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October 2010

Politics & Elections

First Among Equals?

Prime ballot position improves a candidate’s chances of winning office.

Better Decisions Through Diversity

Heterogeneity can boost group performance.

Policy

Big Tax Breaks Beget Small Investments

Why the American Jobs Creation Act lowered taxes but failed to spur domestic investment

Policy

Valuing the Government Guarantee

Determining the U.S. government’s liability for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Policy

Engineered Electioneering

The “when” and “what” of candidates’ messages.

September 2010

Leadership

Successful Mediators Wanted: No Robe Required

Skill should trump judicial experience when choosing a mediator?

Economics

Why Broadband Prices Haven’t Decreased

Creating the first broadband consumer price index

Leadership

Corporate Sweet Talk

How flattery can earn seats in the boardroom

Social Impact

Sustainability Is a Team Effort

Corporate sustainability works best when employees are stakeholders

Marketing

Writing the Books on Sales Forces

Looking back on the career of Andris Zoltners

Marketing

Reframing the Poverty Problem

Marketing can help address social ills

August 2010

Economics

Pick a Rule, Any Rule

The evolution of choice

Marketing

The Downside of Deliberating

Why you may not want to think it over

Finance & Accounting

Valuing Possibilities

Investment behavior and stock returns may measure growth opportunities

Policy

Spent

What happened to the 2008 stimulus checks

When Security Analysts Talk, Who Really Listens?

Large and small investors find different results when following analyst recommendations

July 2010

Policy

Recession-Fighting Serendipity

Well-timed government spending can blunt economic contractions

Strategy

Going, Going, Wrong

Competition and collusion among auction bidders

Policy

Money and Mores in the Mortgage Meltdown

When “illegal” and “immoral” failed to coincide

A Rating System That Forgets

Dropping some reputation ratings may help both buyers and sellers

Organizations

Paying Sales Professionals

Why compensation plans for sales people vary

June 2010

Economics

Let Your Competitor Feast on Leftovers

Creating shortages can be a strategic advantage

Sizing Up the Nightlife

A study of status distinction

Marketing

Corralling Consumer Choice

Optimizing assortment size based on perceived attractiveness

Policy

Minimum Wage Matters

Increasing the minimum wage may not help low-wage workers

Careers

How to Prosper as a Product Manager

Redefining and Strengthening the Product Manager’s Role

May 2010

Finance & Accounting

Bonuses Despite Billion Dollar Bailouts

Managerial incentives, capital reallocation, and the business cycle

Careers

Learning to Use Regret

Studies in the negative emotions and how to use them

Rating the Raters of Corporate Governance

Independent examination reveals inconsistencies

Policy

Voters Love Winners (And So Do Endorsers)

How endorsers can gain the upper hand

Leadership

Get Over Yourself

Why we think we’re forces to be reckoned with

April 2010

Finance & Accounting

Hedging Your Bets Is Still a Gamble

Hedge funds and other alternative assets can underestimate risk, overestimate returns

Marketing

Desire to Acquire

Powerlessness and compensatory consumption

Social Impact

Why Did They Stay?

Perspectives on Katrina survivors’ “choice” to stand their ground or evacuate

Economics

The Surprising Importance of Grades

Sending signals in the job market

Marketing

Surveying Sensitive Topics

New tools help correct for survey bias

March 2010

Social Impact

And the Poor Get Poorer

The economics of higher global temperatures.

The Sounds of Silence

Consumers cue on corporations’ crisis communications

Policy

Pensions in Peril

The funding status of state-sponsored pension plans

Policy

Timing Is Everything

The duration of climate agreements influences their success

Corner Office Compensation

Post-employment benefits explain CEO compensation

February 2010

Trusting the Stock Market

Impressions influence investors decisions

Policy

Congenital Defect

Systemic hospital cost inflation

Finance & Accounting

The Financial Hazards of Aging

Why older adults choose riskier investments

Marketing

The Devil Is in the Detailing

Modeling physician choice of prescription drugs

Policy

Are Restaurants Really Supersizing America?

Restricting restaurant meals may not trim Americans’ expanding waistlines

Strategy

To Settle or Not to Settle

Negotiations and attorney interests in medical malpractice cases

January 2010

Consistent Contributors

Putting the team first helps solve the “cooperation problem”

Strategy

Membership Has Its Punishments

Loyalty programs dissuade firms from pricing products competitively

Data Analytics

Really, I Can Return It? Sold!

Optimizing your returns policy

Operations

We Will Be Right with You

Managing customers with vague promises

December 2009

Finance & Accounting

The Real Costs of Credit Access

Evidence from the payday lending market

Policy

Fetal Influence on Familiar Ailments

The effect of in-utero conditions on long term health

Explaining Stock Price Drift

Trading costs lead the way

Marketing

Balance in Advertising

Tailored marketing messages can counter consumers’ negative emotions

Operations

Rational Rationing

Allocating scarce resources in uncertain conditions

Leadership

Biases that Bind

The Role of Stereotypes in Decision-Making Processes

November 2009

Marketing

Name-Letter Branding

How your name can influence your choices

Policy

The Effects of Health On Wealth

Major illness leads to financial catastrophe for the uninsured

Leadership

Losing Touch

Power diminishes perception and perspective

Policy

Beneficial or Detrimental Legislation?

The pros and cons of Sarbanes-Oxley

Finance & Accounting

In with the “In” Crowd

In venture capital, high school rules prevail

October 2009

Is Accounting that’s Good for General Motors Good for Detroit?

Business and government accounting practices diverge

Marketing

The Art of Persuasion

Aligning consumer goals with level of abstraction

Leadership

Don’t Stand by Me

The role of personal connections in failing projects

Policy

Tort Reform No Miracle Cure

Limiting liability has limited impact on healthcare costs

Marketing

Colored by the Company You Keep

The effects of context on brand evaluations

Pyramidal Blind Spots

Perils of international joint ventures

Strategy

Reading the Org Chart

What a firm’s structure can tell us

September 2009

Suspiciously Short

CEOs with stock options may purposely miss earnings targets

Finance & Accounting

There’s No Place Like Home

Investment bias toward domestic funds

Marketing

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

How loss-aversion influences choice

Finance & Accounting

Agreeing to Disagree

Differing beliefs lead to price drift

August 2009

Finance & Accounting

The Biochemistry of Financial Risk

Testosterone’s influence on financial decisions

Leadership

Beware the Siren’s Song

Maintain self-control by avoiding temptation

Finance & Accounting

Mysterious Profit

‘Peso events’ drive returns to the carry trade

Marketing

Rational Retail Pricing

Demand-based pricing versus past-price dependence

Policy

Super-Premium Ice Cream

Merger effects on product variety

Finance & Accounting

Currency Exchange Rates

Micro effects of macro announcements

July 2009

The Price of a Billable Hour

Social networks affect transaction costs

Banks, Bonds, and Accounting Quality

Poor financial reporting can determine your lending options

Economics

Rationalization in Decision Making

Why we don’t always choose our favorite option

Finance & Accounting

Walking Away

Moral, social, and financial factors influence mortgage default decisions

Strategy

$1,000 Cash Back

Implications for customer and dealer negotiations

June 2009

Driven Offshore

An unintended consequence of Sarbanes-Oxley

Economics

Counterfeit Competition

Driving up price and quality

Marketing

Sales Force Effectiveness

First ask the right questions

Operations

Global Dual Sourcing Strategies

Should you source your carbon fiber bicycle frames from Mexico or China?

May 2009

Marketing

What’s in a Message Frame?

Sharing the good and the bad leads to more persuasive messaging

Marketing

Too Conscious to Decide?

Unconscious evaluation enhances complex decision making

Entrepreneurship

People Are Talking

Anticipate product performance through online discussions

Politics & Elections

The "Teddy Bear Effect" for Black CEOs

Black male CEOS are more successful when their facial features are perceived as less threatening.

Policy

Liquidity Rules

Manage innovation or risk repeating history

April 2009

Living Outside the Box

Living abroad boosts creativity

The Global “Idea” Market

Innovation and international trade in technology

Organizations

Why Boycotts Succeed—and Fail

Identifying corporate vulnerabilities that can lead to damaged reputations

Walking the Walk

Creating a market orientation

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