CCU's Dr. Mellani Day Co-Edits Neuroeconomics and the Firm
While the concept of the ideal firm has been studied over several centuries, little is known about what makes one successful while another fails. In "Neuroeconomics and the Firm," co-edited by Dr. Mellani Day of Colorado Christian University, Angela A. Stanton (Claremont Graduate University, U.S.A.), and Isabell M. Welpe (Munich University of Technology, Germany), leading researchers from a variety of fields explore the topic from a pioneering neuroscientific perspective.
From the viewpoint of economics, the firm's root purpose is to streamline strategy, operations, and resources in order to maximize shareholder wealth. In "Neuroeconomics," the editors suggest that these objectives are only equal to the objectives of the firm's workers -- more specifically that hormone and gender factors are scientifically shown to compromise strategic decision making and, ultimately, the firm's bottom line.
Do people with higher testosterone levels make decisions the same way as people with lower levels? Do men and women change behavior when an attractive person of the opposite gender enters the office? Do men and women affect each other within the firm to the firm's detriment? "Neuroeconomics" draws on experimental, applied, and theoretical research to analyze how things like human bio-physiology and hormone levels factor into these uncomfortable yet frequently thought-of questions that have existed for years in corporate settings.
Published by Edward Elgar (U.K.), the book was released internationally in early 2010 and hit the U.S. market this summer. Vernon L. Smith, the 2002 Nobel Laureate in Economics, praised the book as "an enlightening selection of articles that scholars, students, business leaders, and managers will find a valuable read."
For more information about the book, visit Edward Elgar Publishing.