Business & Entrepreneurship

Having a personal higher purpose promotes well-being, more happiness and even lower stress from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to findings from a new survey by two Washington University in St. Louis researchers from Olin Business School. Also, employees of organizations with higher-purpose statements are happier and prouder of their organizations than are employees at workplaces without a statement, the results show.

Xiumin Martin from the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis was among four researchers who crunched data to find that personal connections between suppliers and vendors particularly improves the efficiency of the supply chain. To be precise, such rapport results in better overall performance, less restrictive and longer-lasting contract terms, and crystallized communication.

A linguistic expert from Washington University in St. Louis who participated in an elite 15-member committee announcing July 20 its findings on what he calls “potentially harmful” categorizing, said it’s time to nix the generational mindset in business.

Two researchers from Washington University in St. Louis and another from Pontificia Universidad Católica in Chile found that daydreaming carries significant creative benefits, especially for those who identify with their profession and care for the work they do.

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.

A federal moratorium on evictions is just one piece of the puzzle. Without comprehensive solutions, we could be facing a repeat of the 2007-08 financial crisis, said Radhakrishnan Gopalan, a finance expert at Washington University in St. Louis who has studied the effect of health insurance on home payment delinquency.

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling June 29 won’t alter the fledgling Consumer Financial Protection Bureau because it already morphed during the first decade of its existence to where it falls under the philosophical whim of each presidential administration, says an Olin Business School scientist at Washington University in St. Louis.

President Donald Trump issued a presidential proclamation this week that will suspend most new H-1B and other visas through the end of the year — a move the administration said was to protect jobs for unemployed Americans affected by COVID-19. The industries most reliant on visas to fill open positions, however, have relatively low unemployment rates, according to an Olin Business School expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

Life-changing innovations continue to emerge from the university thanks to creative faculty research, cross-collaboration and the aid of the Office of Technology Management.

Big data is changing the world, but is it for the better? Liberty Vittert, professor of practice in data science at Olin Business School, discusses big data’s even bigger impact.