October 2023
Healthcare
Can We Build a Better Prescription Drug Market?
Medicare will soon be able to negotiate directly with drug makers. But one economist explains why “the goal should be to increase value, not just lower prices.”
Policy
Big Tech Takes the Stand
Google may look like a monopoly, but is its power actually hurting consumers? A legal expert weighs in.
Politics & Elections
How the Electoral College May Curb Election Fraud
This distinctive aspect of American democracy has come under increased scrutiny. But the very quality that most vexes its critics comes with an underrecognized upside.
Economics
Is Chinese Youth Unemployment as Bad as It Looks?
China’s exceptional growth in recent decades has influenced the education and career choices of young people and their families. But now that high-skilled jobs are drying up and recent graduates are struggling to find work, there is a growing mismatch between expectations and new realities.
Finance & Accounting
The Enduring Power of Bond Ratings
In 1909, John Moody handed out his first As, Bs and Cs. The market would never be the same.
Finance & Accounting
How Your Personality Shapes Your Portfolio
Extroversion. Openness. Neuroticism. It turns out individual traits have a meaningful impact on our investment decisions.
September 2023
Organizations
It’s Election Season. Here Comes the Morally Charged Language.
In the U.S., presidential candidates across the political spectrum lean on value-laden rhetoric—but emphasize different values.
Marketing
Podcast: Why Canada Goose Soared and Shinola Sputtered
Luxury is dominated by older brands. So what happens when newer entrants try to break through? In the second of two bonus episodes, we show what can go right—and wrong.
Entrepreneurship
Could Generative AI Out-Entrepreneur Humans? Maybe, but Here's What Matters More.
3 tips to help you understand what that means for you as a business-builder.
Marketing
Podcast: So You Want to Be a Luxury Brand
So opulent! So exclusive! In the first of two bonus episodes, we explore everything that helps brands like Ferrari and Manolo Blahnik scream luxury.
Entrepreneurship
Take 5: How to Sell Your Startup from the Start
Advice from our experts on pitching your idea—and yourself.
Finance & Accounting
The More Investors Know, the More Executives Disclose
CEOs are likelier to volunteer bad news when the public better understands their personal motives for maximizing short-term stock prices.
Policy
Why Do Long Wars Happen?
War is a highly inefficient way of dividing contested resources—yet conflicts endure when there are powerful incentives to feign strength.
Finance & Accounting
When Crypto Went Mainstream—and Drove Up Housing Prices
Many Americans have cryptocurrency in their portfolios and treat it much like any other investment.
Organizations
Knowing Your Boss’s Salary Can Make You Work Harder—or Slack Off
Your level of motivation depends on whether you have a fair shot at getting promoted yourself.
August 2023
Podcast: The Case for Admitting (Some) Flaws at Work
On this episode of The Insightful Leader: Why showing vulnerability can actually be a boon for leaders.
Organizations
Social-Media Algorithms Have Hijacked “Social Learning”
We make sense of the world by observing and mimicking others, but digital platforms throw that process into turmoil. Can anything be done?
Organizations
Podcast: Platforms Are Experimenting on Their Users … a Lot. Is That Okay?
On this episode of The Insightful Leader: Opaque algorithms on platforms like LinkedIn, Uber, and TaskRabbit have more power than ever. It’s starting to impact livelihoods.
Careers
Take 5: Not So Fast!
A little patience can lead to better ideas, stronger organizations, and more-ethical conduct at work.
Strategy
How Autocracies Unravel
Over time, leaders grow more repressive and cling to yes-men—a cycle that’s playing out today in Putin’s Russia.
Finance & Accounting
Want to Find the Next Big Company? IP Offers a Clue.
A company’s early efforts to protect its intellectual property are a good signal that it intends to grow—one of many lessons from a wide-ranging investigation of U.S. IP practices.
Marketing
As Data Privacy Improves, Small Advertisers Could Get Squeezed
Lauded as a win for consumers, new protections could have unintended consequences. “There’s no privacy ‘free lunch’ here.”
Marketing
How Data Tracking Is Changing—and What That Means for You
Tech companies are phasing out cookies. Will consumers finally see meaningful privacy protections?
Entrepreneurship
Could Aligning with a Star Help Your Brand?
Celebrity brands are on the rise. Here’s what to know before you pursue a famous business partner.
July 2023
Economics
Youth Unemployment and China’s Economic Future
For decades, China’s growth has followed the pattern of advanced economies, with rising incomes and educational attainment, shrinking family size, and growing female labor-force participation. But across these and other dimensions, the economy now appears to be going backward.
Operations
ChatGPT Has Arrived. What’s a Manager to Do?
4 tips for leading a team in an age of generative AI.
Finance & Accounting
Wage Garnishment in the U.S. Is More Common Than You Might Think
A new study offers a first look at the impact of collecting defaulted debts directly from worker’s paychecks.
Operations
Schools Often Partner with Nonprofits to Benefit Students. Which Partnerships Last?
One key to keeping programs afloat: flexibility.
Finance & Accounting
Where Is Commercial Real Estate Headed Next?
Experts discuss the latest trends, from demolishing office space to repurposing malls (again) to riding out the end of the warehouse boom.
Organizations
It’s Performance Review Time. Which Ranking System Is Best for Your Team?
A look at the benefits and downsides of two different approaches.
Organizations
A Company Has Donated on Your Behalf! What Will You Do Next?
A new study on the recent trend of “giving-by-proxy” offers good news for charitable organizations.
Innovation
How AI Can Help Researchers Navigate the “Replication Crisis”
A new tool predicts whether a specific study is likely to replicate, building confidence in the findings among scientists, funding agencies, and the public.
Organizations
How to Prepare for AI-Generated Misinformation
“We have to be careful not to get distracted by sci-fi issues and focus on concrete risks that are the most pressing.”
Policy
Will the PGA–LIV Golf Merger Pass the Antitrust Test?
“Statements that LIV has made about breaking up the monopoly of the PGA may come back to haunt them.”
June 2023
Policy
The Supreme Court Ended Race-Conscious Admissions. A Sociologist Who Studies Bias in Elite Spaces Is Worried about the Ramifications.
“The decision represents a fundamental misunderstanding or misrecognition of what we know from science about how discrimination works.”
Innovation
How the Metaverse Could Shape Science
Augmented reality has the potential to solve old problems—and introduce new ones. Is it time to establish guardrails?
Finance & Accounting
Why U.S. Regional Banks Are Still in Crisis
Things may get worse before they get better. Here’s what needs to happen to put the banking system on firmer ground.
Leadership
Podcast: How to Prepare for Your New Algorithmic Coworker
For better or worse, generative AI is here to stay. On this episode of The Insightful Leader: What could it mean for you and your team?
Operations
Does It Pay to List a Rental at the Last Minute?
Not necessarily. A new study argues that platforms in the sharing economy should incentivize behavior that creates win–wins.
Strategy
How Religious Beliefs about a Couple’s Compatibility Lead to Better Outcomes
In Vietnam, the belief system known as Tu Vi deems some marriages more “auspicious” than others. The effects are far-reaching.
Economics
China’s Youth Unemployment Problem
If the record-breaking joblessness persists, as seems likely, China will have an even harder time supporting its rapidly aging population.
Careers
Do You Overprepare? Here Are 4 Ways to Curb This Perfectionist Tendency.
Women are particularly susceptible to the overpreparation trap, argues Ellen Taaffe in this excerpt from her new book, The Mirrored Door.
Organizations
Is There a Bot Behind That Tweet?
When we see messages that contradict our political ideology, we are more inclined to attribute them to bots. It’s making society even more polarized.
Marketing
Yes, You Should Hit “Share” when You Make a Charitable Donation
Nobody wants to come across as bragging, but when donors stay mum, charities miss out. New research offers a strategy to embolden givers.
Leadership
5 Tips for Growing as a Leader without Burning Yourself Out
A leadership coach and former CEO on how to take a holistic approach to your career.
May 2023
Policy
What’s at Stake in the Debt-Ceiling Standoff?
Defaulting would be an unmitigated disaster, quickly felt by ordinary Americans.
Finance & Accounting
Consider This New Measure of Profitability When Constructing Your Portfolio
Researchers construct an intangibles-adjusted profitability measure that can benefit investors.
Leadership
Podcast: How to Discuss Poor Performance with Your Employee
Giving negative feedback is not easy, but such critiques can be meaningful for both parties if you use the right roadmap. Get advice on this episode of The Insightful Leader.
Policy
Take 5: Yikes! When Unintended Consequences Strike
Good intentions don’t always mean good results. Here’s why humility, and a lot of monitoring, are so important when making big changes.
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Is Still Entrepreneurship
ETA is one of the fastest-growing paths to entrepreneurship. Here’s how to think about it.
Finance & Accounting
One Key to a Happy Marriage? A Joint Bank Account.
Merging finances helps newlyweds align their financial goals and avoid scorekeeping.
Entrepreneurship
3 Traits of Successful Market-Creating Entrepreneurs
Creating a market isn’t for the faint of heart. But a dose of humility can go a long way.
Organizations
Today’s Gig Workers Are Subject to Endless Experimentation
“It raises the question, do we want to be a society where experimentation is just the norm?”
Marketing
Podcast: How to Tell Compelling Stories with Data Visualizations
We’re back with an episode from the archives. On this episode of The Insightful Leader: a blueprint for making strong (and honest) arguments with data.
Economics
2 Factors Will Determine How Much AI Transforms Our Economy
They’ll also dictate how workers stand to fare.
Organizations
How Activism-Inspired Roles like “Sustainability Manager” Emerge and Evolve
First, these new positions are held by activists themselves. Over time, this changes.
April 2023
Leadership
What Should Leaders Make of the Latest AI?
As ChatGPT flaunts its creative capabilities, two experts discuss the promise and pitfalls of our coexistence with machines.
Leadership
How to Manage a Disengaged Employee—and Get Them Excited about Work Again
Don’t give up on checked-out team members. Try these strategies instead.
Policy
Banning China from Owning U.S. Farmland Will Achieve Nothing
A new bipartisan bill would prohibit anyone associated with “foreign adversaries” like China from purchasing U.S. farmland. While protecting the U.S. food system and making farmland more affordable to domestic producers by limiting foreign ownership may seem plausible on paper, the reality is more complicated.
Leadership
Podcast: How to Discuss Politics When You Disagree
Talking politics in this polarized climate is a dicey proposition. On this episode of The Insightful Leader, an expert in the psychology of persuasion offers tips on how to approach the topic constructively.
Organizations
Are People on Social Media Actually That Outraged?
One reason we think Twitter is such a polarized place: we’re bad at inferring how angry people are from their posts.
Marketing
To Better Understand Your Customers, Think Like a “Consumer Anthropologist”
Engaging consumers in their natural habitat helps you glean insights that would never be visible in a spreadsheet.
Leadership
Podcast: Is There a Right Way to Monitor Worker Productivity?
On this episode of The Insightful Leader, we consider the benefits and drawbacks of keeping a very close eye on employees.
Operations
Take 5: Research-Backed Tips for Scheduling Your Day
Kellogg faculty offer ideas for working smarter and not harder.
Marketing
We Prefer Authentic Products. But What Conveys “Authenticity”?
Invoking a company’s history can help—and research points to a new way of doing this.
Marketing
Why Are Products Marketed to Women Sometimes More Expensive?
A new study upends popular assumptions about the “pink tax.”
Economics
How Marriages Are Exacerbating Income Inequality
Marriage patterns can account for 40 percent of rising inequality, according to a new study.
March 2023
Leadership
3 Things to Keep in Mind When Delivering Negative Feedback
First, understand the purpose of the conversation, which is trickier than it sounds.
Finance & Accounting
Podcast: "It's Hard to Regulate U.S. Banks!"
Silicon Valley Bank spectacularly collapsed—and a new analysis suggests that its precarious situation is not as much of an outlier as we’d hope. On this episode of The Insightful Leader, we learn what went wrong and what should happen next.
Finance & Accounting
What Went Wrong at Silicon Valley Bank?
And how can it be avoided next time? A new analysis sheds light on vulnerabilities within the U.S. banking industry.
Marketing
Marketers, Don’t Be Too Hasty to Act on Data
Don’t like the trends you’re seeing? It’s tempting to take immediate action. Instead, consider a hypothesis-driven approach to solving your problems.
Organizations
Companies Now Have Many Tools to Monitor Employee Productivity. When Should They Use Them?
Monitoring employee productivity can make companies more efficient—and can benefit employees, too. But the practice, which makes use of a variety of methods including activity logging, tracking software, surveillance cameras, and the gathering of GPS data, also raises a host of concerns around trust, privacy, and fairness.
Leadership
Podcast: Workers Are Stressed Out. Here’s How Leaders Can Help.
On this 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.
Organizations
For Students with Disabilities, Discrimination Starts Before They Even Enter School
Public-school principals are less welcoming to prospective families with disabled children—particularly when they’re Black.
Social Impact
A Novel Strategy for Fighting Discrimination on Online Platforms
Profile pictures build trust on peer-to-peer platforms—but they can also breed discrimination. Small changes to profile photos could make a difference.
Organizations
Leaders, Don’t Be Afraid to Admit Your Flaws
We prefer to work for people who can make themselves vulnerable, a new study finds. But there are limits.
Operations
At Their Best, Self-Learning Algorithms Can Be a “Win-Win-Win”
Lyft is using ”reinforcement learning” to match customers to drivers—leading to higher profits for the company, more work for drivers, and happier customers.
February 2023
Marketing
Take 5: How Fear Influences Our Decisions
Our anxieties about the future can have surprising implications for our health, our family lives, and our careers.
Organizations
A DEI Reading List
Many organizations want to build a workplace that works for everyone. But simply wanting DEI efforts to succeed isn't enough; companies must take a systematic approach to ensuring that they succeed. Read on for some of our favorite advice from Kellogg faculty about the biases that hold diversity efforts back, and how organizations can combat them.
Careers
Don’t Panic! Tools for Dialing Down Workplace Stress
Beyond taking a personal toll, stress can reduce productivity. Here’s what managers can do.
Economics
Podcast: How Last Fall’s Climate Bill Is Creating Opportunities for Businesses
With major incentives starting to kick in, here’s how the legislation is poised to affect the economy.
Marketing
If Your Favorite App Disappeared, How Would You Spend That Time?
Knowing whether users migrate to other apps or simply cut back on screen time is critical for understanding competition in the “attention economy.”
Healthcare
Consumers Lose Out When Health Insurers Offer Lots of Plans
While extra choices are usually considered a good thing, insurers are able to use them strategically to maximize profits.
Finance & Accounting
Understanding the Pandemic’s Lasting Impact on Real Estate
Work-from-home has stuck around. What does this mean for residential and commercial real-estate markets?
Marketing
Got a Niche Product to Sell? Augmented Reality Might Help.
Letting customers “try out” products virtually can give customers the confidence to take the plunge.
Healthcare
Will AI Eventually Replace Doctors?
Maybe not entirely. But the doctor–patient relationship is likely to change dramatically.
January 2023
Leadership
Podcast: How Letting Teams Fail Can Help Them Succeed
It can be tempting for leaders to swoop in to solve problems. On this episode of The Insightful Leader, we hear from a U.S. Army colonel about why doing so is a disservice.
Economics
6 Takeaways on Inflation and the Economy Right Now
Are we headed into a recession? Kellogg’s Sergio Rebelo breaks down the latest trends.
Policy
Take 5: What We’ve Learned about Tackling Public-Health Crises
Covid-era research sheds light on how policymakers can guide the economy and the public through future emergencies.
Finance & Accounting
What Is the Purpose of a Corporation Today?
Has anything changed in the three years since the Business Roundtable declared firms should prioritize more than shareholders?
Careers
Podcast: What to Expect When Joining a Family-Owned Business
There are cons—but a lot of pros, too. On this episode of The Insightful Leader, we’ll explore what it’s like to work at a family business when you’re not a family member.
Careers
3 Tips for Reinventing Your Career After a Layoff
It’s crucial to reassess what you want to be doing instead of jumping at the first opportunity.
Careers
Podcast: Does Your Life Reflect What You Value?
On this episode of The Insightful Leader, a former CEO explains how to organize your life around what really matters—instead of trying to do it all.
Organizations
College Campuses Are Becoming More Diverse. But How Much Do Students from Different Backgrounds Actually Interact?
Increasing diversity has been a key goal, “but far less attention is paid to what happens after we get people in the door.”
Politics & Elections
Partisanship Doesn’t Just Color Our View of Facts—It Alters How We Think about Hypotheticals
New research sheds light on how polarization can shape our counterfactual thinking.
Marketing
How Much Do Boycotts Affect a Company’s Bottom Line?
There’s often an opposing camp pushing for a “buycott” to support the company. New research shows which group has more sway.
Who Does a Better Job with ESG ratings, Global or Local Research Firms?
Sometimes, global raters miss important nuances about a firm’s environmental, social, and governmental activities.
December 2022
Economics
Podcast: China’s Economy Is in Flux. Here’s What American Businesses Need to Know.
On this episode of The Insightful Leader: the end of “Zero Covid,” escalating geopolitical tensions, and China’s potentially irreplaceable role in the global supply chain.
Economics
What Do American Businesses Need to Understand about China Right Now?
As China’s zero-Covid policy ends, it’s time to take stock of where the world’s second largest economy may be headed.