Strategy

The Goldilocks Approach to Searching for Something New

Whether it’s the right dosage to a new drug or the right style of tennis racket for a novice player, it’s important to get your strategy right.

Organizations

Why Firms Should Lean into Sustainability

“If companies don’t change, then they won’t exist in the future.”

Finance & Accounting

Wage Inequality Decreased Dramatically in the 1940s. But Was This “Great Compression” a Mirage?

New research offers a stress test to a seminal economic finding.

Leadership

Podcast: How Huy Fong’s Sriracha Went from Hot to Not

When missteps knocked the famous “rooster sauce” off its pedestal, a competitor seized the moment. On this episode of The Insightful Leader: why one brand sizzled and the other fizzled.

Careers

Forget Retirement. Think “Rewirement.”

A former CEO of AT&T Business offers tips for jumpstarting your next career phase.

Organizations

Why We Struggle to Hold Colleagues Accountable

Physician-led medical boards rarely took strict disciplinary action against doctors who overprescribed opioids. A new study explores why.

Marketing

It Literally Pays to Love Your Work

When products or services are also a labor of love, customers perceive them as more valuable—and are willing to pay more.

Strategy

What’s the Best Way for Large, Disparate Teams to Communicate?

Modular production has revolutionized manufacturing. But it’s critical to ensure the right information reaches the right people—without information overload.

Social Impact

Take 5: Doing Business in a Warming Climate

What should leaders understand about sustainability? A collection of the latest research and ideas from Kellogg faculty.

Leadership

Podcast: How to Grow as a Leader without Burning Yourself Out

In this episode of The Insightful Leader, a former president at Kraft Foods explains why “sometimes just working harder is a complete waste of time.”

Organizations

What Romantic Comedies Can Teach Us about Communication

From forgiving verbal gaffes to making risky overtures, these movies offer lessons that translate to the workplace.

Finance & Accounting

Why Lower Real-Estate Commissions Mean Higher Home Prices

And why that’s a good thing for most buyers and sellers.

Marketing

Podcast: Third-Party Cookies Are Crumbling. What’s a Marketer to Do?

New rules are making it harder to track customers’ online behaviors. On this episode of The Insightful Leader, we look at what this means for companies large and small.

Innovation

AI Is Revolutionizing Science. Are Scientists Ready?

AI’s influence has already spread to nearly every discipline. But fully harnessing its impact will require better training for researchers.

Leadership

The Perfect Purpose Statement Is Inspiring … and Credible

In an excerpt from her new book, Lead Bigger, former AT&T Business CEO Anne Chow explains the power of defining your company’s “why.”

Finance & Accounting

Guilty as Charged—Unless the Judge Went to Your School

For firms facing securities litigation, their executives’ alma mater could mean the difference between innocence and guilt.

Operations

For Home Deliveries, Faster Isn’t Always Better

Retail customers often prioritize convenience over speed for deliveries that require them to be at home.

Strategy

Schools, Jobs, Relationships … It’s Hard to Find a Good “Fit”

A study of medical-school applicants shows how transparency can improve decision-making.

Politics & Elections

Take 5: How to Talk Politics (Constructively)

Research-backed advice for your next conversation.

Policy

When the Minimum Wage Rises, Do Men and Women Benefit Equally?

The policy is gender-neutral. The impact, less so.

Policy

Perspective: America Needs Political Age Limits

If there is a mandatory retirement age for the top officers in the U.S. military, why isn’t there one for the commander in chief?

Policy

The Plan to Pay College Athletes

A proposed settlement granting NCAA athletes a cut of broadcast revenues stands to shake up major college sports.

Organizations

The Unlikely Partners Growing the Market for Green Energy

The relationship between environmental activists and “dirty” energy companies can be contentious, but it can also benefit both sides.

Organizations

5 Telltale Signs That a Photo Is AI-generated

For one, scour for details that defy the laws of physics.

Organizations

Why We Shouldn’t Romanticize Failure

We expect people will learn from their setbacks. New research suggests the truth is more complicated.

Economics

Why Do Prices Rise Like Rockets … but Fall Like Feathers?

Behavioral psychology sheds light on a longstanding economic puzzle.

Marketing

How the Right Price Promotion Can Nudge Kids to Choose Healthier Foods

“It shows that kids are sensitive to prices.”

Marketing

How a Growing South Asian Diaspora Is Changing Retail

From Whole Foods to Patel Brothers, U.S. retailers are adapting to the group’s unique spending power.

Policy

People Want to Know Sustainable Policies Can Work. So Show Them.

Success stories about policies from other countries make people more likely to support similar policies in the U.S., new research finds.

Finance & Accounting

For Corporations, Secured Debt Is Out

The last century has seen a dramatic shift toward unsecured debt thanks to improved accounting practices and a desire for financial flexibility.

Economics

Would Trump Escalate the U.S.–China Trade War?

If former U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House, he would likely impose sweeping tariffs against China. His policy agenda would harm lower-income households the most.

Economics

5 Trends in a Volatile Global Economy

“We live in an interesting world, one with much upside as well as significant downside.”

Marketing

A Troubling Trend in Nonprofit Branding

When nonprofit organizations rebrand themselves, inspiration may not be the answer.

Organizations

How Algorithms Keep Workers Under Their Control

More than ever, even highly skilled workers find themselves being evaluated, rewarded, and punished by opaque algorithms. A new book, Inside the Invisible Cage, investigates.

Organizations

Employees See Bias in the Workplace. Their Bosses Don’t.

People in positions of power are often unable to see inequities in their own organizations—even if they see it elsewhere.

Marketing

Beware the “Bad-Influencer Effect”

Content creators’ self-indulgent posts may get “likes” on social media, but research shows they might not lead to more enduring connections.

Operations

America Is Rediscovering the Drive-Through

Since the pandemic, fast-food customers are more likely to order at the drive-through, fueling the recovery of restaurants that can accommodate them.

Organizations

Take 5: Work Is Changing. What Does the Future Hold?

Remote work, technology, and climate change are all set to transform the labor market. Here’s how.

Data Analytics

4 Leadership Lessons from the NFL’s Chief Data Officer

Here’s how the league is going deep on AI, from addressing player safety to fine-tuning fan marketing.

Strategy

Is Your Team Playing It Too Safe?

Fear of failure can stifle innovation. A new study shows how to incentivize people to tackle those high-risk, high-reward projects.

Healthcare

Podcast: American Healthcare—Is This the Best We Can Do?

In the final episode of our 5-episode series, “Insight Unpacked: American Healthcare and Its Web of Misaligned Incentives,” we travel overseas, and through our own backyard, in search of a way forward.

Healthcare

Podcast: The Bargain That Fuels Big Pharma

What will we pay for the next groundbreaking drug? In episode 4 of our 5-episode series, “Insight Unpacked: American Healthcare and Its Web of Misaligned Incentives,” we explore the trade-off at the heart of pharmaceutical innovation.

Healthcare

Podcast: The Misadventures of Insuring America

In episode 3 of our 5-episode series, “Insight Unpacked: American Healthcare and Its Web of Misaligned Incentives,” we explain how insurance companies became everybody’s favorite villain.

Innovation

Innovation Requires an Environment of Creative Risk

If you really want to change paradigms, you must be willing to accept that there is no such thing as true innovation without risk.

Marketing

Want Your Kids to Choose Healthy Foods? Here Are Some Research-Backed Tips.

First, stop demanding that they choose healthy foods!

Healthcare

Podcast: The Power of the Physician's Pen

We rely on doctors to keep us healthy. In episode 2 of our 5-episode series, “Insight Unpacked: American Healthcare and Its Web of Misaligned Incentives,” we learn at what cost.

Marketing

Gen AI Can Tailor Ads to Our Personalities—and They’re Pretty Persuasive

“The effects are probably only likely to get stronger as time persists.”

Operations

There’s a Smarter Way to A/B Test

A new model can help you reduce the length or size of your experiments by as much as 50 percent, for significant cost savings.

Entrepreneurship

After Prison, Opportunities Are Hard to Come By. Enter Entrepreneurship.

Labor-market discrimination is driving many formerly incarcerated people, particularly Black individuals, toward entrepreneurship.

Organizations

How to Spot Political Deepfakes

AI literacy—and a healthy dose of human intuition—can take us pretty far.

Healthcare

Podcast: The Problem with Megaproviders

In episode 1 of our 5-episode series, “Insight Unpacked: American Healthcare and Its Web of Misaligned Incentives,” we investigate how hospital systems got so big—and what that means for our health and our pocketbooks.

Healthcare

Podcast: Introducing Insight Unpacked, Season 2

American Healthcare and Its Web of Misaligned Incentives

Marketing

3 Ways AI Can Support Your Marketing Team

From providing insight into your customers to amplifying human creativity, generative AI is here to help.

Podcast: Why Italy’s Economy Offers a Cautionary Tale for the U.S.

Since the 1990s, taxes, debt, and regulations have hamstrung the Italian economy. On this episode of The Insightful Leader: Could America be next?

Economics

Will America’s Economy Soon Look Like … Italy’s?

Why one Kellogg economist is worried that the U.S. is headed toward a low-growth future.

Innovation

Unique. Revolutionary. Fundamental. A Little Hype Can Help Scientists Win Grants.

“Promotional language is important not just for securing funding but for actually conveying the merits of good ideas.”

Policy

Why Did Early Governments Emerge?

Was it about cooperation—or exploitation? A new study turns to archeology for answers.

Marketing

How to Talk About What You Do (without Being Boring)

The key is not to say too much—or too little. Here are some exercises to get you started.

Social Impact

The Stereotypes Lurking in Our Language

A new tool can shed light on intersectional biases—and how they may change over time.

Operations

Everyone Wants to Ditch the Middleman. Or Do They?

Not always, according to surprising new evidence from an app connecting housekeepers to clients.

Marketing

It’s Painful to Spend Money—Unless It’s a Refund

New research shows why it feels different to spend the money we get back after returning a product.

Organizations

Can Your Company Do Hybrid Better?

There is no single “best” policy, but it is critical to recognize the benefits of both in-person and remote work.

Policy

Could This Be the End of Noncompetes?

The FTC’s proposed rule is hardly a done deal—but here’s what it could mean for companies and workers.

Careers

Podcast: Why You Need a Killer Answer to “So, What Do You Do?”

A great response to this question can open doors. On this episode of The Insightful Leader: we’ve got tips for fine-tuning your answer.

Marketing

Video-Game Companies Are Spending Big on Sponsored Streams. Are They Getting Their Money’s Worth?

Probably not—with a few notable exceptions.

Leadership

An Illustrated Guide to Succeeding Where So Many Leaders Fail

Failure happens. What can we learn from it?

Social Impact

How the Inequality Around Us Shapes Our Perceptions of Morality

Lie, cheat, steal … no big deal? When we feel like we’re not in control of our lives, it’s easier to accept unethical behavior.

Finance & Accounting

Who Takes a Risk on New Technology?

In Hollywood, new directors were more likely than veterans to embrace digital cameras—a finding that showcases how individuals’ career concerns shape tech adoption.

Strategy

The Gender Pay Gap Remains Stubbornly in Place. Why?

A partial explanation comes from a seemingly separate phenomenon: the plight of younger workers.

Marketing

The Clues to Creditworthiness Hiding in Your Grocery Cart

Grocery habits—like buying mortadella beef or scheduling regular shopping trips—can be as useful as credit scores at predicting who will reliably repay loans.

Leadership

Are Your Individual Contributors Feeling Isolated?

A lot of employees could benefit from a structured “lab” setting to inspire meaningful collaboration.

Leadership

Podcast: When AI Becomes a TA

Curious about using AI at work? On this episode of The Insightful Leader, we hear from one professor who found a fascinating, low-stakes way to bring AI into his workplace: the classroom.

Marketing

How Much Evidence Do You Need to Make a Decision? Depends on Your Mindset.

When a choice is framed as a responsibility, we’ll go the extra mile to be accurate—even when it costs us.

Leadership

Leaders, Do You Have a “Climate Capable” Mindset?

“We are going to have to be as transformative as the Industrial Revolution, but we have thirty years to do it rather than 150.”

Entrepreneurship

Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Is Going Mainstream. How Will the Industry Grow Around It?

While significant barriers remain—including regulatory uncertainty and the difficulty of scaling a labor-intensive treatment method—industry leaders see a path forward.

Marketing

The Future of Targeted Advertising in a Cookie-less World

Apple’s and Google’s responses to regulatory shifts may end up squeezing out small online retailers.

Careers

The Path to the Boardroom Can Be Opaque. Here’s a Roadmap.

An expert offers 6 tips for becoming board-ready.

Leadership

Podcast: What’s It Take to Get on a Board, Anyway?

It’s not like applying for a job. On this episode of The Insightful Leader, an expert demystifies the process.

Economics

Humanizing the U.S.–China Relationship

Escalating tensions between U.S. and Chinese governments make preserving in-person interactions between ordinary Chinese and Americans even more important.

Leadership

Podcast: AI Is a Tool. How Do We Want to Use It?

Generative AI is like “a hammer looking for a nail.” On this episode of The Insightful Leader: we have to decide what the nail should be.

Policy

AI Has Entered the Court. Is This Changing Umpires’ Calls?

The Hawk-Eye review system in professional tennis has made umpires more accurate in many cases—but not all.

Organizations

Why Artists Are Punished More Harshly Than Scientists for the Same Misconduct

It’s tough to separate the artist from the art, a new study finds—but easier to separate the scientist from the science.

Finance & Accounting

Do Green Bonds Actually Lead to Rosy Returns?

And are the companies that issue them truly addressing climate issues? New research investigates.

Finance & Accounting

The Hedge Fund in Your Pantry

Many households utilize excess cash to support shopping habits that generate high financial returns.

Policy

The Truth about U.S. Immigration

It is possible both to maximize the benefits of immigration and still maintain border security and support workers in sectors that immigrants may enter.

Strategy

What Game Theory Can Teach Us about RICO Prosecutions

“If you’re on trial with 17 other people, the fear that somebody else will confess becomes much more realistic.”

Leadership

Podcast: Need to Make a Point? Tell a Good Story.

Plus: more leadership advice in this episode of The Insightful Leader’s “Ask Insight” series.

Finance & Accounting

What Would a Capital One–Discover Deal Really Mean?

A financial expert considers the acquisition’s potential impact on credit-card networks, merchants, and consumers.

Marketing

When Persuading a Group, Beware the Allure of Consensus

We tend to favor strategies that win broad-but-weak support over narrow-but-strong support—and this preference can lead us astray.

Marketing

How to Grow in a Multichannel World

As e-commerce continues to expand, companies need to adapt their channel strategies to stay relevant. A marketing expert offers guidance for reaching customers.

Marketing

Podcast: Need Product Inspiration? Meet Your Customer in the Wild.

On this episode of The Insightful Leader: a consumer anthropologist takes us behind the scenes as she interviews a “pet parent.”

Economics

When New Technology Arrives, Who Wins and Who Loses?

For tools that assist but don’t replace workers, novices benefit, while experienced employees take a hit.

Politics & Elections

How Trolls Poison Political Discussions for Everyone Else

Online political debate isn’t inherently toxic, a new study of Reddit commenters finds. Instead, it becomes toxic because of the kind of commenters who opt in.

Economics

How to Award Contracts When You’re Concerned about Quality

You want a good price, but you don’t want lousy workmanship. What’s a buyer to do?

Healthcare

Video: Understanding America’s Prescription Drug Market

A healthcare economist answers questions about pharmaceutical innovation, costs, and more.

Finance & Accounting

The Dos and Don’ts of Regulating AI

How can governments capitalize on AI’s benefits while minimizing its dangers? New research examines several policies—and identifies a promising approach.

Policy

What’s at Stake in the UFC Antitrust Case?

The outcome of the mixed-martial-arts saga could have wide-ranging implications for the future of global sports entertainment.

Data Analytics

Podcast: Can Complexity Science Help Us Understand Organizations?

On this episode of The Insightful Leader: From climate change to neuroscience, this new approach is reshaping how we study complicated systems.

Organizations

Organizations Are Complex. Complexity Science Can Help Us Understand Them.

You can’t study the behavior of a flock by looking at individual birds. It’s time to bring that holistic approach to the social sciences, too.

Healthcare

What Happens When We Give Doctors an AI Assistant?

Machine-learning systems can improve physicians’ accuracy at diagnosing dermatological diseases. But even with AI assistance, physicians struggle to close the accuracy gap between light- and dark-skinned patients.