Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Department of Business Administration Professor Jeong-gyu Ahn (first author) received the Best Paper Award at the 28th Korean Academic Society of Business Administration Convergence Conference in 2026 for the paper 'Operational Hedging and Interest Rate Risk'.

The conference was held from August 18 to 20, and the study involved co-investigators Bobae Choi of the University of Queensland (Australia), He Huang of the University of Sydney, and Doowon Lee.

The research team analyzed how interest rate risk affects firms' operational decision-making using over-the-counter interest rate options.

In particular, they empirically examined how long-term interest rate risk, measured via derivative financial instruments, influences firms' investment in tangible assets and inventory management.

This study is meaningful in that it sheds new light on the relationship between financial risk and firms' real activities.

By analyzing the process through which uncertainty arising from interest rate fluctuations is reflected in firms' investment and production and inventory operation strategies, the study is expected to contribute to understanding the impact of financial market changes on overall corporate management.