Thomas J. Walker, PhD

Biography

Thomas Walker holds a BSc in Management Information Systems (US-equivalent) from the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany, and an MBA and PhD degree in Finance from Washington State University. Dr. Walker joined Concordia University in 2001. Prior to his academic career, he worked for several years in the German consulting and industrial sector at such firms as Mercedes Benz, Utility Consultants International, Lahmeyer International, Telenet, and KPMG Peat Marwick.

His research interests are in risk management, corporate finance, venture capital, sustainability & climate change, fintech, corporate governance, securities regulation and litigation, insider trading, and institutional ownership, and he has published over seventy articles, book chapters, and edited books in these areas. Among others, his articles have been published in the Journal of Corporate Finance (5x), the Journal of Banking and Finance, Contemporary Accounting Research, Financial Management, the Journal of Financial Markets (2x), European Financial Management, Information Systems Frontiers, the Risk Management & Insurance Review, the Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions, and Money, the Journal of Financial Stability, the Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences (2x), and the working paper series of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He is the lead editor of five books on sustainable financial systems, sustainable real estate, sustainable aviation, environmental policy, and emerging risk management. He has acted as a referee for numerous journals and has served on the peer-review committees of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN-PRI) Academic Network.

Dr. Walker currently serves as the principal investigator on research grants by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Autorité des marchés financiers, and the Global Risk Institute. In the past five years, he raised over $500,000 for various projects in the areas of corporate finance, investments, and emerging risk management (career total of managed/co-managed funds: approximately $2.5 million). In 2018, he founded the Emerging Risks Information Center (ERIC) which conducts targeted research on environmental, technological, and societal risks that affect our world today. Since its inception, the Center has employed over twenty Ph.D., Master’s, and undergraduate students who serve as research assistants and co-editors/co-authors on various research projects.

Dr. Walker has held numerous administrative and research positions at Concordia University. For instance, he served as Laurentian Bank Professor in Integrated Risk Management (2010-2015), Chair of the Finance Department (2011-2014), Director/Co-director of the David O’Brien Centre for Sustainable Enterprise (2015-2017), and as Associate Dean, Research and Research Programs (2016-2017). In addition, he has been an active member of various advisory boards and steering committees including the human resources group of Finance Montréal, the steering committee of the Montreal chapter of the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA), the academic advisory board of the MMI/Morningstar Sustainable Investing Initiative, the advisory board for Palgrave Macmillan’s Future Earth book series on sustainability, the advisory board of Concordia’s Institute of Aerospace Design & Innovation (CIADI), the advisory board of Concordia’s Institute for Water, Energy and Sustainable Systems (CIWESS), and the advisory board and scientific committee of the CN Centre for Sustainable Supply Chain Management.

Areas of expertise

• Risk Management
• Corporate Governance
• Securities Litigation & Regulation
• Insider Trading
• Corporate Sustainability
• Responsible Investing
• Climate Finance
• Initial Public Offerings
• Institutional Ownership
• Venture Capital

Edited book collections (part 1)

Edited book collections (Part 2)

 

Refereed Journal Articles

Note:

-       Rankings based on the 2019 Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) Journal Quality List

-       The 2019 ABDC list endorses 2,682 journal entries with the following classifications:

A*     = top 7.41%      (199 journals)

A       = next 24.27%   (651 journals)

B       = next 31.69%   (850 journals)

C       = next 36.61%   (982 journals)

(see https://abdc.edu.au/research/abdc-journal-list/ for details)

-       Publications in non-business and non-English journals that are not ranked in the ABDC list are marked as NR

 

·          A*    Institutional Trading in Firms Rumored to be Takeover Targets (with Frederick Davis and Hamed Khadivar, Concordia University), In Press, Journal of Corporate Finance (November 2020), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2020.101797 

·          A*    False Hopes and Blind Beliefs: How Political Connections Affect China’s Corporate Bond Market (with Denis Schweizer and Aoran Zhang, Concordia University), In Press, Journal of Banking and Finance (November 2020) 

·          A      Basel Compliance and Financial Stability: Evidence from Islamic Banks (with Mohammad Bitar, University of Nottingham, Sami Ben Naceur, International Monetary Fund, and Rym Ayadi, HEC Montreal), In Press, Journal of Financial Services Research (September 2020), https://doi.org/10.1007/s10693-020-00337-6 

·          A      Insider Trading in Firms Rumored to be Takeover Targets (with Frederick Davis and Hamed Khadivar, Concordia University, and Kuntara Pukthuanthong, University of Missouri), In Press, European Financial Management (July 2020), https://doi.org/10.1111/eufm.12283 

·          A      The Effect of Securities Class Action Lawsuits on Mergers and Acquisitions (with Anup Basnet, Frederick Davis, and Kun Zhao, Concordia University), In Press, Global Finance Journal (July 2020), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfj.2020.100556 

·          A      The Relationship between Financial Performance and Safety in the Aviation Industry: A Worldwide Perspective (with Sizhe Xu and Pedram Fardnia, Concordia University, and Thomas Kaspereit, University of Luxembourg), In Press, International Journal of Managerial Finance (May 2020), https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMF-03-2019-0095

·          A      A Psychological Approach to Regaining Consumer Trust after Greenwashing: The Case of Chinese Green Consumers (with Dandan Wang, Tianjin University of Finance & Economics, and Sergey Barabanov, University of St. Thomas), Journal of Consumer Marketing 37:6 (May 2020), pg. 593-603, https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-06-2019-3257

·          A      Diagnosing the Local Suitability of High-rise Timber Construction (with Sherif Goubran, Concordia University), Building Research & Information 48:1 (June 2019), pg. 101-123, https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2019.1631700

·          A      Basel III and Bank Efficiency: Does One Solution Fit All? Evidence from Islamic and Conventional Banks (with Mohammad Bitar, University of Nottingham, and Kuntara Pukthuanthong, University of Missouri), In Press, Global Finance Journal (July 2019), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfj.2019.100487

·          A      Finance and Management for the Anthropocene (with Paul Shrivastava, Penn State University, Laszlo Zsolnai, Corvinus University Budapest, David Wasieleski, Duquesne University, Mark Stafford-Smith, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Olaf Weber, University of Waterloo, and Cary Krosinsky, Yale University), Organization & Environment 32:1 (March 2019), pg. 26-40, https://doi.org/10.1177/1086026619831451

·          A*    Cross-Border Acquisitions by Chinese Enterprises: The Benefits and Disadvantages of Political Connections (with Denis Schweizer and Aoran Zhang, Concordia University), Journal of Corporate Finance 57:C (2019), pg. 63-85, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2017.12.023

·          NR    Pricing and Ordering Decisions in a Retailer Dominant Channel Involving a Third-Party Logistics Provider (with Peng Xu, Xiaoxu Chen, and Shengzhong Huang, Tianjin University of Finance & Economics), Complexity (Vol. 2019, Article ID1954016), 15 pages, https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/1954016

·          B      The Performance of Islamic vs. Conventional Banks: A Note on the Suitability of Capital Ratios (with M. Kabir Hassan, University of New Orleans, Kuntara Pukthuanthong, University of Missouri, and Mohammad Bitar, Concordia University), Open Economies Review 29 (April 2018), pg. 1003-1038, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11079-018-9492-1

·          A*    Proximity and Litigation: Evidence from the Geographic Location of Institutional Investors (with Mieszko Mazur, IÉSEG School of Management, Galla Salganik-Shoshan, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and Jun Wang, University of Western Ontario), Journal of Financial Markets 40 (September 2018), pg. 60-74, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.finmar.2018.05.002

·          A      Rumor Rationales: The Impact of Message Justification on Article Credibility (with Frederick Davis and Sandra Betton, Concordia University), International Review of Financial Analysis 58 (2018), pg. 271-287, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2018.03.013

·          B      Conflict-Induced Forced CEO Turnover and Firm Performance (with Jing Zhang and Saif Ullah, Concordia University, and Kuntara Pukthuanthong, University of Missouri), Managerial Finance 44:9 (2018), pg. 1134-1154, https://doi.org/10.1108/MF-06-2017-0227

·          B      Revisiting the (Mis)Pricing of the Accrual Anomaly (with Felix Canitz and Kerstin Lopatta, University of Oldenburg, and Christian Fieberg and Thorsten Poddig, University of Bremen), Journal of Risk Finance 19:3 (2018), pg. 210-224, https://doi.org/10.1108/JRF-12-2016-0154

·          A      M&A Deal Initiation: The Case of the Unwelcome Suitor (with Frederick Davis and Linyi Zhou, Concordia University), International Journal of Managerial Finance 14:4 (2018), pg. 433-461, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMF-03-2017-0049

·          A      The Effect of Capital Ratios on the Risk, Efficiency and Profitability of Banks: Evidence from OECD Countries (with Mohammad Bitar, Concordia University, and Kuntara Pukthuanthong, University of Missouri), Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions, and Money 53 (2018), pg. 227-262, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intfin.2017.12.002

·          B      Young Adults and Their Finances: An International Comparative Study on Applied Financial Literacy (with Andreas Oehler and Mathias Horn, University of Bamberg, Stefan Wendt, Reykjavik University, Lucia Reisch, Copenhagen Business School), Economic Notes (Special Issue on Financial Literacy) 47:2-3 (2018), pg. 305-330, https://doi.org/10.1111/ecno.12110

·          A      Political Systems and the Financial Soundness of Islamic Banks (with Mohammad Bitar, University of Grenoble-Alpes, and M. Kabir Hassan, University of New Orleans), Journal of Financial Stability 31 (2017), pg. 18-44, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfs.2017.06.002

·          A      Timely vs. Delayed CEO Resignation and Company Performance (with Xuan Wu and Saif Ullah, Concordia University, and Kuntara Pukthuanthong, University of Missouri), Information Systems Frontiers 19:3 (2017), pg. 469-479, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-017-9754-2

·          B      Estimates and Inferences in Accounting Panel Data Sets: Comparing Approaches (with Felix Canitz, University of Oldenburg, Panagiotis Ballis-Papanastasiou, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Christian Fieberg, University of Bremen, Kerstin Lopatta, University of Oldenburg, and Armin Vermaz, University of Applied Sciences Bremen), Journal of Risk Finance 18:3 (2017), pg. 268-283, https://doi.org/10.1108/JRF-11-2016-0145

·          A*    Litigation Risk and Institutional Monitoring (with Jun Wang, University of Western Ontario, Kuntara Pukthuanthong, University of Missouri, and Harry Turtle, Colorado State University), Journal of Corporate Finance 42:C (2017), pg. 342-359, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2017.05.008

·          A*    The Determinants of IPO-Related Shareholder Litigation: The Role of CEO Equity Incentives and Corporate Governance (with Xingli Li, Sunlife Everbright, Marcus Glenn Walker, Fin-Consult, and Kuntara Pukthuanthong, University of Missouri), Journal of Financial Markets 31 (November 2016), pg. 81-126, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.finmar.2016.09.003

·          B      On the Role of the Chief Risk Officer and the Risk Committee in Insuring Financial Institutions against Litigation (with Kuntara Pukthuanthong, University of Missouri, and Arash Amoozegar, University of Rochester), Managerial Finance 43:1(2016), pg. 19-43, https://doi.org/10.1108/MF-05-2016-0127

·          B      Insider Trading Surrounding Securities Class Action Litigation and Settlement Announcements (with Behzad Taghipour Hajiabadi and Fred Davis, Concordia University), Managerial Finance 43:1 (2016), pg. 124-140, https://doi.org/10.1108/MF-05-2016-0129

·          A      Insider Stock Trading and the Bond Market (with Andreas Oehler, Bamberg University, Kuntara Pukthuanthong, University of Missouri, and Stefan Wendt, Reykjavik University), Journal of Fixed Income 25:3 (Winter 2016), pg. 74-91, https://doi.org/10.3905/jfi.2016.25.3.074

·          A      Legal Opportunism, Litigation Risk, and IPO Underpricing (with Harry Turtle, Western Virginia University, Kuntara Pukthuanthong, San Diego State University, and Dolruedee Thiengtham, University of Exeter), Journal of Business Research 68:2 (2015), pg. 326-340, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.06.025

·          B      Corporate Sustainability in Asset Pricing Models and Mutual Funds Performance Measurement (with Kerstin Lopatta and Thomas Kaspereit, University of Oldenburg), Financial Markets and Portfolio Management 28:4 (2014), pg. 363-407, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11408-014-0237-x

·          B      The Role of Aviation Laws and Legal Liability in Aviation Disasters: A Financial Market Perspective (with Kuntara Pukthuanthong, San Diego State University, and Dolruedee Thiengtham, Concordia University), International Review of Law and Economics 37:1 (2014), pg. 51-65, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irle.2013.07.004

·          A      Underwriters and the Broken Chinese Wall: Institutional Holdings and Post-IPO Securities Litigation (with Onem Ozocak, Brock University, Sergey Barabanov, University of St. Thomas, and Kuntara Pukthuanthong, University of Missouri), Journal of Financial Research 38:4 (Winter 2013), pg. 543-578, https://doi.org/10.1111/jfir.12023

·          B      Effects of Election Results on Stock Price Performance: Evidence from 1980 to 2008 (with Andreas Oehler and Stefan Wendt, Universität Bamberg), Managerial Finance 39:8 (June 2013), pg. 714-736, https://doi.org/10.1108/MF-May-2012-0126

·          A      The Effects of Cash, Debt, and Insiders on Open Market Share Repurchases (with Liang Feng and Dolruedee Thiengtham, Concordia University, Harry Turtle, Western Virginia University, and Kuntara Pukthuanthong, San Diego State University), Journal of Applied Corporate Finance (2013), 25:1, pg. 55-63, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6622.2013.12006.x

·          A      Does Family Ownership Create or Destroy Value? Evidence from Canada (with Heng Du, Concordia University, Kuntara Pukthuanthong, San Diego State University, and Dolruedee Thiengtham, Concordia University), International Journal of Managerial Finance 9:1 (2013), pg. 13-48, https://doi.org/10.1108/17439131311298511

·          A*    Does Disclosure Regulation Work? Evidence from International IPO Markets (with Charles Shi, University of California, Irvine, and Kuntara Pukthuanthong, San Diego State University), Contemporary Accounting Research 30:1 (Spring 2013), pg. 356-387, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1911-3846.2012.01158.x

·          A*    An International Look at the Lawsuit Avoidance Hypothesis of IPO Underpricing (with Huiling Lin, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Kuntara Pukthuanthong, San Diego State University), Journal of Corporate Finance 19:2 (February 2013), pg. 56-77, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2012.10.003

 

Completed Working Papers (In Circulation)

Articles at the revise/resubmit stage

·         A*    The Impact of Takeover Anticipation on Rival Firms (with Svetlana Davis, Bishop’s University, and Fred Davis and Xiaoyang Sha, Concordia University), Revise/Resubmit, ---

·         NR    Firm-and Country-Level Determinants of Green Investments: An Empirical Analysis (with Stefan Wendt, Reykjavik University, Sergey Barabanov, University of St. Thomas,and Wangchao Yuan, Concordia University), Revise/Resubmit, ---

·         B      Competition, Securitization, and Efficiency in U.S. Banks (with Antonio Bayeh and Radu Burlacu, University of Grenoble Alpes, and Mohammad Bitar, University of Nottingham), Revise/Resubmit, ---

·         B      Decision-Making in a Retailer-Led Closed-Loop Supply Chain Involving a Third-Party Logistics Provider (with Xiaoxu Chen, Shanxi University, Peng Xu, Southwest University of Political Science and Law, Guoqiang Yang, Shanxi Medical University, and Jiaojiao Li, Southwest University of Political Science and Law), Revise/Resubmit, ---

·         B      Decisions for Substitutable Products in a Retailer Dominant Channel Involving a Third-Party Logistics Provider (with Xu Chen, Shanxi University, Peng Xu, Southwest University of Political Science and Law, Guoqiang Yang, Shanxi Medical University, and Shengzhong Huang, Tianjin University of Finance & Economics), Revise/Resubmit, ---

 

Articles under review

·         A*    The Value of Implicit Government Guarantees for Corporate Bonds in China (with Xueying Zhang and Yulin Wang, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, and Aoran Zhang, Concordia University), Under Review, ---

·         A*    Green Building Standards and Sustainability: Real or Illusionary Contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals? (with Sherif Goubran, Carmela Cucuzzella, and Tyler Schwartz, Concordia University), Under Review, ---

·         A*    Corporate Governance and Safety in the Aviation Industry (with Pedram Fardnia, Concordia University), Under Review, ---

·         A      Improving Executive Compensation in the Fossil Fuel Sector to Influence Green Behaviours (with Rohan Crichton, Clarkson University, Paul Shrivastava, Penn State University, and Faraz Farhidi, Clarkson University), Under Review, ---

·         B      Environmental Risks and Agricultural Commodities (with Kaveh Moradi Dezfouli, Merrimack College), Under Review, ---

·         A      Socially Responsible Practices and Financial Performance in Hybrid Organizations: Does Strategic Orientation towards Stakeholders Matter for the Performance of Microfinance Institutions? (with Mahinda Wijesiri, Universita degli studi di Bergamo, and Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay, Universite TELUQ), Under Review, ---

·         B      The Role of Management Incentives in the Choice of Stock Repurchase Methods (with Ata Torabi, Concordia University, and Sergey Barabanov, University of St.Thomas), Under Review, ---

·         NR    A New Methodological Framework for Assessing Transit Oriented Development – The Case of Montreal’s New Light Rail Transit Network (with Jordan Owen, MIT, Carmela Cucuzzella and Sherif Goubran, Concordia University), Under Review, ---

·         A      Mainstreaming Social Impact Bonds – A Critical Analysis (with Sherif Goubran, Adele Dumont-Bergeron, Tyler Schwartz, Kalima Vico, and Julie Brown, Concordia University), Under Review, ---

·         A      Pricing and Ordering Decisions for Substitutable Products in a Retailer Dominant Channel Considering Logistics Outsourcing (with Xiaoxu Chen, Peng Xu, and Guoqiang Yang, Tianjin University of Finance & Economics), Under Review, ---

 

Edited Book Collections

Published books

   ·                      “Ecological, Societal, and Technological Risks and the Financial Sector”, Palgrave Studies in Sustainable Business: In Association with Future Earth (with Mohammad Bitar and Pedram Fardnia, Concordia University, and Dieter Gramlich, University of Heidenheim), April 2020, Palgrave-Macmillan: London, UK (ISBN: 978-3-030-38857-7)
Available at: https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030388577

   ·                      “Environmental Policy and Legislation: An Economic Perspective” (with Northrop Sprung-Much and Sherif Goubran, Concordia University), August 2020, Wiley: New York, USA (ISBN: 978-1-119-40259-6)
Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Environmental-Policy-Legislation-Economic-Perspective/dp/111940259X

   ·                     “Sustainable Aviation: Greening the Flight Path”, Palgrave Studies in Sustainable Business: In Association with Future Earth (with Angela Bergantino and Luisa Loiacono, University of Bari, and Northrop Sprung-Much, Concordia University), November 2019, Palgrave-Macmillan: London, UK (ISBN: 978-3-030-28660-6)
Available at: https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030286606 (331 Downloads as of January 2020)

   ·                     “Sustainable Real Estate: Multidisciplinary Approaches to an Evolving System”, Palgrave Studies in Sustainable Business: In Association with Future Earth (with Lisa Hasan and Stefanie Kibsey, Concordia University, and Cary Krosinsky, Yale University), October 2018, Palgrave-Macmillan: London, UK (ISBN: 978-3-319-94564-4)
Available at: https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319945644 (6,009 Downloads as of January 2020)

   ·                     “Designing a Sustainable Financial System: Development Goals and Socio-Ecological Responsibility”, Palgrave Studies in Sustainable Business: In Association with Future Earth (with Rohan Crichton and Stefanie Kibsey, Concordia University), January 2018, Palgrave-Macmillan: London, UK (ISBN: 978-3-319-66387-6)
Available at: https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319663869)(11,491 Downloads as of January 2020)

 

Books in progress

   ·                      “Innovations in Social Finance - Transitioning Beyond Economic Value” (with Jane McGaughey and Sherif Goubran, Concordia University, and Nadra Wagdy, PME-MTL Centre-Est), Commissioned by Palgrave-Macmillan: London, UK (At the Chapter Editing Stage)

   ·                      “Beyond the 2º C – Business and Policy Trajectories to Climate Change Adaptation” (with Stefan Wendt, Reykjavik University, and Sherif Goubran and Tyler Schwartz, Concordia University), Commissioned by Palgrave-Macmillan: London, UK (At the Chapter Editing Stage)

   ·                      “Water Risk and Its Impact on the Financial Markets” (with Dieter Gramlich, University of Heidenheim, Adele Dumont-Bergeron and Kalima Vico, Concordia University), Commissioned by Palgrave-Macmillan: London, UK (At the Chapter Editing Stage)

 

Book Chapters

·                    Sustainable Real Estate: Transitioning beyond Cost Savings (with Sherif Goubran, Concordia University), In: Business and Society 360 (BAS 360) Volume 4 – Sustainability, David Wasieleski and James Weber (eds.), Emerald Publishing: Bradford, UK (January 2020)

·                    The Case for a Plastic Tax: A Review of its Benefits and Disadvantages within a Circular Economy (with Adele Dumont-Bergeron, Concordia University, and Dieter Gramlich, University of Heidenheim), In: Business and Society 360 (BAS 360) Volume 4 – Sustainability, David Wasieleski and James Weber (eds.), Emerald Publishing: Bradford, UK (January 2020)

·                    Emerging Risks: An Overview (with Dieter Gramlich, University of Heidenheim, Adele Dumont-Bergeron and Kalima Vico, Concordia University), In: Ecological, Societal, and Technological Risks and the Financial Sector, Thomas Walker, Dieter Gramlich, Mohammad Bitar, and Pedram Fardnia (eds.), Palgrave-Macmillan: London, UK (January 2020)

·                    Emerging Risks: Concluding Remarks (with Dieter Gramlich, University of Heidenheim), In: Ecological, Societal, and Technological Risks and the Financial Sector, Thomas Walker, Dieter Gramlich, Mohammad Bitar, and Pedram Fardnia (eds.), Palgrave-Macmillan: London, UK (January 2020)

·                    Recent Developments in Sustainable Aviation: An Overview (with Angela Stefania Bergantino, University of Bari, and Kalima Vico, Concordia University), In: Sustainable Aviation: Greening the Flight Path, Thomas Walker, Angela Stefania Bergantino, Luisa Loiacono, and Northrop Sprung-Much (eds.), Palgrave-Macmillan: London, UK (October 2019)

·                    Slowing Climate Change: Mitigating Poverty and Environmental Degradation via Strategic Human Resource Management and Responsible Leadership (with Rohan Crichton, Concordia University, and Alpna Patel, University of Ottawa), In: Climate Change Implications for Multinational Enterprises, John McIntyre, Silvester Ivanaj, and Vera Ivanaj (eds.), Edward Elgar Publishing: Cheltenham, UK (November 2018)

·                    Impact Investing (with Stefanie Kibsey and Stephanie Lee, Concordia University), In: Sustainable Investing: Revolutions in Theory and Practice, Cary Krosinsky and Sophie Purdom (eds.), Routledge: London, UK (July 2016), pg. 30-40