University of Washington Foster School of Business faculty continuously research the latest business trends. The 2010-2011 academic year covered ground-breaking and timely issues: Ethics, how to fuel creativity, stock strategy in shaky markets, start-up survival strategy and other research. Highlights of the 2010-2011 year’s worth of research:

Lax Ethics, Fraud and Good vs. Bad Deeds
Shady corporate cultures trigger unethical behavior when combined with employees' personal beliefs. Consider the financial crisis. "It was finance experts in organizations that supported this kind of risky, unethical behavior. That’s what drove the economy over the edge," says ethics professor Reynolds. Why do CFOs commit fraud? CEOs make them do it. That's the gist of new research (that won a best paper award in accounting ethics) by Shevlin and Ge. Corporate good deeds are no guarantee of high stock prices after a crisis such as Hurricane Katrina. Firms that avoid bad deeds altogether fare better (international business research by Muller).

Leadership + Entrepreneurship
How do start-ups survive? Intellectual property plus entrepreneurs having experience in the same industry dramatically boosts the chances of a start-up's success (research by Shah). A CFO's personal style—whether aggressive or conservative—impacts a firm's accounting decisions (research by Matsumoto and Ge). How do you encourage creativity? When workers have autonomy in their job, passion grows—and passion fuels creativity (research by Chen and PhD student Liu). A slew of leadership research and management insights by Professor Avolio led to a new University of Washington TV series—Fostering Leadership.

Healing Power of People
Online health communities offer information, emotional support and help patients heal (according to information systems research by Tan and PhD student Yan). If governments invest in flu vaccine manufacturing, the world would be a healthier place (according to operations management research by Mamani). Marketing—evil cause of health problems or tool for promoting health? Marketing Professor Forehand collaborates with health care researchers to improve public health.

Stock Strategy, Google and Private Equity
Google search makes markets more efficient by giving investors a head's up about earnings a  (accounting research by Thornock). How do you invest in sketchy stock markets? Small outlier stocks are better for diversifying your portfolio during a vulnerable market (finance research by Kamara). While buy-outs have become controversial, on the whole, private equity creates long-term value (finance research by Harford and Kolasinski).

Brand Extensions + Change
What if Apple sold shoes? Or Volvo sold chocolate? Established brands extend their core offerings often. But whether consumers view brand extensions favorably can come down to people's philosophy on nature vs. nurture. Read new marketing research.