- 01 Sep 2020
- Cold Call Podcast
How to Launch a New Biosciences Product: Start Small or Dive in?
C16 Biosciences wants to replace palm oil, a major contributor to deforestation, with a lab-grown substitute. But CEO Shara Ticku faces a tough decision in bringing the product to market. Jeff Bussgang discusses his case study. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 01 Sep 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Transaction Cost Economics in the Digital Economy: A Research Agenda
The increasing dominance of the digital economy has brought new questions about the interplay of organizations and the market-based ecosystem. Transaction Cost Economics theory is a useful lens to understand firm organization and possibly guide policy and regulation.
- 31 Aug 2020
- Research & Ideas
State and Local Governments Peer Into the Pandemic Abyss
State and local governments that rely heavily on sales tax revenue face an increasing financial burden absent federal aid, says Daniel Green. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 31 Aug 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
The Pass-Through of Uncertainty Shocks to Households
A firm’s stock price volatility during times of uncertainty can significantly reduce workers’ consumption and savings decisions. This paper sheds light on the economic effects of uncertainty, and in particular, how firms provide insurance to their workers during periods of turmoil.
- 31 Aug 2020
- What Do You Think?
Why Don’t More Organizations Understand the Power of Diversity and Inclusion?
SUMMING UP: Diversity in business leadership is certainly an enviable social goal, but does it improve company performance? James Heskett's readers look for the research evidence. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 30 Aug 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Consumers Punish Firms that Cut Employee Pay in Response to COVID-19
In the wake of COVID-19, firms announced both employee furloughs and (typically small) CEO wage cuts. This research shows that firms’ treatment of employees matters far more to consumers than executive pay cuts.
- 24 Aug 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Performance Hacking: The Contagious Business Practice that Corrodes Corporate Culture, Undermines Core Values, and Damages Great Companies
Performance hacking (or p-hacking for short) means overzealous advocacy of positive interpretations to the point of detachment from actuals. In business as in research there are strong incentives to p-hack. If p-hacking behaviours are not checked, a crash becomes inevitable.
- 24 Aug 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
When Do Experts Listen to Other Experts? The Role of Negative Information in Expert Evaluations for Novel Projects
Evaluators of early-stage scientific proposals tend to systematically focus on the weaknesses of proposed work rather than its strengths, according to evidence from two field experiments.
- 24 Aug 2020
- Research & Ideas
How Much Will Remote Work Continue After the Pandemic?
A new survey suggests that at least 16 percent of employees will remain at-home workers long after COVID-19 recedes, report researchers Christopher Stanton, Zoe Cullen, and Michael Luca. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 20 Aug 2020
- Book
From the Plow to the Pill: How Technology Shapes Our Lives
Many technologies have upended long-held beliefs about love, sex, marriage, and reproduction, says Debora Spar in a new book, Work Mate Marry Love: How Machines Shape Our Human Destiny. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 20 Aug 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Can Shared Service Delivery Increase Customer Engagement? A Study of Shared Medical Appointments
Shared service delivery means that customers are served in groups rather than individually. Results from a large-scale study of glaucoma follow-up appointments at a major eye hospital indicate that shared service delivery can significantly improve patients’ verbal and non-verbal engagement.
- 20 Aug 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Best Ideas
The “best ideas” in investment managers’ portfolios generate statistically and economically significant risk-adjusted returns over time, and they systematically outperform other positions in the portfolios. Investors can gain substantially if managers choose less-diversified portfolios that tilt more towards their best ideas.
- 18 Aug 2020
- Cold Call Podcast
Is a Pandemic the Best Time To Try Out a New Idea?
Singapore's new nationwide, Bluetooth-based contact tracing program TraceTogether must overcome privacy issues to be effective. Would Singaporeans adopt TraceTogether? Professor Mitch Weiss discusses his new case study. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 17 Aug 2020
- Research & Ideas
What the Stockdale Paradox Tells Us About Crisis Leadership
The Stockdale Paradox and survival psychology contain wisdom for how leaders can manage the coronavirus crisis, according to Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 17 Aug 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Gender Differences in COVID-19 Related Attitudes and Behavior: Evidence from a Panel Survey in Eight OECD Countries
Survey evidence from eight countries indicates strong gender differences in people’s belief that COVID-19 represents a serious health risk and in their agreement and compliance with restraining policy measures.
- 17 Aug 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Of Learning and Forgetting: Centrism, Populism, and the Legitimacy Crisis of Globalization
Cycles of liberation and regulation of global finance follow a pattern of learning and forgetting. This essay argues that liberalization and globalization created the instability and inequality that have begun to undermine the system from within.
- 13 Aug 2020
- Research & Ideas
6 Ways to Support COVID-Weary Employees
Ashley Whillans and colleagues offer managers solutions to ease the stress many employees are experiencing in the new workplace. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 12 Aug 2020
- Research & Ideas
Why Investors Often Lose When They Sue Their Financial Adviser
Forty percent of American investors rely on financial advisers, but the COVID-19 market rollercoaster may have highlighted a weakness when disputes arise. The system favors the financial industry, says Mark Egan. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 10 Aug 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Collaborating During Coronavirus: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Nature of Work
This study of 16 cities is the first large-scale analysis of how digital communication patterns have changed in the early stages of the pandemic. The overall pattern of more meetings and more emails points to a spillover of virtual communication beyond normal working hours.
Why American Health Care Needs Its Own SEC
The United States needs a health care equivalent of the Securities and Exchange Commission to increase transparency and competition, argues Regina Herzlinger. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.