The Innovation Stack
Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time
From the cofounder of Square, an inspiring and entertaining account of what it means to be a true entrepreneur and what it takes to build a resilient, world-changing company
Zhang wins Olin Award for research on Alibaba packing time
Dennis Zhang, assistant professor of operations and manufacturing management at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, has won the 2020 Olin Award for research that creates a human-focused algorithm to improve warehouse workers’ packing time while also reducing material costs.
Research finds slave trade’s effect on firm ownership persists today
While closely held ownership isn’t necessarily bad, research co-authored by a faculty member at Washington University in St. Louis’ Olin Business School suggests some African firms may miss 21st century growth opportunities without the ability to raise capital through shared ownership.
Recessions, like earthquakes, are impossible to predict confidently
Some economic observers continue to warn about signs of a potential U.S. recession. Glenn MacDonald, the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics and Strategy at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, says many signs aren’t particularly reliable — but keep an eye on housing starts.
Workplace theft is contagious (and strategic)
Three Olin Business School researchers completed a study of workplace theft among restaurant workers that details, for the first time, how such stealing is contagious — and new restaurant workers are particularly susceptible.
Invite consumers to pop-up, and pop goes the spending — offline and online
Two Washington University in St. Louis researchers, along with a former fellow Olin Business School faculty member and Alibaba officials, flipped the pop-up business model, and possibly more. The co-authors found that inviting potential customers via text message could increase buying with both a pop-up shop retailer and similar product vendors online … for weeks and months to come.
Corporate America endorses responsibility, values
CEOs belonging to the Business Roundtable publicly committed to corporate responsibility to society as a whole, “a huge statement from one of the most influential groups in American business,” says a Washington University in St. Louis expert in values-based business.
The Economics of Higher Purpose
Eight Counterintuitive Steps For Creating a Purpose-Driven Organization
Two distinguished scholars offer eight steps to help organizations discover and embrace an authentic higher purpose–something that will dramatically improve every aspect of any enterprise, including the bottom line.
Self-managed teams lead to much lower pay for women
Researchers from Olin Business School studied self-managed teams, and found that they tend to create pay inequality. Women “consistently receive bargaining outcomes below their productivity level, while men are consistently overcompensated,” the researchers wrote.
Crest Whitestrips and the myth of big company innovation
A new study by Olin Business School’s Anne Marie Knott, steeped in research and development, finds that large companies constitute 87% of the R&D engine right now, concluding that previous researchers just haven’t had the right tools to measure the productivity of investments in this area.
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