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March 2014

How to Stop Worrying and Love the Robot That Drives You to Work

Discomfort about “botsourcing” can be reduced by manipulating the human-like attributes of machines.

Careers

Status and the Social Network

Social status determines how individuals approach opportunity under job threat.

February 2014

Social Impact

The Rise of Private Regulation in Global Commerce

Here’s how business leaders can address the resulting risks

The Economic Case for Soaring CEO Pay

A new study suggests a method in the madness

Leadership

Will Work for Stock Options

A $1 CEO salary can signal confidence—or danger

Leadership

Do Former Soldiers Make Better CEOs?

Chief executives with military experience perform better under pressure and are much less likely to commit corporate fraud

January 2014

Economics

Statistics That Hurt

Racial discrimination still affects Black workers’ wages

Policy

Making the Grade

Some students are disadvantaged in the culture of higher education—but there may be a simple remedy

Finance & Accounting

To Beat Debt, Consider Starting Small

Paying down smaller balances first may motivate you to become debt free

Marketing

Pain and Pleasure in Persuasion

When framing messages, don’t forget that emotions rule

December 2013

Policy

A Year at the FTC

Combinations, conduct, and competition in healthcare

Organizations

Rich and Unhappy—and Fine with Unethical Behavior?

Ethics, income, and feelings of well-being influence each other in unpredictable ways

Policy

Plenty of Costs, Plenty of Benefits

A Q&A with Craig Garthwaite about the new insurance exchanges

Policy

Acquiring the Competition

Does Obamacare encourage healthcare providers to consolidate?

Leadership

Leaders Do Matter—But When Does Their Gender Matter, Too?

Countries with high levels of ethnic diversity often suffer from slow economic growth—unless there is a woman in charge

November 2013

A Virtuous Mix Allows Innovation to Thrive

The right mixture balances conventionality, novelty, and collaboration

Marketing

The Second-Mover Advantage

A primer on how late-entering companies can compete with pioneers.

Leadership

Powering Through the Interview

A powerful mindset can help applicants land the job

Corporate Culture—Not Lip Service—Counts

Establishing a bona fide “culture of integrity” can be costly for a corporation, but the economic returns are real

October 2013

To Motivate, Better to Take Away Than to Give

The right way to frame incentives

Leadership

Managing Trust in the Workplace

The perils of breaking promises to employees

Innovation

When the Experts Are Biased

Do experts on committees help or hinder decision making?

Policy

Looking Good for the Regulators

Efforts to avoid regulator scrutiny come with downsides

September 2013

What Big Pharma Wants in a Partner

For pharmaceutical companies looking to partner with biotech start-ups, scientist reputation and status play an important role

Finance & Accounting

A Crystal Ball for the Courtroom

A new model predicts the outcome of securities fraud class action lawsuits

Marketing

When Two Products Are Less Than One

Why Bundling Can Sometimes Hurt Sales

Organizations

Doing Business in the Middle East

Americans and Middle Easterners approach negotiations differently

August 2013

Policy

Freed from Employment Lock

Obamacare may lead people to choose to leave the labor market.

Marketing

Good Customers, Bad Reviews

Deceptive product reviews aren’t always written by the enemy—or even in anger

Everyone Loves a Generalist

Specialists are undervalued, on sports teams and in the workplace

Economics

The Risks and Rewards of Experience Abroad

Do past international investments help or hurt a company’s chances of succeeding in a new market?

July 2013

Operations

Shop Online, Pick Up in Store?

The option helps companies’ sales in a surprising way

Economics

How to Win at Risk

A Q&A with Russell Walker about risk management

Social Impact

The Games Companies and Activists Play

When is corporate activism most effective?

Finance & Accounting

What Really Spurred the Great Recession?

Globalization and the U.S. dollar are as much to blame as banks.

June 2013

The Coworker Network

How companies can use social networks to learn who knows what

Strategy

Maximizing Happy

What happens when we put effort toward intangible goals like happiness?

Organizations

Would You Like Your Bonus in Cash or Cake?

Less countable rewards can be more satisfying

Strategy

The Importance of Appearing Savvy

Women especially benefit from knowing market rates for car repairs

May 2013

Finance & Accounting

When Booms Go Bust

The housing market is finally on the upswing. Will it last?

Entrepreneurship

Why Inventors Become Entrepreneurs

Tacit knowledge is critical for innovation

April 2013

Economics

Teaming Up to Cash In

How does competition work in the venture capital industry?

Policy

All Gain from Guaranteed Access to Key Goods and Services

A guaranteed minimum distribution system is optimal

Careers

Hirable Like Me

Interviewers favor applicants who remind them of themselves

Leadership

What Makes an “Act of God”?

Why some use religion to make sense of natural disasters

Marketing

To Defend or Not to Defend?

What to do when a competitor enters your industry

March 2013

Marketing

That Brand Sells What?

How to take a successful brand into uncharted territory

Collaborate Better

A Q&A with Leigh Thompson about working creatively in teams

Economics

Who Wants to Be First Mate On a Sinking Ship?

Companies in financial distress have trouble attracting the talent they need to right themselves

Operations

Whipping the Supply Line into Shape

New insight into the bullwhip effect

Social Impact

Managing the Reputational and Market Risks of Social Activism

Executives should understand how protesters actually affect financial performance

Social Impact

Pinpointing the Value in CSR

The unexpected link between CSR spending and financial performance.

Social Impact

Being Smarter with CSR

This special issue devoted to corporate social responsibility (CSR), with articles written by our faculty, was published in conjunction with the Kellogg-Aspen Conference

Social Impact

When and How to Drive Real Value with CSR

Executives can improve their bottom lines by using CSR in targeted circumstances.

Social Impact

The Hidden Drivers of Corporate Sustainability Initiatives

Understanding the impact of everyday interactions can help rally support for initiatives.

February 2013

Policy

Mapping Toxicity

Bringing transparency to risk assessment

Economics

Principles of Pricing

Counterintuitive ideas on pricing in a competitive environment

Managing Managers' Reputations

How managers’ concern for their reputations influences their disclosure of earnings forecasts

Marketing

When Seeing Leads to Buying

Recent research indicates that seeing a new vehicle on the road can help sway some drivers to buy.

January 2013

Marketing

Leave My Brand Alone

What happens when the brands we favor come under attack?

Marketing

Buying and Selling Seasonal Goods

Decoding the dual dilemmas faced by customers and retailers

Finance & Accounting

How Bankruptcy Spreads

The bankruptcy of a single airline can reduce collateral values industry-wide

December 2012

Policy

"Equity Tunneling" Affects Market Outcomes

Securities regulation can boost share price

Is Wikipedia Biased?

Verifying the “neutral point of view”

Social Impact

The Price of Pollution

How much does environmental activism affect a corporation’s bottom line?

Operations

Outsourcing Contracts in Service Industries

A new model reveals a surprisingly simple pricing scheme for outsourced service contracts

November 2012

Economics

All in the Family

Grantmaking of family and non-family foundations differ in predictable ways

Is democracy the best form of government?
Policy

Which Form of Government Is Best?

Democracies may not outlast dictatorships, but they adapt better.

Policy

Why Are Presidents Less Effective than Prime Ministers?

Using game theory to model political systems leads to surprising insights.

Marketing

Peeking Inside the Wallet

How much do consumers spend on their credit cards?

October 2012

Finance & Accounting

The Risk of Risk Avoidance

Firms with high managerial ownership may invest too cautiously

Leadership

Flattery's Dark Side

Why you may want to consider how much you compliment

Operations

How Much Is Your Customer's Time Worth?

If you are in fast food, a surprising amount

Marketing

Balancing Results and Revenue

Tweaking keyword auctions to benefit search engines and Internet users

September 2012

Leadership

Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling

Women lend women a helping hand to obtain top positions

Leadership

The State of Gender and Equality

An interview with Alice Eagly

Marketing

Are Numbers Gendered?

What they reveal about the human mind

Leadership

Is There a Female Leadership Style?

Data suggests the answer is “Yes”

Careers

Leveling the Playing Field

Small tweaks help first-generation college students succeed

Politics & Elections

Braggarts Become Leaders

Women at a disadvantage when competing for leadership positions

August 2012

More than Risk Management

Non-hedging derivatives broadly used, but also broaden risks

Finance & Accounting

Housing’s Albatross

Negative equity weighs on the market

Policy

The Low Cost of Capturing Carbon

A climate-friendly technology may be cheaper than we thought

Economics

Who Wins with the Smart Grid?

Uncertain economics cloud the grid’s future

Leadership

Mastering Motivation

Finding a better way to work toward your goals

July 2012

Volatile Assets

Why we know less about bonds than we thought

Operations

Why You Should Accept Returns

Best handling of merchandise returns may be counterintuitive

Economics

Decisions, Decisions

Why humans can’t seem to make the “right” choices

Leadership

Do Less

Why managers should stop micromanaging and trust their employees

Buying Behaviors of Emerging Middle Classes

How new consumers in developing nations choose their brands

June 2012

Healthcare

When Hospitals Turn Away Ambulances

Uncovering flaws in a policy intended to prevent ER overcrowding

Healthcare

Rebooting Employer-Sponsored Healthcare

Would employees be happier with more health plan choices?

Data Analytics

The Specifics of Sleep

Using statistics to understand sleep better

Policy

Will Doctors Work Less Under “Obamacare”?

The effect of lower reimbursements on the medical workforce

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