Ivey is excited to welcome several new faculty members to campus this year! To get to know our new colleagues, we asked them some questions to learn about their interests inside and outside the classroom.
Get to know: Di Yang
Di Yang is an assistant professor of Managerial Accounting and Control who teaches Accounting and Financial Fundamentals in the HBA program. She has a PhD in Accounting from Georgia Institute of Technology, a Master of Arts in Economics from University of South Carolina, and a BBA in Accountancy from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Prior to joining Ivey, she was a Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor equivalent in Australia) at the University of New South Wales. Her research examines the impacts of economic and psychological factors on employees’ motivation and decisions in different organizational contexts.
Q&A with Di Yang
What is the most important thing business executives can learn from your research/area of expertise?
As a behavioural researcher, I apply economic and psychological theory to predict how different aspects of management control systems influence employee motivation and behaviour. I use experiments to test these predictions, which helps to uncover the causal mechanisms behind observed behaviours. My research often focuses on the unintended consequences of popular management practices.
Where did you grow up and what was it like there?
I grew up in Lanzhou, an industrial city in northwestern China. My four grandparents came from four different provinces, and they all moved to my hometown in the 1950s to build petrochemical factories. Growing up among kids with similar backgrounds, I didn’t speak the local dialect and didn’t realize this was a bit unusual until I left home for college.
Who have been your strongest influences in life?
My maternal grandfather. He is loving, patient, passionate about food, and always eager to learn something new.
What led you to your career?
I took an experimental economics seminar as a student in the master of economics program at the University of South Carolina and found it fascinating – I didn’t know that economists could test theories through lab and field experiments before that seminar! After, I started attending accounting research workshops and decided to use experiments to understand how individuals make judgments and decisions in accounting contexts.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
I spend a lot of time reading about art history and the world wars. I also enjoy watching movies at film festivals. I’m looking forward to exploring the Toronto Film Festival.
What might someone be surprised to know about you?
I love whisky! I want to learn more about whisky tasting and making, and I’ve been planning a whisky tour in Scotland. Hopefully it will happen next summer.
What is the most played song on your playlist as of now?
The Foggy Dew, by Sinéad O'Connor and the Chieftains.
What book would you recommend to others? On the personal side? On the business side?
I enjoy reading Russian literature and highly recommend A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders. The book is based on Saunders’ experience teaching a creative writing class at Syracuse University. He breaks down seven classic short stories by Anton Chekhov, Ivan Turgenev, Nikolai Gogol, and Leo Tolstoy to explore different narrative techniques, how these stories work, and why they resonate with readers.
On the business side, I recommend The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics of Everyday Life by Uri Gneezy and John List. Drawing upon evidence from field experiments, it challenges conventional wisdom and encourages readers to reconsider their assumptions about human behaviour and the factors that shape our decisions.
