Welcome to another edition of the FB Magazine!

Since the last edition in December 2021, we have weathered an unprecedented fifth wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, much of the world has decided over the past six months that it will have to live with the virus and many borders have reopened. In Hong Kong, quarantine controls have undoubtedly challenged the city’s status as an international hub. But as we enter the second half of 2022, we are witnessing increasing calls—not only from the business community, but also from many other sectors—for Hong Kong to move towards fully re-joining the international community. I hope that my message in the next edition of this magazine will be able to report on Hong Kong’s successful reopening for business.

The legacy of COVID will doubtless have long lasting impacts on the world of business, many of which we are not yet fully aware of. Another way in which business is changing is the increasing importance that companies and other organisations are attaching to what we might loosely term ethical considerations. They are doing so in response to pressure from a wide range of stakeholders: customers, investors, policymakers and regulators, employees and potential employees, as well as the general public.

Our two featured stories in this issue share a common thread: stakeholders increasingly expect companies to focus beyond the profit motive. Companies that are seen to act responsibly in relation to the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors can expect to be rewarded by stakeholders, which in turn can generate profits. This is why responsible behaviour genuinely matters.

In our first featured story, Dr Guang Xiao, Associate Professor of the Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies, explains that firms need to create transparency about their business practices if they wish to successfully align their own incentives to pursue responsible business practices with the goodwill of socially concerned consumers.

In our second featured story, Prof. Lapman Lee, Professor of Practice of the School of Accounting and Finance, explains why both established companies and start-ups need an “ESG Master Narrative” that clearly communicates their environmental, social, and governance policies to stakeholders, who have ever-increasing expectations in relation to such issues.

Elsewhere in the magazine, you will find updates on cutting-edge research recently undertaken by our faculty members on topics as diverse as combating fake news stories, to how to improve matching efficiency on peer-to-peer sharing platforms. You will also find success stories of two FB alumni: one who has gone on to become a pioneer of carpooling in China, and another who after 30 years in banking has joined our Faculty of Business after completing his DBA.

Enjoy reading the magazine!