Do You Prefer Cats or Dogs? Why Self-expression Increases Giving
Businessam StaffJune 21, 2021
Do you prefer dogs or cats? Vanilla or chocolate? Winter or summer? The answers to these simple questions reveal a little something about who we are and what we like. We want to answer them because they’re fun, and because it broadcasts a bit of information about our personality, our values, and our desires. But […]
How to Overcome Cognitive Biases Against Climate Action
Businessam StaffJune 21, 2021
In this opinion piece, Wharton professors Howard Kunreuther and Robert Meyer look at what prevents homeowners from undertaking measures that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and how they can be convinced to do so. Kunreuther and Meyer are co-directors of the Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center and are co-authors of The Ostrich Paradox: […]
Using Data Analytics as a Source for Change
Businessam StaffJune 14, 2021
If knowledge is power, then the vast knowledge contained in big data is powerful enough to change the world. But simply harnessing bits and bytes into tidy tables or whizbang algorithms won’t move the needle on progress. Companies, organizations, and researchers must view the data through a social, political, and cultural lens if they want […]
How Common Ownership of Startups Improves Innovation Efficiency
Businessam StaffJune 14, 2021
When venture capital firms own equity in more than one competing startup in an industry, they have the ability to improve innovation efficiency by redirecting their investments away from laggards in their portfolio towards those that show more promise. The VCs may stop funding those lagging startups, but continue to extract value from them by […]
Creating Equity in COVID-19 Testing and Vaccine Distribution
Businessam StaffJune 7, 2021
As chief of the Division of General Obstetrics and Gynecology for Penn Medicine, Dr. Florencia Greer Polite has spent many satisfying work days delivering babies and taking care of her female patients. But it was something out of her regular routine that recently became a defining moment in her career. When the COVID-19 vaccine rollout […]
How Insider Trading Hides Behind a Barely Noticed Rule
Businessam StaffMay 31, 2021
Existing regulations on company executives selling shares of their companies are vulnerable to insider trading abuses and must therefore be tightened, according to a recent Wharton study. When the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted the so-called Rule 10b5-1 in 2002, it clearly had in mind visibility into trading by company insiders. The rule allowed […]
How Foreign Work Visas Benefit the U.S. Economy
Businessam StaffMay 31, 2021
The Biden administration recently allowed a Trump-era ban on certain work visas to expire, opening the door for foreign workers to reenter the American labor pool after being locked out for nearly a year. The controversial ban, which President Donald Trump said was necessary to protect public health and the economy during the coronavirus pandemic, […]
Why Canada Took the Top Spot on This Year’s ‘Best Countries’ List
Businessam StaffMay 24, 2021
Canada is the apparent envy of the world, earning the top spot on the U.S. News & World Report Best Countries rankings for 2021. The nation has always scored well since the list began six years ago, but this is the first time that America’s neighbor to the north has hit the No. 1 position. […]
Why SPACs Are Booming
Businessam StaffMay 24, 2021
SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies, have raised more than $100 billion so far this year compared to $83 billion last year and more than all that they have raised in their 30-year history, a recent Wall Street Journal report noted. SPACs have been one of the “most spectacular” developments in financial markets in recent […]
Want to Get Unstuck? How Science Can Help
Businessam StaffMay 17, 2021
Have you ever wanted to change something in your life but can’t seem to get started? Or maybe you started, only to lose all momentum? Wharton operations, information and decisions professor Katy Milkman is a behavioral scientist who has spent most of her career studying the strategies that help people create lasting, effective change, whether […]