Kellogg Insight

A magazine of research and ideas from the
faculty of the Kellogg School of Management

June 2024

brainstorming meeting with people and AI computers

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?

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.

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.”

Why Did Early Governments Emerge?

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

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.

The Stereotypes Lurking in Our Language

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

Everyone Wants to Ditch the Middleman. Or Do They?

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

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.

people at opposing desks, one in an apartment and another in an office setting

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.

May 2024

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.

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.

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

Probably not—with a few notable exceptions.

man with bullhorn shouting into another man's face

An Illustrated Guide to Succeeding Where So Many Leaders Fail

Failure happens. What can we learn from it?

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.

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.

The Gender Pay Gap Remains Stubbornly in Place. Why?

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

Person in grocery store with credit overlays to various items.

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.

Are Your Individual Contributors Feeling Isolated?

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

April 2024

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.

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.

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.”

person attending psychedelic therapy session

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.

person at computer looking at personalized skateboard advertisement

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.

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

An expert offers 6 tips for becoming board-ready.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Man paints outside of factory with green paint on a roller.

Do Green Bonds Actually Lead to Rosy Returns?

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

person reaching for a package on a pantry shelf

The Hedge Fund in Your Pantry

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

March 2024

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.

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.”

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.

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.

group of people reacting to person attempting to persuade them by showing their approval

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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?

February 2024

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Podcast: The Complicated Promise of ESG

On this episode of The Insightful Leader: Are companies as socially responsible as they claim? And how much should investors care?

Organizations

Could Remote Work Hurt On-the-Job Learning?

We are more likely to learn from our collaborators when we are in close proximity to them, a new study finds.

Gilded age bureaucrat holding items on his desk as train passes outside window

Economics

How the Railroad Laid the Tracks for Modern Government

Technologies that allowed federal officials to monitor workers from afar played a key role in the emergence of the bureaucratic state.

Organizations

Are Whistleblowers Seen as Heroes or Snitches? It Depends.

Reporting workplace misconduct often requires choosing between morality and loyalty. New research explores how that trade-off is viewed by others.

person preparing for a speech like a boxer in mirror with trainer

Leadership

Want to Connect with Your Audience? Stop Trying to Impress Them

Good ideas and technical expertise alone won’t cut it. An expert offers four tips on giving a great presentation.

January 2024

Social Impact

What’s Behind the Rush to Join an Internet Pile-on?

A new study investigates the reputational rewards of publicly condemning others before getting the whole story.

Finance & Accounting

ESG Risks Can Lurk in Supply Chains, Too

Most companies know little of their suppliers’ ESG practices. But negative incidents can sway stock prices—and investors should take note.

Organizations

How Will AI Reshape Our World? It’s Really Up to Us.

We need to be proactive to ensure AI supports—rather than supplants—human priorities.

Podcast: How Should You Present Yourself at Work?

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

Podcast: How Should You Present Yourself at Work?

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

Podcast: How Should You Present Yourself at Work?

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

Podcast: How Should You Present Yourself at Work?

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

Organizations

4 Tips for Managing the Succession Challenge

Generational transitions can be bumpy for family firms. They can also be an opportunity to grow.

Economics

Why Are So Many Young Chinese Depressed?

It’s not just the economic slowdown. The country’s education system and social policies have created a disillusioned generation.

people walking through a lively urban shopping district

Social Impact

Community Revitalization Is Hard to Get Right. Here’s How It Can Succeed.

“The basic amenities people want are pretty universal, but every community has its own priorities and ideals.”

Marketing

Here’s a Cost-Effective Way to Tell If Your Digital Ads Are Working

Running even a small number of experiments can reveal a lot, a new study finds.

Finance & Accounting

How Should Global Cities Manage an Influx of Wealthy Foreign Residents?

In an age of remote work, the trend will only continue. So how can governments take advantage of the benefits while mitigating the harms?

Finance & Accounting

Who Pays for All Those Generous Credit-Card Rewards?

A new study investigates where this “free” money is coming from—and why credit-card companies are so keen to dole it out.

December 2023

Organizations

Take 5: What Does It Take to Make a Small Business Work?

The challenges are big. So are the opportunities.

Podcast: Get Inside Your Customer’s Mind

On this episode of The Insightful Leader: how understanding consumer mindsets can help you make the sale.

Innovation

Not Sure Where to Start with Your AI Strategy? Here Are 3 Steps

Companies across the economy are harnessing AI for a variety of functions in their businesses, with some further along in their strategies than others.

Strategy

Investing Over-the-Counter—and Under the Radar

In most markets, buyers and sellers benefit from soliciting many offers. New research shows why the opposite is true for OTC traders.

Entrepreneurship

Preparing for an Investor Meeting? Here’s How to Position Your Startup

An entrepreneurship expert—and longtime investor—offers advice for making your company attractive, whether the market is hot or cold.

Organizations

Yoga Classes? On-Site Childcare? Firms Just Outside the Fortune 500 Work Hard to Attract Talent.

To compete with their prestigious peers, these organizations invest more in employees, research shows.

Finance & Accounting

How Much Do Job Vacancies Hurt a Company’s Bottom Line?

Quite a bit, a new study shows—and large organizations aren’t immune to the toll on both sales and profits.

Marketing

5 Mindsets That Drive Consumer Behavior

“Fixed” and “growth” aren’t the only mindsets out there. A Kellogg marketing professor explains the surprising ways that our mental states can influence what we buy.

Marketing

A Better Way to Measure Customers’ Willingness to Pay

Determining what customers will spend on your product is one of marketing’s oldest challenges. But “current methods don’t consider context and competition the way they should.”

November 2023

Economics

The Long Tail of China’s Zero-Covid Policy

As the costs of China’s pandemic experience are tallied, younger generations are confronting a disconcerting new reality.

Social Impact

Take 5: The Psychology of Charitable Giving

What makes us give? Research reveals the surprising factors that shape our generosity.

Podcast: Using AI Comes with a Trade-off. Now Multiply That by 8 Billion.

On this episode of The Insightful Leader podcast: what happens when everyone uses the same generative AI tools?

Marketing

The Surprising Role of … Surprise … in Hypocrisy

What makes a choice seem hypocritical? New research finds that unexpectedness is an important factor.