Business & Entrepreneurship

According to a study co-authored by a Washington University researcher, behavioral patterns can be predicted by understanding information-seeking and information-aversion behaviors.

The new CDC guidelines may help businesses – especially restaurants and bars – if customers feel safer with the new recommendations, according to Olin Business School’s Raphael Thomadsen and Song Yao.

Today’s consumers are more attuned to brands’ values and willing to pay a premium to support companies that share their values, according to new research from the Bauer Leadership Center at Washington University in St. Louis and Vrity.

Cynthia Cryder, associate professor of marketing at Olin Business School, was named one of Poets & Quants’ “Best 40 Under 40” professors of 2021.

Even before COVID-19 and resulting shutdowns created gridlock for some global supply chains, the assortment at many neighborhood supermarkets was dwindling. The cause was not a lack of supply, though, but rather a lack of demand created by a widening income gap in the U.S., according to a new study involving a Washington University in St. Louis researcher.

The economy and coronavirus pandemic were two of the top issues for voters in the 2020 election, according to exit poll surveys. Notably, 52% of voters said controlling the pandemic was more important, even if it hurts the economy. But what if we didn’t have to choose?

New Olin Business School research suggests that if consumers view a vaccine more like a curative to the epidemic, rather than as a preventative for the self, they will be more receptive toward it.

New research shows marketers could win more customers by offering financial incentives to customers’ friends — providing a reputational boost to customers — than “selfish” financial incentives to customers. A Washington University in St. Louis marketing professor was a co-author on the study.

The U.S. sports blackout because of the pandemic has left at least a $12 billion crater in the national economy. And even if stadiums and arenas light up anew soon, they won’t look the same. A sports business expert from the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis doesn’t expect the NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball to welcome fans if/when they return in 2020, for example.

In business, simple loyalty programs can strongly increase customer retention, Washington University in St. Louis researchers have found. These Olin Business School scientists studied a loyalty program at a chain of men’s hair salons, collecting data on more than 5,500 customers. Under the program, for every $100 a customer spends, he gets a $5-off coupon.