Viral Justice: The Moral Dilemma of Doxing
Short-Selling Ban of 2008: When the SEC Tried to Contain Market Bears
New White Paper by HKBU School of Business and SGS Paves a Practical Path for Green Supply Chain Finance
HKBU School of Business Drives Academic Excellence at Annual IS Workshop with SUSTech
HKBU School of Business Secures Seven Grants in Competitive RGC Funding Exercise
Rising Star Grant Awarded to Prof. Shirley ZOU for Data-Driven Research on Plastic Waste Reduction
Li, Y.-J., Cheung, C. M. K., Shen, X.-L., & Lee, M. K. O. (2024). Doxing on social networking sites: An extension of the social cognitive theory of moral thought and action. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 25(6), 1466–1499. https://doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00898
From an American dentist who illegally hunted a lion in Africa to female video game developers targeted during Gamergate, many have faced harassment after their personal information was exposed online. Doxing—the act of publishing private details of an alleged wrongdoer with the purpose of inciting crowds to collectively harass them—has become a defining feature of the social media age, leading to job losses, identity theft, and physical threats. But if it’s used to punish “wrongdoers,” is it still wrong? A recent study explores how doxers, caught between moral imperatives, find ways to justify their actions.
As life shifts online, the ease of sharing on social networks comes with a darker side: doxing. Personal data is increasingly weaponised, often over trivial disputes. Researchers found 5,500 doxing posts on Pastebin and 4chan over two 13-week periods in 2016-17, while in Hong Kong, authorities logged 5,800 complaints between June 2019 and June 2021. Industry experts and policymakers have slammed social media platforms for failing to curb doxing, fuelling calls for tighter regulations. But while oversight is tempting, the bigger question remains: Why do people dox, even when they know it’s wrong?
Applying insights from The Social Cognitive Theory of Moral Thought and Action, which suggests that individuals make moral judgements before engaging in deviant behaviour, researchers believe two key factors influence doxing decisions: retributive proportionality—
how we think others should be punished—and social approval—the sense of belonging and validation we get from the crowd. After conducting a series of experiments in China, researchers concluded that while doxing comes easily to many, it can still be contained.
It seems the more blameworthy we think someone is, the less we care about doxing’s consequences. But when the punishment seems disproportionate to the crime, we are less inclined to approve of doxing. Meanwhile, social approval is crucial—reinforcing doxing when the target is widely condemned but restraining our worst
instincts when blameworthiness and severity don’t align. In the end, those who justify doxing are more likely to engage in it, and once we see it as acceptable, platform rules and warnings lose their impact. In a connected world, judgement isn’t just personal—it’s collective.
So what’s a social media owner to do? First, they should focus on reducing doxing’s moral approval. Since bans won’t work in a world of limitless identities, a better approach is to educate users on the harm doxing inflicts on victims, making it harder to selfjustify. On the technical side, platforms should invest
in automated detection and reminders—flagging personal information and warning users before they publish it. Clear anti-doxing policies, public awareness campaigns, and engaging content can all help reinforce boundaries and set clear expectations.
As for would-be doxers, they would do well to remember Solzhenitsyn’s words and think twice before clicking that button to expose someone they don’t even know: ‘The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?’
Prof. Christy M K CHEUNG Chair Professor Department of Management, Marketing and Information Systems
Ni, S. X., & Pan, J. (2024). Trading options and CDS on stocks under the short sale ban. Journal of Banking and Finance, 167, Article 107243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2024.107243
From Too Big to Fail and Inside Job to Margin Call and The Big Short, the 2008 financial crisis has inspired gripping stories of high-stakes finance. But while Hollywood captured the chaos on screen, Wall Street was living it in real time. Amid the panic, regulators scrambled for solutions—one of the boldest being the SEC’s short-selling ban on financial stocks, enacted on 19th September, 2008 to calm the market following Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy and the government bailout of AIG. While the goal was to prevent a downward spiral in already battered share prices, a recent paper suggests that traders simply found another way to bet against the market.
S ensing trouble—and opportunity—as Lehman collapsed, investors rushed to short financial stocks, wagering that the crisis would deepen. Short selling— a practice where investors borrow shares to sell them immediately, hoping to buy them back at a lower price and pocket the difference—was a key strategy to profit from the turmoil. But when the SEC stepped in with its short-selling ban—a controversial move seen as distorting the price discovery process embedded in the stock market—traders didn’t stop. Instead, they simply turned to derivatives like options and credit default swaps (CDS), which allowed them to keep betting against the market without technically shorting stocks.
Researchers analysed options data from the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the International Securities Exchange, focusing on stocks covered by the SEC’s ban. Sorting these stocks by daily put-call ratios—a key indicator of sentiment in the options market—they found that the most bearish stocks underperformed middle-tier stocks by 4.46% over the next five days. Despite the ban, bearish sentiment still managed to spill into prices, just through a slower channel.
Stocks with high put-call ratios, low synthetic-to-stock price ratios, or elevated CDS rates fared worst, while
those with the lowest put-call ratios—typically a sign of optimism—showed no meaningful difference from the middle group. Put-call ratios didn’t predict price moves for unbanned stocks, suggesting that the effect was specific to the restriction. Extending the analysis to 14 trading days before and after the ban revealed no lasting impact, suggesting that the shift was merely a shortterm reaction rather than a fundamental market change.
These findings highlight a crucial insight: by limiting price discovery in equities, the SEC merely pushed traders toward derivatives, which offered the same level
of information, just through a different mechanism. In the end, options and CDS became the new battleground for market bears, allowing them to keep speculating on beleaguered financial stocks despite the restrictions. Maybe the SEC should have simply taken heed of the old Wall Street adage: ‘Don’t try to catch a falling knife.’
Prof. Xiaoyan NI Associate Professor Department of Accountancy, Economics and Finance
In a critical move to bridge the gap between sustainability goals and financial reality, the HKBU School of Business has joined forces with SGS, a global leader in testing and certification, to co-author a white paper on green supply chain finance. The influential report was officially launched at the “2025 Manufacturing Digital Expo Sub-forum” in Shanghai this June, capturing immediate attention from government bodies, industry leaders, and academic peers.
As global pressure for corporate environmental responsibility intensifies, the transition to sustainable practices presents a formidable challenge, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These companies often lack the capital for green transformation, while financial institutions are hampered by inconsistent environmental data and a lack of clear evaluation standards.
Addressing these industry-wide pain points, the white paper introduces the “Supply Chain Emissions Reduction Financial Toolbox”. A key architect of this framework was Prof. Gaoguang ZHOU, Associate Professor at the HKBU School of Business. As a co-author, his academic rigour and strategic insight were instrumental in translating complex industry challenges into an actionable model. The toolbox provides banks with tangible, data-driven metrics—such as carbon footprint, renewable energy usage, and CDP ratings—to confidently assess and support sustainability-linked finance initiatives.
The research goes beyond metrics, proposing an integrated model that aligns policy objectives with financial innovation. It outlines tailored decarbonisation paths for different sectors and advocates for financing designs that empower smaller suppliers, such as linking preferential interest rates to verified sustainability improvements. This joint initiative by SGS and the School, supported by the World Resources Institute (WRI), is grounded in extensive research, including deep interviews and survey data from key industry players.
The release of this white paper cements the School’s position at the forefront of sustainable finance discourse. It demonstrates a commitment to forging global partnerships that translate academic theory into practical tools, driving tangible environmental and economic progress across global supply chains. You may access the full white paper here.
To shape the future of Information Systems (IS) and accelerate the growth of its next generation of scholars, the HKBU School of Business and the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) held the HKBUSUSTech Annual IS Workshop on 14th – 15th July, 2025. The event created a vital forum for rigorous intellectual exchange between doctoral students, early-career faculty, and renowned scholars in the field.
Prof. Christy CHEUNG, Chair Professor in Information Systems and Digital Innovation Management at HKBU School of Business, opened the event and introduced Prof. Han ZHANG, Dean of the School, who shared brief remarks. Both remained actively engaged throughout
the two-day program, later joining a lively panel discussion where they exchanged insights on the future of IS research. The event also featured an opening address by Prof. Weiling KE from SUSTECH.
A central feature of the workshop was the impressive research presented by emerging scholars from both universities. The HKBU School of Business made a strong showing, with junior faculty members and PHD students sharing work on pressing contemporary issues. Their topics—ranging from understanding the nuances of digital transformation and online trolling in virtual meetings to exploring delegation in decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) and the application of neurofeedback-assisted mHealth for mental wellness—reflected the School’s strong emphasis on digital innovation, interdisciplinary inquiry, and real-world relevance.
The workshop’s unique format was designed to accelerate academic growth, providing research students with direct mentorship from leading scholars—senior and associate editors of top-tier IS journals—from institutions such as the National University of Singapore, Tsinghua University, and the University of Hong Kong. Each paper presentation was followed by an intensive discussion aimed at sharpening research and preparing students for publication in top-tier journals.
Keeping pace with rapid technological advancements, the agenda also featured a forward-looking GenAI workshop on “AI Agents & Agentic Workflows” to ensure participants remained at the forefront of digital innovation. The annual workshop once again proved to be a crucial platform, not only for refining research but for building collaborative networks that will drive digital innovation for years to come.
Demonstrating its research excellence, the HKBU School of Business has been awarded over HK$ 3.5 million by the Research Grants Council (RGC) for seven projects in the 2025/26 General Research Fund (GRF) and Early Career Scheme (ECS). This achievement highlights the School’s dedication to producing impactful research that addresses pressing global issues.
The GRF and ECS are among Hong Kong's most sought-after research funding schemes, awarded through a rigorous peer-review process that recognises projects of exceptional academic merit and potential impact.
Tackling issues from AI governance to international trade, the awarded projects address today's most pressing business challenges. This diverse portfolio highlights the School's ability to generate impactful research that informs business practice, shapes policy, and drives global conversation. The School extends its heartfelt congratulations to this year's seven distinguished awardees:
Prof. Kimmy CHAN – Professor, Department of Management, Marketing and Information Systems
Prof. Sihao CHEN – Assistant Professor, Department of Accountancy, Economics and Finance
Prof. Zi WANG – Associate Professor, Department of Accountancy, Economics and Finance
Prof. Liyao WANG – Assistant Professor, Department of Accountancy, Economics and Finance
Prof. Jicheng ZENG – Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Marketing and Information Systems
Prof. Jian ZHANG – Assistant Professor, Department of Accountancy, Economics and Finance
Prof. Kunru ZOU – Assistant Professor, Department of Accountancy, Economics and Finance
The HKBU School of Business is proud to announce that Prof. Shirley ZOU, Associate Professor in the Department of Accountancy, Economics and Finance, has been awarded the prestigious “Rising Star Research Grant 2024–25” by Prof. LYU Aiping, VicePresident (Research and Development) of Hong Kong Baptist University. This grant recognises outstanding early-career researchers whose work demonstrates exceptional promise and impact. Prof. ZOU’s awarded project, tentatively titled “Regulating Plastic Bags: Evidence from China’s Supermarket Industry”, addresses one of the most pressing environmental challenges of the modern era—plastic pollution.
Her research explores the effectiveness of plastic bag regulation in shaping consumer behaviour, using a proprietary panel dataset that tracks plastic bag usage by 150,000 consumers across 333 cities in China. The study evaluates the impact of a national policy banning non-degradable plastic bags, which was implemented in selected cities in January 2021. These bags were replaced with biodegradable alternatives priced significantly higher, offering a unique opportunity to assess real-world behavioral responses.
Leveraging individual-level data from Alipay, a popular mobile payment app in China, Prof. ZOU and her co-authors study how people’s use of plastic bags changed after a new policy was introduced. This data includes information about users’ eco-friendly habits and spending patterns. By comparing cities that enforced the policy with those that did not, the researchers can see how effective the policy was. They also explore how the policy may have influenced other shopping behaviours and whether different groups of people responded in different ways.
This timely research promises to advance the understanding of environmental regulation effectiveness, offering data-driven insights to inform future sustainability initiatives and consumer engagement strategies for plastic waste reduction.
Prof. Kunru ZOU
Assistant Professor Department of Accountancy, Economics and Finance
Early-life Experience and CEOs’ Reactions to COVID-19
Journal of Accounting and Economics
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacceco.2024.101734
Prof. Kimmy CHAN
Professor Department of Management, Marketing and Information Systems
Being Alone or Together: How Frontline Anthropomorphized Robots Affect Solo (vs. Joint) Service Consumption
Journal of Service Research
https://doi.org/10.1177/10946705231218405
Date
Speaker
Topic
Centre for Business Analytics and the Digital Economy
26 November 2025
16:00-17:30
Zoom
Co-hosted with CEIBS, NTU, and NUS
8 October 2025
16:00-17:30
Zoom
Co-hosted with CEIBS, NTU, and NUS
1 October 2025
09:00-10:30
Zoom
Co-hosted with CEIBS, NTU, and NUS
26 September 2025
09:00-10:30
Zoom
Co-hosted with NTU, NYU-Shanghai, Sinica, and SMU
12 September 2025
16:00-17:30
Zoom
Co-hosted with CEIBS, NTU, NUS, NYUShanghai, Sinica, and SMU
Prof. Carl Benedikt FREY University of Oxford
How Progress Ends: Technology, Innovation and the Fate of Nations
Prof. Simon CURTIS University of Surrey
The Belt and Road City: Geopolitics, Urbanization, and China’s Search for a New International Order
Prof. Ning LENG Georgetown University Politicizing Business
Mr. Tianyu FAN Yale University
Prof. Daniel WALDENSTRÖM
IFN Stockholm (Research Institute of Industrial Economics)
The Labor Market Incidence of New Technologies
Richer and More Equal: A New History of Wealth in the West
The Research Espresso, a bimonthly e-publication covering everything you need to know about the latest research developments at the HKBU School of Business, focuses on four key areas: Research Insights (the main research topic of the month), Research Excellence (recognition of faculty members’ research achievements), News (research-related updates), and Seminars (sharing research skills and knowledge).
The idea is to provide business practitioners with the most recent research findings from the School‘s faculty. We want to build links between research and practice and to ensure that the School's research has business and societal impact.
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