Business & Entrepreneurship

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.

It’s important to feel connected to our community and to practice self-care during this uncertain time. That’s why Washington University’s human resources team moved quickly to adapt programming and migrate many of its offerings to an online format.

The $2 trillion plan to prop up a pandemic-reeling United States, amid the news that there were 3.3 million unemployment claims lodged in the previous week, is expected to pass the House on March 27. An array of Washington University in St. Louis experts offer perspectives on the plan.

As businesses around the country are closing their doors and transitioning to remote work, Andrew Knight, a professor of organizational behavior at Washington University’s Olin Business School, said they should expect a period of adjustment as people develop new routines, norms and shared understandings about how work will progress through a new medium.

WashU innovators and entrepreneurs do what they can to help and serve those directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Senate, with significant prodding from the Trump administration, is working on a plan to directly provide cash assistance to millions of Americans amid the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts in economics and finance from Washington University in St. Louis’ Olin Business School weigh in on how it could help housing and households and maybe pay some bills — but still not answer the problems at hand.

Olin Business School faculty at Washington University in St. Louis offer perspectives on the economic, financial and everyday business reactions to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

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.

The Mastercard Impact Fund recently awarded the  Social Policy Institute (SPI) at Washington University in St. Louis a three-year, $1.5 million grant. Mastercard’s founding partnership of the SPI will further strengthen the institute’s ability to use research and data science to impact social policy and to promote inclusive growth in the St. Louis community and beyond.