Kellogg Insight

Take 5: Feeling Stuck? Try a Career Makeover.

Whether you’re considering a job change or looking for a hot streak, research and insights from Kellogg faculty can help.

illustration of two people arguing while entering a walk-in cooler.

Agree to Disagree? 5 Tips to Cool Down a Heated Argument.

A new game helps people find common ground on divisive issues. But you don’t need to play to practice its principles.

Podcast: When We Get Too Comfortable, It’s Tough to Take Flight

On this episode of The Insightful Leader, an executive coach offers three tales of leaders who let complacency get in the way of success.

illustration of a group of scientists celebrating winning an award

Do Scientific Prizes Reward Innovation or Reputation?

Scientists who receive the Nobel Prize and other accolades do more-novel work both before and after winning, new research finds.

Free or Paid Subscription? For Online Platforms, It's a Dance.

Whether they are selling your data or selling you the product, companies have to wrestle with competition and privacy concerns.

illustration of a game board with car at fork in Work and Family roadl.

Work First or Family First?

A new model shows why women lag behind in leadership roles—and how two policies could help narrow the career gender gap.

Illustration of a cannabis dispensary with a black budtender assisting a white customer.

In the Legalized Drug Industry, Stereotypes May Drive Sales

Conventional wisdom says that minority-owned branding limits your audience. That’s not the case for cannabis and psychedelics.

Strong-Arm Leaders Often Get the Minority Vote

A study of voter preferences in the U.S. and Europe—across a wide range of races, ethnicities, and political affiliations—reveals why.

illustration of orchestra conductor in server farm.

Does Your Company Need a Chief AI Officer?

It’s the hot new C-suite role, but not every business needs the same strategy.

illustration of business executive in Eames lounge chair on tarmac surrounded by jets.

Leaders, It’s Time to Stop Being Cozy

Four tips from a CEO to get out of your comfort zone and help your company fly.

illustration of U.S. Capitol dome repurposed as observatory with telescope.

Which Political Party Provides More Funding for Science?

Though both Republicans and Democrats have historically supported federal funding of research, one party has spent more.

Take 5: Personal Finance Isn’t Just Personal

Research and insights from Kellogg faculty show that our financial decisions can have ripple effects.

illustration of a couple standing in front of a house with a for sale sign in the yard, and the front walk is the tape of a calculator they are using.

Ready to Buy a House? Beware the Online Calculators.

Affordability and rent-vs-buy tools are easy to use but can be misleading. Here’s a holistic approach to making your decision.

illustration of Rocket Diner rebrand with workers installing new sign while people look on.

When a Rebrand Meets Backlash

Cracker Barrel’s attempt to modernize overlooked how the world of marketing has changed.

Succession Is the Top Responsibility of a Board—Yet Many Avoid It

Boards need to view potential CEO successors as a priority and offer them opportunities for substantial board interaction.

Illustration of a group celebrating the installation of a lightbulb at a factory that is spewing pollution from four smokestacks.

Big Goals, Small Steps—Why Most Corporate Green Initiatives Fall Short

Despite making commitments to cut emissions, many companies are acting in the short term and underfunding projects.

illustration of lottery ball spinner with tiny illustrations of human organs on the balls

When People Game the System, It Helps to Shake It Up

Can introducing a lottery for organ transplants discourage line jumpers and give everyone a better chance?

How Durable Design Can Save Lives

Kellogg researchers partnered with UNICEF on target product profiles for newborn medical devices for low-resource settings.

Why Big Problems Can Feel Small

When people hear a problem is widespread, they are less likely to consider it serious—and less inclined to act.

Customers Are Taking a Shine to Eco-friendly Products

Sustainable alternatives were once viewed as inferior to their standard counterparts. But now, consumers equate “ecological” with “reliable,” easing industry fears.

a robot holds a scientific laboratory aloft in a city

Take 5: AI’s Past, Present, and Future

Artificial intelligence is transforming business, science, marketing, and labor. Kellogg faculty tell us how we got here and what could be next.

To Align Purpose and Profit, Company Culture Matters

An Italian energy firm’s climate campaign illustrates how to tackle social problems without sacrificing the bottom line.

Are Your Ads Truly Paying Off?

Inconsistent methods make it hard to know if a campaign is working. New approaches to measuring return on ad spend can help companies make better decisions.

The Crisis of the Chinese Family

Declining fertility rates in China might prove particularly destabilizing—and difficult to reverse.

Illustration of two lawyers standing before a judge's bench while the judge flips a coin.

Is It a Coin Flip or Is It Justice? It Could Be Both.

Game theory shows that it often makes sense for judges to rule at random.

illustration of auto factory where two executives are shaking hands on the assembly floor

How Trade Secrets Fuel the International Auto Industry

To expand into China, companies like Toyota, Volkswagen, and BMW were required to work with local manufacturers, who then gained access to crucial knowledge.

illustration of several bankers fishing from small boats, with one pulling in giant colorful fish while others catch tiny gray fish.

When Banks Get Picky about Lending, the Economy May Suffer

Being too restrictive about who can borrow has ripple effects that can prolong economic downturns.

When AI Thinks Too Much Like a Human

Generative AI models are susceptible to the same errors that humans make when interpreting statistical results.

illustration of person shopping in produce section with electronic price tags on produce

Surge Pricing in Aisle Five?

Despite concern, the use of digital price tags in grocery stores hasn’t moved the needle on costs for consumers.

5 Questions to Consider When Deciding Whether to Start a Family Office

Ask better questions to understand the purpose, costs, structures, and your family’s alignment.

Are You a Manager or a Leader?

The answer may surprise you.

illustration of the exterior of a university faculty office building with a younger professor in a cluttered office in one window and an older professor in a sparely appointed office in the other.

Is Tenure a Golden Age for Research?

A large study finds that there’s a trade-off. While tenured researchers may publish less, they often come up with more novel ideas.

illustration of doves lowering the roof onto a corporate building

How Peace Can Be Good for Business

Expanding ESG strategies to include conflict reduction can benefit both companies and the regions in which they operate.

Take 5: Making Communication Work … at Work

Embrace vulnerability, know when to keep silent, and other strategies from Kellogg faculty.

illustration of a hiring manager interviewing a job candidate on a ski lift

Does an Athletic Past Give Job Applicants a Lift?

The competitive edge athletes get in the job market may come at the expense of candidates with other life experiences.

5 Tips for Preparing to Scale Your Startup

Before hitting “go” on a growth strategy, founders need to make sure they are ready. Here’s a pre-flight checklist for entrepreneurs.

Why "I’m Sorry" Are Two of the Strongest Words for Leaders

Sincere apologies show those around you that you understand and are willing to learn from your mistakes.

illustration of a human silhouette with chess pieces in its head an flying around the head.

When Memory Leads to Wrong Moves

In new situations, we tend to rely on past strategies to guide our decisions—even when a fresh approach may be better.

Knock Knock. Who’s There? Generative AI.

Learning that a joke, a story, or art came from AI boosts our confidence in our creativity.

Fixing a Market Mismatch

Nurturing markets in areas where products or services are needed but conspicuously absent is about more than supply and demand.

illustration of three people playing cards while holding their cards facing out

Investment Transparency Encourages Copycats—and Creates Risks

While regulations nudge insurance companies toward prudent portfolios, they may also increase systemic fragility.

illustration of a car pulling up to an intersection with left and right turn lanes

New Job, Different Industry. How to Succeed When You Make the Leap.

When you don’t just switch companies but entire sectors, you need to do your homework, focus on the culture, and build credibility fast.

Slowing AI’s Domino Effect on Workplace Inequality

Choices we make during model design and implementation can ease AI’s downstream damage—and amplify its benefits.

roller coaster with rolls of dollar bills in the front car

What Makes the U.S. Dollar So Special?

Despite its ups and downs, the dollar has maintained global dominance for years. New research shows why that is—and why it might not last forever.

How Your Business Can Adapt to Tariffs—and Come Out Ahead

Start by finding alternative sourcing locations. And if you don’t have them, build them now.

Podcast: How to Stay Resilient in the Face of a Major Setback

When Kellogg’s Craig Wortmann lost a portion of his leg to cancer, he felt like he lost part of his identity, too. On this episode of The Insightful Leader podcast, he offers a guide to “bouncing back better.”

Organizations

Nepotism Can Be a Good Thing in Family Business—If You Get These 4 Things Right

Here’s a cautious promotion of strategic nepotism in the family business.

Player for one cricket team stripping off uniform to reveal other team's uniform.

Organizations

The Upside of Recruiting Your Rivals

Teams that acquire players from their competitors gain an advantage that goes beyond pure skill.

Marketing

No Credit History? No Problem.

A new type of score looks at people’s shopping behaviors and utility payments to determine their eligibility for loans and credit cards.

Blue-green silhouettes of sailing ships on an ocean swell, their shadows create circuit board patterns in the water. Background is a pink cloudy sky.

Finance & Accounting

The AI Tidal Wave Doesn’t Have to Drown Workers

As AI replaces job responsibilities, it creates just as many opportunities, new research shows.

Leadership

The Powerful Lesson Pope Leo XIV Can Teach Leaders

Leaders across industries can learn from Pope Leo XIV’s balanced perspective.

A woman in a lab coat presses a button on a purple vending machine containing various items including shoes, a toaster, a video game controller, and a hypodermic needle.

Strategy

When Experts Pivot, They Pay a Price

“It’s not like we can’t enter a new area and hit a home run, but there’s just a far, far lower chance of that happening.”

Healthcare

Podcast: When a Healthcare Expert Becomes a Patient

In this bonus episode of our series, “Insight Unpacked: American Healthcare and Its Web of Misaligned Incentives,” a healthcare economist must make critical decisions with partial information.

Leadership

Podcast: Preventing a Potential Culture Clash at Work

On this episode of The Insightful Leader: when Fuyao Glass opened a U.S. factory, it underestimated the importance of translating company culture.

illustration of person rowing on anthropomorphic exercise machine

Marketing

Meet Mr. Treadmill, Your Workout Buddy

Need some extra motivation to reach your fitness goals? Anthropomorphizing objects can help, new research shows.

Organizations

When Put to the Test, Are We Any Good at Spotting AI Fakes?

For the most part, yes! And the more we look, the better we get.

illustration of a person in three panels moving from anger to thoughtfulness to acceptance

Organizations

Do Gut Feelings Change Over Time?

New research challenges the long-held belief that unconscious attitudes are set in stone.

Strategy

How Higher Pay Incentives Can Backfire

While increasing bonuses and commission rates might seem like a good idea, doing so can inadvertently harm the quality of an organization’s workforce.

illustration of an office building with one person knitting sweaters that connect other employees

Careers

How to Keep Your Network Warm

A three-pronged approach—and a generous mindset—can be a huge boon for your career.

data scientists feed a computer which has a wire to the pen of a politician signing a bill.

Policy

Policymakers Are Relying on Science More Than Ever

But there’s little common ground in the research that Republicans and Democrats cite.

Economics

What Trump Wants From Tariffs … and What the U.S. Might Get Instead

The administration hopes to bring back manufacturing and reduce trade deficits. But renegotiating trade may damage global trust in the U.S.

illustration of five FTC/DOJ lawyers approaching the entrance to a glass skyscraper.

Policy

A New Era for Antitrust Enforcement

After the Biden administration’s broader approach to regulating competition, expect more-targeted enforcement in the years ahead.

illustration of delivery room where one doctor is looking around a screen at another.

Organizations

Our Colleagues’ Decisions May Influence Us More Than We Realize

The effect of peer influence “raises some interesting and potentially troubling questions about the nature of expertise and decision-making.”

Leadership

Podcast: Workers Are Stressed Out. Here’s How Leaders Can Help.

On this (rerun) episode of The Insightful Leader: You can’t always control what happens at work. But reframing setbacks, and instituting some serious calendar discipline, can go a long way toward reducing stress.

illustration of hands holding phone with handyman inside holding pliers and adjusting wires.

Operations

The Hidden Cost of Successful Experiments

As companies innovate, the resulting complexity makes further growth more challenging.

Organizations

Why That “Follow-Back” on Social Media Is Not Guaranteed

Regardless of their political ideology, people are less likely to follow back users from certain racial groups.

Illustration of paper delivery boy on bicycle tossing newspaper onto porch

Strategy

How America’s News Diet Went from Local to National

While many view the internet as the death knell of local print journalism, the unraveling started decades earlier—with the rise of television.

Finance & Accounting

The Ripple Effect of an Uneven Credit Market

From freelancers to independent contractors, people who rely on temporary work are less likely to get loans and achieve life milestones.

Leadership

How First-Time Managers Can Make the Successful Jump to Leadership

A former Fortune 500 CEO offers advice on arguably the most difficult career transition in business.

illustration of team in strategy meeting with boss holding hands over his mouth.

Leadership

The Case for Muting the Boss

When discussing business strategy, leaders should leave room for new voices, who could spur the next big idea.

Entrepreneurship

Build a Successful B2B Business by First Engaging Consumers

Take the backroad to a B2B business model by stimulating demand from the bottom up.

Leadership

Podcast: What Rom-coms Can Teach Business Leaders

On this episode of The Insightful Leader, we’ll discuss how these movies can help us navigate conflict and tackle power dynamics.

Careers

Podcast: How Should You Present Yourself at Work?

Be yourself! No, not like that. On this (rerun) episode of The Insightful Leader, we help you navigate the competing advice about how much to share and hold back.

Finance & Accounting

Why Small Firms Take a Pass on Profitable Opportunities

And how they can be encouraged to buy in.

illustration of person in office wearing oversized bowtie to satirize fellow employee, who looks on from around a wall.

Marketing

Does Satire Soften the Blow of Criticism?

Quite the opposite, in fact, even if it comes in the form of humorous memes, videos, or headlines.

Organizations

How to Encourage Authenticity at Work

The right conditions can help people, particularly those from marginalized groups, feel more comfortable with expressing their true selves.

cartoon illustration of antropomorphic hospital with vacuum sucking up smaller medical practices.

Policy

Investors Are Gobbling Up Smaller Medical Practices. Should Regulators Be Concerned?

These under-the-radar transactions have driven up the price of anesthesia by about 30 percent.

Organizations

5 Ways Business Leaders Can Address Implicit Bias

“Inclusive leadership is actually an intrinsic goal that most people have, regardless of their politics.”

analyst sitting at desk watching stock volatility index

Finance & Accounting

2 New Indices to Measure Stock Market Volatility

Unlike the VIX, these indices—SPOTVOL and LTV—distinguish between day-to-day volatility and investor fears of a “black swan” event.

Container ship going over waterfall with parachute.

Economics

Trump’s Trade War Is about More Than Trade

Winning its trade war with China would help the U.S. negotiate better trade terms, but American consumers and businesses could pay a heavy price.

Leaders need to convey both warmth and competence.

Leadership

How Relatability Promotes Mental Health for Your Team

Leaders need to model a healthy mindset to better contribute to the well-being of their teams.

Careers

Podcast: Avoiding the Likability Trap at Work

Plus: insecure employees and a flagging culture. On this (rerun) episode of The Insightful Leader’s “Ask Insight,” a conversation with Professor Harry Kraemer.

Illustration of Lisbon, Portugal apartment building with people of different nationalities in each of its six windows.

Finance & Accounting

What Population Trends in Lisbon Tell Us about the Future of Global Cities

The region around Lisbon, Portugal, has seen a large influx of foreign residents and tourists over the last fifteen years. Here's how that affected home prices and migration patterns.

Organizations

What Happens to Communication When Part of a Team Is Relocated?

As one cancer center expanded, relocation of some clinicians led to fewer in-person interactions for all.

Marketing

Customers Will Pay More for Products That Feature Diversity in Ads

When an ad features people of different ages, races, genders, or nationalities, consumers believe the brand offers greater variety and is more creative.

Finance & Accounting

When Businesses Square Off with “Superstar” Competitors

A corporate behemoth like Apple or Amazon entering a new market is generally bad news for other firms in the space. But not always.

Organizations

When Distributing Aid, Consider Whether It Will Be Seen as a Handout or a Helping Hand

In-kind donations are often more welcome than cash, new research finds.

Leadership

How “Artifacts” Can Help a Family Business Define Its Legacy

From a framed dollar bill to an inspiring story, artifacts can transmit a company’s values across generations.

Entrepreneurship

5 Tips for Finding the Right Angels

Not all investors are created equal. Entrepreneurs should look for ones who share their vision.

Leadership

Handling Worry, Fear, Anxiety, Pressure, and Stress

No matter the situation, you will need to focus on doing the right thing. Here’s how.

Organizations

3 Questions to Ask Before Launching a New AI Tool

Like any other new technology, AI should be vetted through a strong product-development cycle.

Entrepreneurship

For Girls, Early Exposure to Entrepreneurship Can Be a Game-Changer

Being surrounded by entrepreneurs at a critical age can shape girls’ educational and career trajectories.

Organizations

Podcast: You Have an Idea for a New AI Tool. Now What?

On this episode of The Insightful Leader: two researchers offer tips on how to get AI development right.

medieval farmers in a failing field watch an army march past.

Economics

The Cold, Cold History of Political Conflict

Sustained temperature shifts during the “Little Ice Age” led to wars, mass migration, and instability. What does this mean for our current moment?

Economics

China’s Economy Has Not Peaked

Chinese policymakers should allow for a more market-driven allocation of land, money, and labor.

Podcast: Former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi on Her Climb to the Top

On this episode of The Insightful Leader, Kellogg’s Ellen Taaffe interviews her mentor about success, self-belief, and supporting the next generation of leaders.

Organizations

What Drives Corporate Activism?

When companies take a public stance on contentious social issues, the impetus often comes from within.

Marketing

How a Weak Sense of Self Encourages Bad Behavior

“When people don’t know who they are, they think their moral actions don’t really reflect who they are.”

Strategy

Scientists Don’t Want to Get Scooped—and It’s Hurting Science

Researchers are rewarded for being the first to discover and publish new findings. But the incentives can come at a cost.

Leadership

Podcast: How to Get Delegation Right, Part 3 of 3

On this episode of The Insightful Leader’s “Ask Insight,” we finish our conversation by getting real about the emotional stakes that make delegating hard.

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