This article’s objective is to inspire and provide guidance on the development of marketing knowledge based on the theories-in-use (TIU) approach.
Clinical Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School; Chief Strategy and Growth Officer, ABC Insights
London Business School Professor Alex Edmans, a 2022 Kenan Institute Distinguished Fellow, followed up his recent virtual presentation on “The Power of Purposeful Business” by answering key questions from the audience. This week’s Kenan Insight offers a curated Q&A with a few of our favorites, with Professor Edmans tackling topics such as which issues government is best equipped to regulate and which may require shareholders to step in, the limits of using data in ESG measurement, and how best to encourage purposeful thinking throughout an organization.
Join Black Communities Conference co-chairs Mark Little and Karla Slocum as they discuss the impact of COVID-19 on Historic Black Communities. This week explores issues at the intersection of COVID-19 and university engagement.
One of the long-standing damages of institutional racism in the United States has been a bleak economic outlook for African Americans. In this Kenan Insight, we ask whether today’s activism might prove to be a defining moment in turning the tide for Black economic futures, and if so, who will play the key roles in creating lasting change.
ESG measurement and impact accounting can have vast economic and social influence; however, implementation is extremely challenging for both businesses and policymakers. In this week’s insight, our experts propose ways of refining ESG measures to produce structures that meet various stakeholder needs, drive reporting free from political influence and agendas, and illustrate the promise and risks of impact accounting.
Background: Influenza imposes heavy societal costs through healthcare expenditures, missed days of work, and numerous hospitalizations each year. Considering these costs, the healthcare and behavioral science literature offers suggestions on increasing demand for flu vaccinations. And yet, the adult flu vaccination rate fluctuated between 37% and 46% between 2010 and 2019.
Aim: Although a demand-side approach represents one viable strategy, an operations management approach would also highlight the need to consider a supply-side approach. In this paper, we investigate how to improve clinic vaccination rates by altering provider behavior.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has recently ramped up efforts to keep immigrants from entering the country and force out some who are already here – arguing these to be necessary measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 and protect American jobs. However, in this Kenan Insight, we summarize why these policies risk having exactly the opposite effect, harming the future health, social well-being and economic viability of our nation.
Greater focus on social justice has brought systemic inequities in the corporate sector to light, leading companies to step up their efforts in attracting and retaining a diverse workforce – but many challenges remain in implementing those goals. Following a joint report between the Kenan Institute and EY, this week’s Kenan Insight breaks down some challenges companies may face while trying to reach their diversity, equity and inclusion goals.
As a once-orderly world grows messier in the post-pandemic era, UNC Kenan-Flagler's Christian Lundblad discusses strategic planning for low-probability, high-impact events.
Our 2025 Grand Challenge examines the skills gap – the difference between the skills that employers seek and those that workers possess – which is being driven by technological breakthroughs, demographic changes and cultural shifts in the workplace.
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, institutions of higher education were under immense pressure to live up to their value propositions, with underlying tensions that have been developing for years posing an existential threat to their financial viability. As colleges and universities move classes and operations online in response to the pandemic, questions arise as to what such changes hold not just for now, but for the long-term success of higher education. Can ed tech provide a way forward? Find out in this week’s Kenan Insight.
Rumors are ubiquitous in the workplace, particularly regarding organizational changes. These rumors significantly influence worker behavior by introducing uncertainty, and thus, affect productivity and team performance. However, no studies have provided empirical evidence for these impacts due to data limitations on rumors and workers' behaviors in completing tasks.
Emerging artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities are ushering in significant changes in how enterprises operate – and raising a host of questions for organizations. In this Kenan Insight, we explore how changing the organizational mindset to treat AI as an “employee” may pave the way to fully reaping the benefits of AI systems.
Kenan Scholars were able to learn more about research in the business world on Nov. 6 at the “What is Business Research?” workshop. In this second of a series of workshops taking place this year, students from the Kenan-Flagler Business School — including the newly admitted Kenan Scholars class of 2023 and MBA Kenan scholars class of 2022 — heard from professors Brad Hendricks and Breagin Riley, as well as PhD student Andre Martin and Postdoctoral Research Associate Ayana Younge about their experiences in research.
Each of the Kenan Institute's 2023 Distinguished Fellows has written a paper as part of their work to support our exploration of workforce disruption. Learn more about our fellows and read their papers, along with key takeaways from each.
Pressure to create bottom-line outcomes has dramatically increased in recent years. UNC Kenan-Flagler's Marie S. Mitchell sought to untangle the relationship between supervisors’ bottom-line focus and unethical behavior in new research.
As the unexpected increasingly becomes part of the everyday, Kenan Institute Distinguished Fellow Kathleen M. Sutcliffe discusses the capabilities and processes that allow businesses to face their moments of truth with resilience.
As venture capital markets have surged in recent years, early access to capital remains highly localized. We examine changes that can help investors connect with underrepresented entrepreneurs outside traditional funding hubs, from innovative organizations to improvements in transportation.
A look at stakeholder capitalism – the idea that businesses would improve societal outcomes by focusing on a mandate broader than that which benefits shareholders alone – starts with the existing best-practice model: shareholder capitalism. This model, while not perfect, can produce the optimal amount of goods and services at the lowest cost. This week, Kenan Institute experts explore ways to improve it and examine whether stakeholder capitalism is ready to take its place.