Olin Business School

Marketing students, faculty and community members at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis will critique the television commercials that air during the Super Bowl during the 8th annual “Super Advertising Bowl.” For pre-game action and a presentation by Schupp Company about making commercials effective, join the Olin community for a panel discussion on Super Bowl Sunday, February 3, 2008, from 3:30p.m. – 4:15p.m. Members of the media are welcome to attend the panel and stay for food, drinks and the game, which will be broadcast via large-screen televisions.

Students from the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis will present their ideas and debate possible outcomes to the European Commission in a mock-parliament in Brussels on Feb. 1. The deputy head of mission from the Croatian ambassador to the EU will give introductory remarks at the mock-parliament. Officials from the EU and the City of London will be in attendance as well as professors from the Cass Business School.

WUSTL has received a commitment of $1 million from Robert and Julie Skandalaris to create and support the Skandalaris Center Internship Program. The gift will sustain the internship program for the next 10 years and will enable 20 interns per year to participate in an intensive summer experience.

Discounts are no way to increase business.Price promotions may not be the best way to increase sales of canned tuna — or any other frequently purchased consumer good. Managers can become overly focused on losing market share and get caught up in a mindless cycle of discounting — without regard to the long-term implications of their actions, according to marketing professors at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.

As the number of foreclosures on homes purchased with a subprime mortgage continues to grow, the chatter from Washington and big business is focused on a way to slow, or even reverse, the trend. However, bailing out the industry isn’t necessarily the way to go, according to a finance professor at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.

The Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Washington University in St. Louis has announced the semi-finalists in the 2008 Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition. This year’s semi-finalists represent a range of proposals including of a group of college students with a plan to provide counseling and mentoring services for low-income students, to an established nonprofit with a proposal for a mixed-use small business incubator.

Coffee shop encounters could lead to new business ideas.Clustering similar firms in a relatively small geographic area is a common economic development tactic. Research from a business professor at Washington University in St. Louis shows the strategy is most effective when companies are within 500 meters of each other. After that, the benefits of proximity quickly lose its power.

From home-delivered soup to house calls, the finalists for the 2007 Olin Cup Competition were announced Nov. 8. Six teams, including four student-owned or student-supported ventures, remain in the annual business formation contest organized by the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. This year’s finalists were selected from a field of 12 teams. Ultimately, two teams […]

If it is a surprise to Gap Inc. that some of its clothing manufactured in India was made by young children, then the company didn’t do a thorough job investigating the pros and cons of international outsourcing, according to Panos Kouvelis, the Emerson Distinguished Professor of Operations and Manufacturing Management at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.

The finalists for the 2007 Olin Cup Competition include six teams, four of which are student-owned or student-supported ventures. The annual business formation contest is organized by the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at WUSTL. Ultimately, two teams will win up to $70,000 in seed investment capital and a student-owned or – supported team will win a $5,000 cash prize.