Is being a family firm in China a good or bad thing for enhancing its value? The answer could depend just as much on where a company is based as on who is running it, says new research from Raffi Amit of The Wharton School, Belén Villalonga of Harvard Business School, and Ding Yuan and Zhang Hua of the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai. Expanding on previous studies undertaken in the U.S. and Europe, this study of 1,453 listed companies in China sheds light on how, why and whether the country's growing rank of family-owned firms can increase their value, particularly against the backdrop of very different institutional settings.

Wu Jia Yuan is typical of China's older generation of home-grown private entrepreneurs. Having started from the bottom of the ladder at Hubei Dengfeng Heat Exchanger to eventually become chairman of its board, his international business career couldn't be more different than his rural childhood during the 1960s. In an interview with China Knowledge@Wharton, Wu shares his thoughts about corporate governance, information management, the conflicts that arise between Chinese and Western businesses, and the key to entrepreneurial success in an emerging market economy like China.

The global real estate community is breathing easier than it was a year ago, judging by the sentiments of participants at a recent Knowledge@Wharton global real estate forum titled, "The Road to Recovery: Investing in the Global Real Estate Rebound." Held at the New York Stock Exchange on December 11, in conjunction with Interconnect Events, the forum focused on the developed world's challenges in freeing up private capital and finding opportunities in distressed real estate assets, among other topics. According to some speakers and panelists, opportunities that receded in the West in the wake of the financial crisis can still be found in emerging markets, although the barriers to entry remain high.

The earthquake that rocked Haiti last month has caused unimaginable death and destruction, a reminder that catastrophes are usually unforeseeable and therefore almost impossible to prepare for. Can any country or region of the world, rich or poor, take meaningful steps to avoid the destruction caused by catastrophes ranging from earthquakes and hurricanes to terrorist attacks and pandemics? Knowledge@Wharton asked professors Howard Kunreuther and Michael Useem, authors of a new book titled, Learning from Catastrophes: Strategies for Reaction and Response, and Morris A. Cohen to talk about the situation in Haiti and the challenges of dealing with such crises.

On January 5, Google launched the Nexus One -- its new "superphone" -- with a good deal of fanfare. Although the launch itself was quickly overshadowed by the online giant's surprise showdown with China over censorship, the company's attempt to rewrite the rules of the wireless industry has not gone unnoticed. Through its online store, Google is selling the Nexus One directly to consumers, sidestepping service providers that operate as device gatekeepers under the traditional sales model. The operation is off to a somewhat rocky start, leaving some observers to wonder whether Google can adapt to its new role in direct sales, but the bigger question is whether Google can alter consumer behavior and the economics of an entire industry.

Over the last decade, much has changed for digital music consumers -- including the growing array of mobile music and the rise of several new business rivals to Apple's iTunes store. But one thing has been remarkably steady -- the price, long established at 99 cents for the majority of individual songs. New research by Wharton marketing professor Raghuram Iyengar suggests that the major record labels, which have not always been happy with the iTunes pricing strategy, could be making higher profits from their music catalogues -- not by raising their prices, but by lowering them.