of Marketing Hannah Chang noted that the production of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) at scale gives businesses predictable margins, making such products more prominent in the marketplace. She emphasised that consumer demand and industry actions do not operate as independent forces. Instead, she said they are constantly reacting and responding to each other, with retailers responding to consumer preferences that are shaped by advertising, promotions and prices.
Commenting on the viral image that stirred a beauty debate, SMU Professor of Psychology Norman Li said that individuals might have a warped perception of those from other countries due to the media. Prof Li added that Singaporean women might be more critical in perceiving physical attractiveness due to their financial independence, which leads them to hyperfocus on looks.
SMU Assistant Professor of Finance Sun Jian noted that the topic of retail investor welfare influences his research projects, including a recent paper examining the new proposal by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to resolve US retail trades by auction, rather than the current broker routing structure. A study he co-authored, Would Order-by-Order Auctions Be Competitive?, highlighted key trade-offs in the order-by-order auction mechanism and challenged the intuition behind it.
A new study published in the Strategic Management Journal, co-authored by several authors including SMU Assistant Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship Daniel Mack and SMU Lee Kong Chian Professor of Strategic Management Gokhan Ertug, found evidence that high-narcissism chief executive officers (CEOs) respond to above-aspiration performance with more acquisitions, while low-narcissism CEOs avoid acquisitions.
In a commentary, SMU Professor Emeritus of Operations Management Arnoud De Meyer observed the scepticism surrounding artificial intelligence’s (AI) real impact, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Prof De Meyer opined that SMEs should focus on automation, augmentation and addition. He added that SMEs needed to begin with strong data discipline and adopt a Darwinian approach by building a culture of openness, making AI use transparent, and adopting a “learn fast, scale fast” mindset.
In an interview with CNA938, SMU Assistant Professor of Finance (Education) Aurobindo Ghosh said Malaysia’s ringgit rally has put the country on a stronger footing than its neighbours and may persist for a while. He noted that the stronger ringgit is a double-edged sword, where it could be beneficial if it is a transaction from Malaysia to Singapore, but not the other way around, though the difference is not significant yet.
Commenting on the benefits of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) tax that the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore will introduce in 2026, SMU Assistant Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) Terence Fan said that the SAF levy would benefit Singapore in the long run, explaining that the levy is easier for small or newly established airlines as they do not need to navigate complex trading mechanisms.
Commenting on the rising demand for the Master in Management (MiM) in Asia, SMU Associate Professor of Strategic Management and Academic Director of the SMU Master of Science in Management (MiM) programme Geng Xuesong said that the expanding middle classes in many Asian countries, particularly China, are increasingly able to prioritise international education.
