Business & Entrepreneurship

​Joseph Goodman, PhD, associate professor of marketing at Olin Business School and Sarah Lim, doctoral student at Cornell University, say consumers tend to un​derestimate the experiential gift-giving advantage because they’re afraid they don’t know a person well enough to choose a more personal, preference-driven option.

What happens when seasoned travelers sign up for, but don’t receive, customer loyalty rewards? New research from Cynthia Cryder, PhD, assistant professor of marketing at Olin Business School, shows the fiercest road warriors might be the most likely to turn on their favorite firms when they don’t achieve those all-important incentive goals.

When Kevin Xu wanted to learn an American style of management in order to grow his company, RUIChem, he turned to the Olin Business School–Fudan University’s Executive MBA program.

In a case study titled “It’s a Trap: Emperor Palpatine’s Poison Pill​,” Zachary Feinstein, assistant professor of electrical and systems engineering, assesses the condition of the Galactic economy following the Empire’s collapse, and applies economic modeling and systemic risk analysis to the Star Wars economy.

U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced Nov. 23 a record-breaking $160 billion merger with Irish firm Allergan, the biggest merger to date involving the controversial strategy of tax inversion. The move marks the beginning of the end of the ability to stop corporate tax inversions under current tax rules, said Adam Rosenzweig, JD, professor of law and an expert on international tax law at Washington University in St. Louis.

Arch Grants recently announced its latest cohort of awardees, and once again, Washington University had a strong showing among the selected startups. Of the eleven business awarded $50,000 capital funding grants, four have direct ties to the university.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is considering adoption of anti-discrimination regulations that would apply to all health care providers and build upon the Affordable Care Act mandate prohibiting discrimination “on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.” These new rules would help reduce disparities in the health care system, said Elizabeth Sepper, JD, associate professor of law.

The United States Supreme Court agreed Nov. 6, for the fourth time in three years, to rule on challenges to the Affordable Care Act. This time the court will rule on the birth control mandate. A decision siding with large nonprofit corporations in this new case means that employers would prevail at significant cost to employees, said Elizabeth Sepper, JD, religious freedom and health law expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

The School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis is hosting this year’s National Board of Trial Advocacy Tournament of Champions, one of the premier law school trial competitions nationwide. The competition runs Oct. 28 through Oct. 31 at the Thomas Eagleton Federal Courthouse in St. Louis and at the School of Law.

FoodShare is a new app that allows users to donate a meal for every meal purchased at a participating restaurant. Developed by Washington University junior Andrew Glantz, the app ​is a finalist for the Mobileys, a nationwide competition that honors entrepreneurs who make a difference through mobile innovation.