Olin Business School

In dating — as in business — you don’t want to be looking for a date when you’re desperate; you want to find one before you become desperate. Business professors at Washington University in St. Louis have found that how firms manage their research and development (R&D) pipelines could mean the difference between always having products in the works and searching desperately for new goods. More…

Companies maintain a delicate balance when it comes to selling product lines that contain varying degrees of quality. Premium products need to be positioned beyond the claim of “higher quality” alone. A high-end product needs to compare favorably with its direct competitors, but it can’t appear too similar to other items in the firm’s product line. Part of the solution, according to a marketing professor at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis is for firms to use an advertising strategy that contains image-oriented appeals to differentiate its premium products from the rest. More…

Corporate governance has been in the forefront of public debate lately, thanks to such high-profile events as options backdating, the awarding of inflated CEO compensation packages and efforts to augment shareholder empowerment. These larger scandals have implications that reach beyond the boardroom into every aspect of an enterprise. Ultimately, the transgressions take their toll on all of society, according to Stuart Greenbaum, former dean of the business school at Washington University in St. Louis.

A.G. Edwards Inc., the St. Louis-based national investment firm, will establish the A.G. Edwards Visiting Professorship in Entrepreneurship.

Three early stage companies received commitments for funding and mentoring support at the annual Olin Cup Awards Ceremony Feb. 1. The top prize of $50,000 went to medical device company Neurolife. Two other companies received $20,000 in funding: Senetric, a company that developed software to reduce the cost of Radio-frequency identification (RFID) sensor networks; and Smart DNA Solutions, a company that offers affordable genetic testing. The $5,000 student award went to Peter Braxton of Neurolife.

Entrepreneurs are just as sensitive to uncertainty as anyone. In fact, several studies suggest that entrepreneurs are more risk-averse than other people. So why do they risk losing their shirts by starting a business? They have an overdeveloped sense of confidence that that they can beat the odds, according to research from a business professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

Over the past 18 months, many trees have given their lives so that articles titled something like, “Is India the next China?” could appear. But, an equally interesting question a professor from Washington University in St. Louis posed is, “Is China the next India?” These two questions offer a lens through which we might glimpse, however darkly, the economic futures of India and China. And by posing these questions side by side, Professor Jim Little said we can see an interesting pattern emerge: as China moves up the technology ladder, the drivers of its growth are becoming more like India’s. At the same time, India increasingly resembles China’s current economy as it develops as a manufacturing base.

Washington University’s Olin School of Business and the Olin Marketing Association will present the 7th annual Super Advertising Bowl, where Olin marketing students and faculty critique the television commercials that air during the Super Bowl. A “Top Five” list of this year’s most effective Super Bowl ads will be distributed after the game. Olin faculty and students can provide comments about which ads worked and why. Students and faculty will also be available for interviews about commercials that air during the game.

A group of three students is among the five final teams competing in the Chevy Super Bowl College Ad Challenge. The winning team will be announced Feb. 2, with their ad airing during the big game Feb. 4.

Washington University’s Olin School of Business will hold the 7th annual Super Advertising Bowl from 3-5 p.m. February 4, 2007. The annual event brings together Olin marketing students and faculty to critique the television commercials that air during the Super Bowl. This year Olin students will be looking for “Commercials that Win the Consumer’s Mind”—those standout ads that will have people talking around the water cooler on Monday. The student-organized activity also raises funds for the Arthritis Foundation’s St. Louis Chapter.